City
Who might run for mayor of Toronto in a by-election?
With a by-election likely looming for Toronto in the coming months, now is the perfect time for councillors with mayoral ambitions to take a stab at the top job. The only obstacle in their path: convincing enough people to vote their way. For some that means assurances that they are suited to stay as leader of council, for others it means getting recognized as a viable alternative.
Here are some of the contenders who have a chance of running in a by-election and perhaps winning an abridged mayoralty until 2014, assuming Rob Ford is granted a stay but loses a January appeal, which is widely touted as the most likely scenario.
ROB FORD
The present incumbent announced on his weekly radio show Sunday he "will be the first one into the race" to try and win his job back via a popular vote. Love him or loathe him, Ford is the man to beat here and you have to like his chances of getting re-elected even with reduced support. Whether or not Ford will make it to the end of said race or fall over trying to throw something is still unknown.
SHELLEY CARROLL
Though not such a well-known name publicly, Carroll is a vociferous anti-Ford voice at City Hall who's had eyes on the mayor's chair for several years. As budget chief under David Miller, the Ward 33 Don Valley East representative was able to draw on her banking background to help shape the city's finances. She implemented the personal vehicle tax in 2007 then voted with Rob Ford to kill it off, saying she had heard from her constituents that they didn't like the idea.
In 2010, when she was also considering running, The Star said Carroll has a "plain-speaking, almost folksy manner and can bandy numbers with any member of the Bay Street crowd." So far Carroll is the only councillor to confirm she'll run if there's a byelection.
OLIVIA CHOW
Widely touted as Toronto's saviour, Chow, like her late husband Jack Layton, has oodles of political nous. As a councillor last term she championed sustainable development, tackled homelessness, and, in stark contrast to Rob Ford, rode a floral, brightly colored bicycle to her office at City Hall. Chow was voted best councillor on several occassions by NOW magazine and is considered the strongest candidate to unseat Ford. Anyone would think she was actually running.
JOHN TORY
A former mayoral nominee in 2003 and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, John Tory could, as Star columnist Royson James puts it, be a chance "to hit the reset button" button on Ford's divisive politics and put forward a credible, pro-urban conservative candidate.
Tory has the chops, too: he leads CivicAction, a non-partisan group that tackles social and economic issues in Toronto, and has a history of socially liberal policies. In Toronto, Tory also led the Ontario Place revitalization panel that delivered a report recommending the land become a public park. But will he run against Ford?
ADAM VAUGHAN
The former reporter turned Ford basher has made a name for himself outside City Hall for being an outspoken critic of the mayor and his politics. Vaughan has consistently proven he's not afraid to go toe-to-toe with Ford, even if it results in a shouting match. A vote for Vaughan is unlikely for anyone on the fence about the incumbent mayor.
In March, Vaughan wrote a letter of apology to Doug Ford's executive assistant Amin Massoudi after being heard saying "there go the Blackshirts" as the pair were seen entering the mayor's office. Other controversies could make him an easy target during a Ford campaign.
GEORGIO MAMMOLITI
What a story it would be: Rob Ford's attack dog barks his way to the top of the pack. Mammoliti, in reality, is actually something of an enigma. A one-time NDP MPP, the veteran councillor was one of 12 party members to break ranks and vote against Bob Rae's Bill 167 that would have extended civil rights to same-sex couples.
Before he was the mayor's right hand man, Mammoliti was a strong critic of Rob Ford and the pair frequently clashed as representatives of neighbouring wards. According to Grid writer David Topping, who has a detailed list of insults traded between the pair, Mammoliti has called Ford an "idiot" and a "goon." Ford has used the pejoratives "snake" and "weasel" in response. Ah, friends.
DOUG HOLYDAY
The Jekyll to Ford's Hyde, Doug Holyday is a generally considered a more palatable fiscal conservative for those on other parts of council's political spectrum. The last mayor of Etobicoke before amalgamation and present deputy under Ford, Holyday has long advocated low spending and prides himself on an excellent attendance record, missing just 1.2 per cent of votes this term.
Holyday recently made headlines for his "little Ginny" comment during a debate on a quota for family-friendly units in new downtown condos. After questioning where downtown kids would play, the deputy mayor said "I could just see now: 'Where's little Ginny?' 'Well, she's downstairs playing in the traffic on her way to the park!'" Holyday hasn't ruled out a run, yet.
KAREN STINTZ
The current TTC chair and Ward 16 Eglinton-Lawrence rep famous for her opposition to Ford on One City could, conceivably, have a good run. Possible targets for her opponents would be the OneCity transit plan, pitched out of nowhere with councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker, that was pummeled into dust by the province, Metrolinx and city council.
KRISTYN WONG-TAM
Although she's an outside bet, Wong-Tam has had a strong first stint at council after being elected by a hair in the 2010 Toronto Centre-Rosedale vote. A former Timothy's franchise and art gallery owner, the tireless worker has championed the preservation of heritage buildings in her ward and been a strong voice for LGBTQ community issues. Wong-Tam hasn't clearly signaled she'd like to run at this stage but that hasn't stopped people wishing she would.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments section. Who do you think the best candidates would be? Is it time the conservative members of council endorsed someone other than a member of the Ford family?
Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.
Photos: "Vote here sign" by asianz , "Olivia Chow at Robocall Protest in Toronto" by Ryan Kelpin, in the blogTO Flickr pool and Chris Bateman/blogTO.
Discussion
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Respectfully, a vote for Olivia is a vote for Jack and Jack is no longer with us.
