Came across this this very interesting post. It begins as follows:
Toronto Danforth – Liberal Vote
by Justin
With another two weeks to go before the Toronto Danforth byelection, there has been some speculation as to the possibility of the seat changing hands back to the Liberals. While I am skeptical of this claim, I thought it would be worth examining in a bit more depth.The riding voted Liberal throughout the 1990s before being won by deceased NDP leader Jack Layton in 2004. As a Ryerson professor and city councillor, Layton made a name for himself in Toronto politics, but lacked the widespread recognition common with federal politicians.
He took the leadership of the NDP handily in 2003, and but won by a slim 2,400 votes his first race in Danforth. Despite only moderate gains for the NDP, Layton was able to increase his margin of victory in each passing election. Even after his passing, Jack’s legacy remains a key factor in the future of the NDP. By the strength of his personality, and the frustration of Quebec voters with the BQ, he led the party to a spectacular breakthrough in the province. The Danforth election may offer a glimpse into the future of a Layton-less NDP party. Layton consistently outperformed his party both in Toronto and Ontario, and represents one of the best examples of personality driven support.
Read the complete post here.
Toronto Danforth Debates - All Candidates Meeting 
Public Media or Media Oligarchy; that is the question in the 2012 Toronto – Danforth By-Election! Or any other elections for that matter!
This past Friday I found out that Wednesday night candidates from the mainstream parties will appear on The Agenda with Steve Paikin. I left messages for one of the producers, another message for the executive producer, followed up with an e-mail for each of them, and sent an e-mail to Mr. Paikin himself as well, requesting to participate in their show.
My e-mail emphasized that elections are about the people and not the mainstream Parties, and that the electorate should be exposed to choices available to them. However, I received a voice message and an e-mail with the usual excuses that they have limited time and they can only accommodate four candidates, and of course, they are from the mainstream Parties!
Another déjà vu, another election, another round of exclusion of Independents and fringe party candidates from the debates by media; what an oxymoron! On one hand, TVO considers itself to be “Ontario’s Public Educational Media,” and on the other hand, its producers decide on the destiny of the constituents by preventing legally registered candidates from participating in the debate with the mainstream Party representatives. Hooray for the process of democracy!
These types of irresponsible practices not only impede the democratic progress and its further development, they are insulting the People’s intelligence. In other words, a few people in broadcasting decide which candidates are worthy of support. The last thing the public needs is to have bureaucrats acting like God!
On top of that, not only do candidates from the mainstream Parties have the audacity to blame the public for the lack of participation and low voter turnout, but TVO is asking the same people to donate and support their programming!
I saw you reposted this, so I thought I’d say hello. I’ve added the NDP maps if you are interested as well.
Thanks Justin – great research and commentary – have reposted the NDP one as well.
Your prediction for Monday?