See How They Run

The following is an exert from a Sunday Toronto Star report of a Mayoralty debate that took place yesterday. An issue was the sale of Toronto Hydro. Front runner candidate George Smitherman is opposed.

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They’ve seen what happens when we lose control of public assets like we did with Highway 407,” he elaborated in a brief interview after the debate.

In February, a freedom of information request turned up the fact that after selling its street lights to Toronto Hydro in 2005 to raise $60 million, the city of Toronto will pay more than $420 million over the next 30 years to rent the lights back
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Let's consider for a moment that information in the context of a Mayoralty debate:

Obviously Toronto owns Toronto Hydro.

A few years ago, the city sold the street lights to Toronto Hydro for $60 million dollars. They needed the money and the street lights were a mess.

In effect, they sold the lights to themselves.They took money out of one pocket and put it into another.

Then, in the story without attribution, the point is made that over thirty years it will cost $420million to rent them back.

Quick now, how much is that a year?

So the city will pay themselves all that money to rent their own lights back from themselves.

The lights on the other hand will show up in Toronto Hydro's books as assets. If Toronto Hydro is sold, assets create value.

So Toronto could get the money for the same lights twice..

Unless the lights have been replaced with newer lights. Then the city could get new lights back for the price they paid for the old lights, if they didn't sell the lights with Hydro.

Are we all following the logic?

What if Toronto got enough for Toronto Hydro to clear off all their debts.

Why are Mayoralty candidates talking sale of Hydro without referring to value and what could be done with the money.

How much transit would it buy?

Would they stop looking for innovative taxes like a toll on the Don Valley Parkway, to avoid raising the property tax and boasting about Toronto having the lowest taxes in the GTA.

Smitherman refers to the Province's sale of the 407.

What about it?

None of the other candidates it seems, referred to the Province, ruminating publicly about assets they might sell, like the Liquor Control Board of Ontario. to reduce their deficit.

GTA residents need to pay attention to Toronto's Mayoralty race. Smitherman is the front runner.

How much influence would he have convincing his former boss to unload more of Toronto's costs on to taxpayers in the rest of the GTA.

It's been done before.

And who do we have in York Region likely to put up a fight against that?