Giambrone makes it official

With eight and a half months to go before the election, Adam Giambrone isn’t concerned about the 29 points separating him from front-runner George Smitherman in the Toronto mayoral race.

“I think it’s pretty good to be in second place before being confirmed as a candidate,” said Giambrone.

Fresh from filing the paperwork to make his mayoral bid official, Giambrone sat down with the Town Crier on Feb. 1 to discuss his platform and to answer questions about what he would do if elected.

The TTC chief fielded questions on a range of topics, including his vision for handling the city’s finances. If elected, Giambrone said, he would not sell off profitable public assets, such as Toronto Hydro Corp. and Enwave Energy Corp.

“These are companies that record profits for the city and you see them reflected in our budgets,” said Giambrone. They allow you to achieve your objectives on creating green power and building the city.”

However, he said in order to reduce debt, he would consider selling off some of the city’s other $18 billion in blue ribbon assets, such as unused TTC properties.

Giambrone also warned that promising tax freezes or reductions would be irresponsible. Citing the unpopular land transfer tax implemented by current Mayor David Miller as an example, Giambrone cautioned that there is little room in the city budget for revenue reduction.

“I don’t think anybody likes the idea of a land transfer tax, but I want to hear from any of the other candidates about where they’re going to find $400 million, in addition to balancing the budget, to replace that tax,” he said.