Adam Giambrone's exit

The speed of Adam Giambrone's fall from grace is surprising. In retrospect, it is not a shock. Many have commented on the councillor's arrogance and ego. Arrogant politicians often think they can get away with cheating and lying. In some cases, they can.

Giambrone's undoing may well have been the comments about his 'partner' being window dressing for his political career. Such a comment reveals a young man whose external polish belies his complete lack of class. Shakespeare's line "All that glisters is not gold" is particularly fitting.

Even before the events that have unfolded over the last 36 hours, there have been calls for Giambrone to step down as TTC Chairman. Today, Steve Munro - one of Giambrone's biggest cheerleaders - is calling for him to step down as chair.

There are many reasons for Giambrone to step down.

First, his record at the TTC is terrible. It's perhaps no worse that his predecessor - but it's still awful.

- Costs are exploding. We hear that the TTC is planning for a 7% increase in operating costs each year for the foreseeable future - just to maintain the current level of service!

- the St. Clair West streetcar ROW project has been a mess

- the increasingly evident service and moral problems

- 'Transit City' has been foisted on us by the light rail lobby. Giambrone's plan has now doubled in cost since its original announcement - approaching $13 billion for marginal increases in speed and capacity on the planned network.

The Bombardier affair from the last election - where the transit equipment maker promoted a Giambrone fundraiser - should have sounded as a louder alarm. The media should have pushed on that one harder.