Well, we know answer to that one already: sandbag the mayor in a close vote on the land transfer tax (thank you, Brian Ashton, for that object lesson).

But one wonders about the effect of public comments - like the ones that Ward 7 (York West) Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti made advocating military action in his ward following a shooting incident - on one’s tenure on Mayor David Miller’s Executive Committee.

Mammoliti wasn’t talking to The Mirror today to clarify himself, but here’s the gist of what he told other media: the Canadian army ought to take over policing in his ward, to put a stop to gun violence. Soldiers, by the long-time councillor’s reasoning, are much more capable of dealing with street criminals than are members of Toronto’s Police Service - not, according to the councillor, being as beholden to the laws of due process as are the police.

One wonders whether Councillor Mammoliti is thinking about the same military that operates with honor and restraint under Canadian law - and not some bizarre amalgam of the A-Team, Dirty Harry and the old Guatemalan Army. One does wonder if he’s kidding.

The mayor obviously thought he was, when he told reporters today: “I don’t think anybody particularly takes Councillor Mammoliti’s call for the army seriously. I hope not.”

Well if it’s a joke, it’s an awful joke for an elected official to make - particularly one who serves on the Executive Committee as chair of Toronto’s Affordable Housing Committee.

Here’s what Bill Blair, Toronto’s Police Chief, said in a statement released later today:

“Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti’’s comments do a disservice to the men and women of the Toronto Police Service and to the citizens of Toronto.

“The anti-violence strategies of the Toronto Police Service, together with the cooperation and commitment of the residents of communities affected by violence, have in fact led to an increase in the number of arrests in such incidents.

“It is unfortunate that Mr. Mammoliti chose to make the remarks he did without knowing the facts.

“I want the members of the Toronto Police Service to rest assured that I, and the majority of Torontonians, continue to appreciate their efforts.”

Violence in communities across Toronto is a serious issue - and it’s one for the police to deal with, in combination with the kind of communities of support that Mammoliti is ostensibly trying to build with his work on the Affordable Housing Committee. Last term, when Councillor Mammoliti was not in the mayor’s good graces and he led the fight to keep former Police Chief Julian Fantino on board, he seemed to understand that.

That was then I guess. Now, the mayor should think seriously about the company he’s keeping.