Adam Giambrone stuck to transit business on Wednesday during his first public appearance since dropping out of the mayor’s race, unveiling the chair of a TTC customer service advisory panel and refusing to answer questions about the scandal that derailed his election bid.
It started off more tense than it ended: Mr. Giambrone made a dash into a regular TTC meeting tailed by a swarm of media, but spoke to reporters after it had adjourned, saying firmly that he will be staying on as chairman of the Toronto Transit Commission, despite calls for his resignation.
Mr. Giambrone, 32, abandoned his bid for mayor last week after revelations that he had multiple affairs.
He said he has not yet decided whether he will be running for re-election in his downtown ward.
“We’ve got work to do on customer service,” said Mr. Giambrone. “Transit is important to this city, this is a transit city and I’ve got lots of work to do and it’s good to be back.”
He already faces opposition from the TTC union leadership over the person the commission appointed to lead the customer service advisory panel.
Steve O’Brien, general manager of One King West Hotel & Residence, has been named chair, a volunteer position. The union, however, has issues with the fact the Mr. O’Brien does not live in Toronto.
“I think it’s important that you have a clear understanding of the transit in Toronto, understand some of the issues that we’re facing, the lack of funding, the overcrowding,” said Bob Kinnear, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113. He believes Mr. O’Brien doesn’t know what workers or riders face every day.
“I’d like to ask him when the last time one of his clerks was punched in the face. That is an issue we have to deal with each and every day.”
Mr. O’Brien grew up in Toronto but now lives in Milton. He uses the TTC about three times a week for short trips, he said.
While acknowledging that he comes from a very different business, Mr. O’Brien said “we’re all in the people business, and at the end of the day it’s about the guest experience. You’re not going to make everybody happy, but you have to do your best to make everybody happy and when you don’t, that’s your opportunity. It’s not a challenge, it’s an opportunity to certainly turn some things around.”
The TTC will work with Mr. O’Brien to fill out a panel. TTC vice chair Joe Mihevc said he wants it to be “multi-stakeholder approach,” which includes customer service professionals and passengers.
A report prepared by TTC staff said that the case of a ticket collector who was photographed sleeping on the job – and which triggered a storm over customer service on public transit – was evidence of a work culture that was used to mediocrity.
Mr. Mihevc said that “for every story of a sleeping collector, there’s a story of a hero who has saved someone’s life, who has gone above and beyond and made passengers feel great.”
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