Adam Giambrone April 6, 2009

Adam Giambrone (Chair of TTC)

To be clear, I have never met him personally, shook his hand or really stood in his overall presence. The closest I really got is at a discussion in an auditorium on gridlock. So this review is more about stuff he says and some things I notice. Also, I don’t want to imply that being the Chair of the TTC is an easy job or anything about TTC employees, this is strictly a commentary on Adam Giambrone the public persona.

• Qualifications to be the Chair are unclear. Archaeologist to Politician to Chair of TTC. Maybe he does a fine job as Chair, but unless that’s proven, his qualifications are not clearly linked.

• Spin, spin, and more spin. Quote from his Twitter “LRTs will be very similar to streetcars with the most notable difference being dedicated transit lanes”. I’m pretty sure streetcars still have dedicated lanes, not all, but there are definitely some. Besides, if that’s the biggest difference, it doesn’t seem like an improvement and feels more like spin.

• Applies inconsistent logic. Stating that the TTC parking is unfairly subsidized but still running bus service to nobody. Just be honest about the real reason for charging for parking, which is to raise money.

I could definitely go a lot deeper into the individual points raised above, so e-mail me if you want a fuller explanation. A lot of my criticism is due to his time at the TTC and his very public voice over TTC matters. He very well may be competent or even good as a Chair, but unless he can fix the above points I will never be able to really say his legacy was one of competence or transparency. Thanks for your work Mr. Giambrone, but based on you I would rather the Chair of TTC be a non-politician any day.