VERITAS: FUMBLE - SMITHERMAN GETS ALL “LOFTY”

George Smitherman excels at communications. He has demonstrated this throughout his time as a provincial cabinet minister in a couple of important portfolios, and prior to that in his role as a key adviser to then Toronto Mayor Barbara Hall, and as a communications consultant in general. So it was quite puzzling to hear him, in a media interview confirming his intention to officially announce his candidacy for mayor of Toronto, say things like “I’m putting my lofty title and job on the line,” and “a native son is coming home to serve.” Hardly water-cooler stuff. To the contrary, referring to oneself in the third person and describing your gig as “lofty” is about as far from main street, communications-wise, as one can get. Which is not to say everything has to be aw-schucksed to the lowest common denominator, but for crying out loud, you can’t sell yourself as man of the people when you’re taking a self-aggrandizing tone like that. Perhaps he was kidding, or trying to be ironic, but either way, it didn’t work.