The more I make myself involved in municipal politics, the more I realize how, and why people voted for Rob Ford, and why people will vote for someone like Doug Ford, John Tory, or Olivia Chow - despite all of the above taking not much more power than the Mike Layton's, or Mary Fragedakis' on council - regular council members.

Can you spot the person with more power than the rest? Trick question - there is none!

Every time I have a conversation with someone about the election - people are polarized.

I don't trust John Tory.

Olivia Chow will spend all of our money.

I'm afraid of Doug Ford - he's slimy.

They always go back to the candidate platforms though - subways, child care, community housing repairs, road repairs - despite none of these candidates being able to further these goals without the support of a united council. Would I vote for Doug Ford if I thought he had the power to move ahead with his subway plan? Maybe - I like subways - my support for LRT's has more about their likelihood of being built, than their effectiveness when compared to underground trains.

Here's the problem - you (and most voters) don't really understand municipal politics. 

We are all used to voting for a party, and a leader of that party that will have the power to move forward with their agenda.

When Stephen Harper runs his campaign based on lowering the HST to 12% - he has the power, the money, and the control to do that. You'll likely see those types of promises come to fruition in the years of a term (or you'd hope). Same goes for provincial politics.

Then it breaks down - and it's not made clear enough to residents - a mayor is not a position of power, but rather a position of representation. A mayor doesn't move agendas, budgets, or even items forward in council - they are more of an 'honorary' council member - that has the benefit of making appearances, and pretty well being the ultimate ambassador of any city.

Put it this way - Rob Ford voted against the most recent Toronto budget - but it didn't matter - the budget went ahead with most others voting in favour. So - before you get too excited about Olivia Chow's "decision" to switch back to a Scarborough LRT, Doug Ford's subways, or John Tory's 'SmartTrack' - know that none of those projects are decisions that any of those three will make alone. They will need to plead their case to their fellow council - like any other member - in order to get items voted ahead.

This is what I'm basing my decision on - the ability to bring council together for a decision. Who is the most well-spoken, who is the least hated by their peers, and who will act in a way that will represent Toronto the way I see our city.

So - how do we fix this?

To be honest - I don't think Torontonians should vote for their mayor, or if we do - the rules need to be stricter. If we eliminate a public-voted mayor, we would focus more on the councillors in our wards - who could then come together and elect (as a council) a representative to take on mayoral duties. THIS would be a democracy.

No longer would we have to listen to promises that could in no way be promised - and no longer would uninformed voters influence an election that affects more than they care about.

So....what do you think?

Reader beware - I'm a donut (yeah, donut, not doughnut) fiend - I'll them from wherever I can get 'em - and even though I'm sometimes critical, I'll still finish every one I lay my hands on. That being said, I know where to get donuts in my area - Coffee Time has the best apple fritters (they're also the size of your face), 7/11 of all places has the best (and cheapest) Boston cream, and Tim Hortons will do if you need a donut fix in a pinch. Those are the cheap, donut and coffee for less than $3.00 kind of places though - and sometimes, you want something a little more 'adventurous' - and that's where places like Von Doughnuts comes in.

I've visited some of the other 'well-known' places in Toronto to get your hands on gourmet donuts - Paulette's Chicken & Donuts (who have since closed down), and Glory Hole Doughnuts - and Von really keeps up the pace.

Unlike the two I named above though, Von has a great selection of both cake-base and yeast-base donuts (Paulette's had only cake-based, and Glory Hole focuses more on just yeast). I won't go through their menu (because you can find it online here), but some offerings that stand out are the jalapeno cheddar donut (if you want a salty snack), and the donut hole kebab.

The location itself feels new, and a bit unfinished, but very modern and sleek - they've avoided the old school, retro diner look, and stuck with a higher end espresso and snack bar option, which feels better, and more sustainable.

The drunken nut (my selection) - was coated with a Malibu
rum glaze, and covered in coconut and pineapple.

The fact that you can get both brewed coffee, as well as any espresso based drink is also a plus, because who wants one without the other. They were having some issues with the espresso machine when I went in, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because the brewed coffee was some of the best I've had in a while. A donut and a large coffee cost me $6.00, but in comparison with other gourmet donut shops, it's right on par.

So, while I encourage you to support whatever Toronto donut place you frequent, if you live in the East end, or on the subway line, I would encourage you to check out Von Doughnuts.