There's plenty of City Hall tax dollars for anti-Ford newsletters

Torontosun.com
August 14, 2019
Sue-Ann Levy

His six-page glossy, multi-colour annual newsletter contains six references to Premier Doug Ford and his efforts to upload the TTC and get control over the provincial deficit — on the first page alone.

“Premier Ford has continued his devastating cuts on Toronto,” says the recently-issued newsletter from Ward 12 Councillor Josh Matlow.

That commentary is contained in a section that claims provincial cuts will leave a $291-million hole in the 2020 city budget — and is contained kitty corner to a large colour photo of Matlow riding the TTC.

There are 11 colour photos of Matlow in the newsletter, two with his daughter, Molly, and one of his eight-person staff (none of whom ever answer my requests for comment).

At least half of it is full of anti-Ford diatribe (particularly, on the PC government’s subway plan) and information on Matlow’s pet agendas, including his “Charter City” initiative — a pipe dream that would see Toronto wrestling more control from the province beyond the City of Toronto Act.

The councillor has not yet billed the city for this newsletter extravaganza but I predict it could cost as much as $12,000 including $5,000 for delivery (the latter based on what he’s spent so far on delivering other communications pieces).

I received not one — but two — at my door.

Constituent Gord Fisher was so upset with Matlow’s dispatch, he wrote the councillor a series of e-mails about the “political nature” of the taxpayer-funded newsletter.

In one of the Aug. 7-8 exchanges, he chastised Carolina Vecchiarelli, director of office operations and constituency services in Matlow’s office, for making taxpayers cover the costs of a flyer featuring pictures of the councillor “doing wonderful things and a round of attacks on the Ford government.

“In the first of these ramblings Mr. Matlow says in a bold red headline ‘Let’s not play politics’ … and then he proceeds to do exactly that,” writes Fisher.

“As a taxpayer, I am beyond frustrated that my dollars are used for this kind of electioneering.”

In her response, Vecchiarelli says that the content is “reflective” of newsletters sent out by other elected officials both in Toronto and across Ontario — and that they “work very hard” on issues important to the St. Paul’s community.

There is not one word in the newsletter about the deleterious impact the Eglinton-Crosstown LRT is having on the community.

Efforts to reach Matlow or a member of his staff for comment were not successful. He has also blocked me on social media.