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COVER STORY

Friends of Barbara Hall: FLAUNTING THE RULES!

by Judi McLeod

April 21, 2003

The Friends of Barbara Hall group was soliciting money from the public for Hall’s campaign before she was registered as a mayoral candidate for November municipal elections--a move which runs afoul of municipal election rules.

"As a confirmed supporter of Barbara Hall, I am writing to ask you to sign on as a Captain for a covert operation that will be an important indicator of public support for Barbara’s candidacy," Toronto Centre Rosedale MPP George Smitherman wrote in a Sept. 12, 2002 letter to lawyer Paul Copeland, obtained by Toronto Free Press.

"This assignment is designed for a select number of people who are not shy to speak with friends, family, neighbours, or co-workers about why Toronto needs Barbara Hall now more than ever. Intrigued?" Smitherman asked Copeland in his letter.

In September 2002, there was no Hall "candidacy". In fact, Hall was not registered as a mayoral candidate for November elections and did not officially register until January 2003.

The letter also contains a handwritten note indicating that Hall campaign worker Richard Joy said that Copeland was likely supporting mayoralty candidate Councillor David Miller.

Neither Smitherman nor Copeland responded to TFP telephone calls. An email sent to Hall more than two weeks ago was never answered.

In the world of civic politics, Smitherman and Hall go back a long way. Hall’s husband Max Beck, a wealthy businessman and former Chief Executive Officer of Ontario Place brought the MPP into Hall’s office when she was Toronto mayor.

The MPP and Deputy Whip-External Financial Institutions Critic for the Dalton McGuinty-led Ontario Liberals served as both Chief of Staff and as her executive assistant when Hall was Toronto mayor.

The Friends of Barbara Hall office, which had been running for months, was closed effective January 1, 2003. A note taped to the Yonge and Davenport office window noted,

"We completed our mission and are happy to report that Barbara Hall is now a registered mayoral candidate."

Hall’s new mayoral campaign office, located at Suite 501, 890 Yonge Street, opened in February 2003.

When he’s not supporting Hall for mayor, Smitherman spends his time attacking the Ernie Eves government. Smitherman’s attacks have been personal. He has used the word "slick" in references to the premier’s hairstyle and his politics, and led the charge against the Tories made-for-TV budget, claiming the premier was "chicken" for postponing the legislature.

Touted as a "consensus builder" on campaign material, Hall says her reputation might help mend the City’s damaged relationship with other levels of government.

"Consensus builder is a phrase people use a lot of the time," Smitherman told the National Post, "but it’s awfully true when it comes to Barbara. On the day she had her inaugural meeting of council, the council had a right-wing majority. But within a year, she had created an operating majority on council and I think she has the capacity to do that with the new city as well."

With declared mayoral candidate Coun. David Miller nipping at her heels, Hall is not the sole standard bearer of the left. Conventional wisdom has it that with both Miller and Hall in the race, they will split the vote on the left leaving the possibility for a rightwing candidate to claim mayoral victory.

Hall, missing from Toronto City Hall since Mayor Mel Lastman handily toppled her in 1997, began polishing her public persona by jogging in downtown Toronto streets. Last year she ran the Washington marathon with her husband and a group of friends.

Having won support from Toronto’s gay community in her 1994 mayoral campaign, in recent weeks, Hall has been spending many evenings at gay and lesbian bars.

Miller is after the same voting bloc. "Toronto is the magnet for young gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered youth who often come here without housing," Miller told Kerwin McLeister of Xtra! "This has had a major impact on the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi and trans) community in all respects, including safety."

An article on Hall’s website laments that "The Star has portrayed her as a front runner with nowhere to go but down."

Another Hall website article warns "Mayoral candidates will have to look sharp and positive about this city, otherwise they’ll get left in the past with the sour face of Mel Lastman."

In addition to problems with the potential of two candidates splitting the vote on the left, Hall has faced criticism for a speaking style described as monotone and boring. While the media and others have called her "slow spoken", detractors have called her "a drone".

With the war in Iraq and the SARS scare dominating the news, Toronto’s mayoral race has taken a back seat. But local political pundits expect the race to heat up by early summer.

Meanwhile, only time will tell whether any of her opponents will make a legal issue of Friends of Barbara Hall soliciting money from the public at large before she was registered as a mayoral candidate.

Canada Free Press founding editor Most recent by Judi McLeod is an award-winning journalist with 30 years experience in the print media. Her work has appeared on Newsmax.com, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, Glenn Beck. Judi can be reached at: judi@canadafreepress.com


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