Former John Tory campaign aide plans public pitch of SmartTrack

After John Duffy helped build the idea for SmartTrack, he’s planning a non-partisan group to raise public awareness of the rail plan - with more than $1 million in funding.

Thestar.com
May 7, 2015
By David Rider and Jennifer Pagliaro

John Duffy, city hall lobbyist and the architect of Mayor John Tory’s SmartTrack plan, is planning a $1-million non-profit public-relations blitz to build public and government support for the transit expansion.

Duffy, of PR/lobbying firm StrategyCorp, has circulated a detailed business plan for Friends & Allies of SmartTrack (FAST) - a non-partisan advocacy group aiming to raise more than a million dollars from corporations and individuals, according to a source familiar with the plan.

FAST, with a goal of helping get Tory’s 22-station line built within his promised seven years at an estimated cost of $8 billion, would lobby city, provincial and federal officials, advertise, poll and do telephone town halls.

Tory and his administration would be among the group’s beneficiaries, donors are told, because keeping a signature promise will build his support.

Duffy was a volunteer senior strategist for Tory’s successful 2014 mayoral bid who brought the foundations of SmartTrack to the campaigned.

He has personally lobbied Chris Eby - a former campaign colleague who is now Tory’s chief of staff - on behalf of Uber taxi service and also First Gulf, the developer pushing for the pricier “hybrid” option for the Gardiner Expressway.

Other StrategyCorp staff lobbying city councillors and staff for Uber and First Gulf is Courtney Glen, who was a Tory campaign spokesperson and briefly served on his mayoral transition team.

Because she was on the city payroll, Glen is not currently lobbying the mayor’s office in accordance with a rule that, after leaving city hall, former senior staff not lobby current office holders for 12 months.

Duffy’s StrategyCorp partner John Matheson, who did not hold a position on Tory’s campaign, lobbied Tory directly on behalf of Uber.

Asked about the appropriateness of senior campaign members lobbying those they helped get into office, Toronto lobbyist registrar Linda Gehrke said: “If there was significant involvement in a campaign and they lobbied the office holder after an election, that lobbying could produce an appearance of a conflict of interest but we’d have to look at the individual circumstances.”

Asked about that campaign official lobbying mayor’s staff, Gehrke said: “We’d have to look at the facts of the individual case to make a determination of that question.”

Regarding FAST, Duffy said the group’s launch partly hinges on “the willingness of people to support such an effort financially. If the project is feasible, it will launch publicly in full compliance with relevant rules and the Star will be informed.”

As for his lobbying, Duffy said he has registered for those clients and others through the “relevant lobbyist registration regime.”

“Full compliance with all such rules has been our scrupulous practice at every level of government since the firm’s inception, 20 years ago,” he said.

Tory spokeswoman Amanda Galbraith said the mayor’s office is aware of the FAST proposal, but his office has “no involvement, direct or otherwise, in this organization.”

“That said, we welcome citizen engagement on what is one of, if not the most, important issues for our city - building more and better public transit.”

As for Tory officials being lobbied by their former campaign colleague, Galbraith said “the lobbyist registry ensures that lobbying of public office holders is conducted in a transparent and accountable manner.”

“Mr. Duffy, members of his firm, and anyone seeking to engage with our office are required to comply with the law.”

Nick Kouvalis, co-owner of Campaign Research and a key adviser on Tory’s campaign, did not return messages asking to confirm or deny a report that he is polling for Uber.