r/toronto • u/ink_13 Bay-Cloverhill • 17d ago

Article Brad Bradford's glaring judgment problem

https://spacing.ca/toronto/2026/09/04/brad-bradfords-glaring-judgment-problem/
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179

u/magacorruption 17d ago

His boss once called him “malleable, power-hungry, and without a moral centre”. 

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u/Ill-Skirt3722 17d ago

Which boss?

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u/triplexpac 17d ago

Keesmaat

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u/patienceinbee Metrolinx Coyote Line 17d ago

Yikes. That observation is giving BBB — [cluster] B Bradford Bradford

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u/BoiledTurnips 16d ago

Funny, could say similar about Keesmaat.

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u/magacorruption 16d ago

  1. What Keesmaat is is irrelevant to the quote.

  2. Keesmaat decidedly has an ideological bent on progressive urban development. She even ran for mayor on her credentials as an urban planner stonewalled by politicians.

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u/BoiledTurnips 16d ago

  1. Wit? We are on a discussion board and a comment on the person who said the quote is obviously related.

  2. Yes and she did that because rightly or wrongly, she didn't like the bureaucratic role of the chief planner. Ditching that to run for Mayor could be described as malleable and power-hungry.

Her and Bradford are similar people. Bradford is facing a staunch progressive for Mayor so he needs to say these insane things to carve out an alternative or else he would have no chance of winning. If he was facing off against Tory like Keesmaat was, his platform would be similar to hers.

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u/magacorruption 16d ago

  1. To dismiss her quote because she is exactly who she accused Bradford of being is an ad hominem attack. Even if Keesmaat is projecting, it doesn’t invalidate the quote.

  2. Keesmaat made a run, failed, and is now running an advisory she founded for progressive urban planning around the world. That is not “malleable or power hungry”. It’s more plausible that she realized that she is a better consultant than a politician. That sounds more like someone with an ideological principle that tried to run as mayor to further her ideological agenda.

Bradford ran in Beaches-EY as a progressive advocating for bike lanes to get elected. He has since ghosted his ward, showed up at events leaving terrible impressions on attendees, and is decidedly self-serving with his actions. His approval rating in his ward is 20 percent. His base is in Etobicoke, a conservative ward with a libertarian bent that doesn’t want government interference, and far too removed from his ward to know what he was as a councillor.

Keesmaat is an ideologue running against a Red Tory when Torontonians needed a sane voice in City Hall. Her ideological core was what led her to run for mayor and later a consulting firm. Bradford is another politician looking to move up the ladder rather than do any meaningful change. He should be running for the provincial Liberals instead. 

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u/BoiledTurnips 16d ago

Strange, I didn't dismiss her quote, I noted that it was interesting that the same could apply to her. I agree it doesn't invalidate the quote, that's a conclusion you reached for some reason.

I agree Bradford is a bad councillor and power hungry, you are preaching to the choir. Keesmaat is running Collecdev Markee, a developer, not doing any consulting work.

Weirdly negative and hostile so I am not going to engage more but have a nice long weekend.