David Soknacki pulls out of Toronto mayoral race

And then there were three. David Soknacki has decided to withdraw from the Toronto mayoral race, leaving Olivia Chow, John Tory, and Rob Ford as the leading contenders for the city's top elected position. (Well, I guess they were always the three main contenders, but still, it's sad to see the only candidate with legitimately exciting ideas throw in the towel.)

"While my support is growing, it simply is not growing quickly enough to make any positive difference to the outcome on Election Day," Soknacki said in a statement. "While we fought this as a campaign of ideas, we've also heard from voters who've told us that removing Mayor Ford is their top priority."

"I am incredibly grateful for the loyal and strong support I've received so far. We have more volunteers, better morale and more donors than ever - but I also feel that asking my supporters to sacrifice more time, more energy and more commitment under these circumstances just isn't right, especially when we have succeeded in making such a strong statement on so many fronts already," he wrote.

Despite receiving widespread acclaim for his ideas, the former city councillor and budget chief trailed in the polls since declaring his candidacy, often running fifth behind Karen Stintz and never achieving above five percent support.

Soknacki, who has spent more than $100,000 of his own money on his campaign to date, said his name will be formally withdrawn from the mayoral ballot tomorrow, but didn't rule out making a run for city council.

Rival John Tory congratulated Soknacki and his team on an "energetic and positive" campaign. "Torontonians are fortunate that citizens of David's calibre continue to stand up for what they believe by standing for office so that our city can move forward. I thank him and wish him all the very best," he said in a statement.

Earlier today, fringe candidate Sarah Thomson also announced her decision to drop out and run for the council seat in Ward 20 Trinity-Spadina.

Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.

Image: HiMY SYeD/blogTO Flickr pool.