It looks like November 22nd's meeting of the Toronto Library Board was a doozy. One board member in particular—Stephen Dulmage, the guy who suggested closing more than a third of the City's branches as a cost-saving measure—got a few choice remarks in, suggesting that people don't need a warm place to read a book so long as there are Tim Hortons in the world. David Hains was there and gives some more details of the meeting:

Which brings us to the more polished Michael Foderick. A lawyer, Foderick has long been in touch with City Hall, from the early days of the Toronto Youth Cabinet (at age 16) to being fellow TPL board member Cesar Palacio's EA. So you would think he brings an understanding of the process that would be beneficial to the board. But, based on last night's meeting, you'd be wrong.

He put forward a motion that asked to fire the equivalent of up to 60 full-time library employees in spite of City Librarian Jane Pyper's insistence that this would be a safety concern. His motion also called for using $2 million in development charges to fund operating expenses, a policy that would violate provincial law....

The audience laughed a few times. Visiting councillor Adam Vaughan threw up his arms as he walked out to visit the overflow room. Other board members were unimpressed; it took Dulmage to second Foderick's motion.

Ed Keenan in The GridTO suggests that Rob Ford is struggling politically because he's lost his "left-wing" voters, i.e. the people who believed Ford's claim that he could freeze taxes without cutting services. The advantage for Ford when he came in to power is that municipal taxes are, by their nature, very visible. People are keenly aware of how much property tax they pay. The problem for Ford now, if the library board meetings are any example, is that service cuts are visible too, especially to institutions that Torontonians cherish.

Blog photo "public library" by striatic, Tim Hortons sign by mrkathika via Flickr.