But it would have to be a head-to-head match up, to avoid vote splitting, and even then,I still don't love her odds. His base is fired up, are the anti-Ford voters as eager? That's certainly the case where I live, but I can't assume that's the same for the city as a whole.
Is this fool literally retarded? Will he be using his own money to campaign ?
It would be a very sad day if the people of Toronto vote this blundering, diaper-boy clown in office.
Incidentally, I'm pretty sure OneCity was highly popular. Don't see how an attempt to produce a comprehensive transit plan, whether successful or not, will count as baggage.
And if you really think that "a mayor should mayor the whole city (sic)", that's yet another reason to not vote for Ford. He has raised the practice of pitting various areas and constituencies against each other to an art form.
If you vote for me, I will make sure that "artists" don't receive any more of taxpayer's money via grants. I will force all so-called "musicians" to get real jobs, and ban all Fine Arts programs at universities.
Lovingly yours,
Moneesha
For the good of the city I hope another conservative doesn't win, but as long as he/she is not too extreme (and inept) like Ford I think those of a liberal persuasion will cut him/her some slack. We can't do any worse than Rob Ford, so it's all uphill from here.
And while I personally like him, I think it's a bit of a stretch to categorize Adam Vaughn as a "credible" candidate. He is toxic to voters beyond the boundaries of old Toronto, and is widely viewed as a caricature of the "typical leftie, downtown socialist". His proposed ban on bullets is a persistent source of ridicule to his opponents, and if things ever slow down on NewsTalk 1010, all they have to do is mention his name, and the phone lines light up with people foaming at the mouth. He is like red meat to the suburban Ford voters. He might well have won pre-amalgamation, but he stands no chance now. And after Ford, the city can't really afford another polarizing mayor.
He even has a Toronto: ARRRRRRRRGOOOOOOOOOOOSSSS! jersey in his closet.(before they won the Grey Cup to boot!!)
Check him out @hulkmayor and read his 20 questions in our blog
http://www.fslocal.com/toronto/blog/2012-12/20-questions-with-hulkmayor/
Thankfully those commenting above seem not to represent the views of Toronto as a whole.
Chow is making more $$$ as an MP than she will make as mayor. She faces less opposition and BS in Ottawa than even thinking of running for civic office.
See? We need a new perspective at city hall. Anybody?
"How about somebody run for mayor, right here, in the COMMENTS thread? A BlogTO'er should run, just for the sake of it."
If you read my comment above, I said that I was running. Support me or pay the ultimate price: a city full of tree-hugging, leftist, living-at-home "artists".
My Toronto only includes ppl who work real jobs. Privatize everything. And, let the taxpayers be free from the busy-body nanny state. And, long live SHARK FIN SOUP!. Yum!
Can't wait to see the candidates falling over each other promising to "respect the taxpayer", no doubt the theme of the next couple of elections.
Rob Ford's essence will linger long after he's gone.
Rob Ford's essence will linger long after he's gone.
He's the only hope for this city right now.
Signed,
Downtown liberal
I can't believe people still think 'they lived in subsidized housing' all because of a 22-year-old Star article based on some BS that Tom Jakobek, paragon of honesty that he is, told the journalist and which has long since been debunked.
We need somebody to stand up against the big money developers and anybody else messing up our fair city, and John Tory isn't it; the man's a member of the party that fracked up Toronto and most of Ontario, for gosh sakes. Are we so tired of Ford that we get a neocon lite version of him in his place?
As well, it's time that a person of color gets elected to high office in this city, and I think that either Wang-Tam or Chow fit the bill a lot more than just another white face.
A byelection would be a disaster for all the Ford-haters. Nothing will energize his supporters more than him being ousted from office by an unelected judge at the behest of downtown left-wing "elites". It's an easy story for him to sell. The only hope for getting rid of Ford is to have someone else appointed for the remainder of the term.
If you've ever heard him give a policy talk, for example, on the role of planning and land use, his acumen inspires a lot of confidence.
So someone please explain it. I'm open to being educated.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jby21VsP2og
I also don't get how he gets pigeonholed as someone who is beholden to developers, when his constituents actually have his support in getting the right kind of developments in their neighbourhood and using the developer fee revenue for projects to improve the neighbourhood instead of using the property tax base.
Unless some fantasy centrist comes along (he/she won't), we're stuck with this polarizing, US-style left/right nonsense every four years and nothing will get accomplished, just like NOTHING has since the birth of the megacity. Time to start thinking of a mutually beneficial solution.
He's a great representative for a downtown ward, as he understands his constituents, having spent his entire life in "old Toronto".
He's obviously very intelligent, but doesn't take great pains to hide the fact that he knows that, which can rub some people the wrong way. He also makes little effort to hide his glee when criticizing the mayor over his many missteps, and has been quite strident in his (totally valid) attacks on the mayor.
A lot of it comes down to the fact that he is the physical and ideological representative of the "downtown leftie elitist" caricature that Ford and his supporters have created. He is the Emmanuel Goldstein to Rob Ford's Big Brother. And the proposed ban on bullets was dumb.
You will probably get a better answer from someone who actually despises him, but I know from talking to conservative friends and acquaintances, listening to talk radio and reading the Post (and sometimes the Sun - but mainly for laughs), that the hate is very real, and it runs deep.
WE CAN DO BETTER. No i'm not a conservative and happen to despise Rob Ford, but my god, we can do so much better than Chow. I just can't understand the excitement behind voting for this woman.