Rob Ford was elected mayor four years ago on a promise to take a sledgehammer to city council, its transit plans, and its budget. Immediately after he won, council’s left wing began trying to figure out how to thwart his agenda.

John Tory was elected mayor Monday on a promise to bring council together. He will get a grace period.

Tory, a moderate conservative, will be granted an opportunity to be the consensus-building pragmatist he said he would be, progressive councillors said in interviews Wednesday.

“We have to give him a chance. We have to give his staff a chance,” said Paula Fletcher (Ward 30, Toronto-Danforth). “I think council has proved that it wants a balanced approach in the city of Toronto. A steady, balanced approach. And I’ll certainly give him a chance to make sure that that’s what he’s going to do. That’s just what I think people want in the city.”

Tory did not release a formal platform, and several of his promises were unspecific. One progressive councillor, who asked for anonymity to candidly discuss strategy, said Tory has such a vague mandate — “I’m not Rob Ford, we’ll all get along, I’m not going to increases taxes past inflation, and I’m going to build SmartTrack someday” — that he has left an “awful lot of room for conversation” with the left.

“It’s Tory’s move,” the councillor said. “By the end of January, it should be clear what kind of administration he wants to run. And we’ll govern ourselves accordingly.”

Tory’s honeymoon may not be mere post-election courtesy. Maria Augimeri, a suburban progressive Tory supported in the election, said he will receive more votes on some issues from progressives than from conservatives.

“This is a pro-housing guy. This is a pro-transit guy,” said Augimeri (Ward 9, York Centre).

Augimeri said she expects Tory to operate in the inclusive manner of Mel Lastman, to whom he was an informal advisor. Lastman, another conservative, created positions to suit the passions of several progressives: Jack Layton was made homelessness advocate, Olivia Chow children’s advocate, Joe Pantalone tree advocate.

“Every progressive had a leadership role. I envision that John Tory’s administration would be similar to that,” Augimeri said.

Councillor Mike Layton, Jack’s son, said he would keep an “open mind” about the man who defeated his stepmother, Chow, two days ago.

“I think we’ll have to see how Mr. Tory approaches this,” said Layton (Ward 19, Trinity-Spadina). “Certainly, my door will be always open. I’m waiting for his call to see when he wants to sit down to talk about how we can make the city a better place.”

The informal left-wing bloc, which has about 15 solid members, meets every month. There are 44 councillors in all.

Tory is likely to be opposed by most progressives on his effort to outsource garbage collection east of Yonge St. He would face a stiff fight if he took any steps toward cancelling the Sheppard and Finch LRTs, as some area councillors want.

His proposal to pay for SmartTrack through tax increment financing has been questioned by councillors of all stripes. And he will have to finesse the tricky issue of the downtown relief line, a priority for many progressives that he believes is less important than SmartTrack.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

For now, though, there are no battles at all. Fletcher praised even the Tory caution that got him mocked as a waffler by both of his election rivals.

“The fact that he said he’s waiting for the staff report on island airport expansion, waiting for the staff report for the Gardiner, are all good signs,” Fletcher said. “He’s not coming in with his mind simply made up, my way or the highway. And that’s a relief.”

Read more about: