28 candidates sign up to run for Toronto mayor

More than two dozen contenders thrust their arms forward with nomination papers Monday as the race to become Toronto's next mayor officially kicked off.

In all, 28 people signed up to run on the first day of the nomination period, which will run for more than a month, ending on May 12.

The list includes five current and former city councillors, a former police chief, a former education minister, a newspaper columnist, several civic activists and others.

In a race thrust wide-open by former mayor John Tory's unexpected departure, there are no immediate front-runners.

Ana Bailão was the first in line to put her name down to run and arrived with several supporters from council. The former councillor spent 12 years on Toronto City Council and was an ally of Tory’s. She has said that she would focus on restoring confidence in the TTC and on uploading the Don Valley Parkway and Gardiner Expressway back to the province as part of a new fair deal for the city if elected.

Speaking with reporters as she signed up to run for mayor, Bailão said the city needs a person with the right experience for the job.

“You need somebody that has the experience inside city hall, that has the relationships to work, to bring the plan that we're going to get through the election, to work with city councillors to make sure that we get the city moving, to make sure that it has the relationships with the other levels of government, to make sure that we get those funds that the city needs to ensure sustainable, predictable sources of funding for the city,” Bailão said.

Councillor Brad Bradford, currently in his second term, was second to sign up.

“It’s never been more expensive, less safe, and more difficult to get around this city," Bradford told reporters.

He said that council “gets seized with endless debates” and residents would like to see more action and less talk.

“This is a new chapter for Toronto, generational leadership, someone with the energy and the focus to drive things forward and someone who's not afraid to make a decision,” Bradford said.

Council. Josh Matlow followed a short time later, arriving with his family.

“I’m determined to make Toronto a liveable, safe and affordable city the way that I know it can be. I’m running on a campaign that will be evidence-based, will be honest and will be funded to be able to actually achieve our results," Matlow said.

The city “can do things differently,” he added.

“I just I mean I want a public service that speaks truth to power and isn't just used as a tool of the mayor's office but actually is objective, independent, and always comes forward with facts,” he said. “And I want a city council that works on behalf of Torontonians with the mayor, as a team.”

Another longtime councillor, Matlow had been a frequent critic of Mayor John Tory. He’s said he would establish a “city works fund” that would cost the average homeowner about $67 a year and bring in $390 million over 3 years to maintain city services.

Former Toronto police chief Mark Saunders, who held that post from 2015 to 2020, also signed up to run Monday.

“We are at that tipping point, that is why I am running,” Saunders said. “We are moving in a wrong direction. If we are going to get this right, we have to be safe. If we are not safe, we are not healthy.”

Liberal MPP Mitzi Hunter, who served as education minister under the Wynne government, also threw her hat in the ring.

“I certainly have the experience to hold Premier Ford to account,” she said. “I will be a strong advocate for the people of Toronto.”

Former Toronto Sun columnist Anthony Furey spoke to reporters after submitting his nomination, pitching his “fresh perspective.”

He said he is aiming to represent the “soccer moms, hockey dads and folks stuck in traffic.”

Former longtime councillor Giorgio Mammoliti also filed his paperwork to run for the city’s top job.

“We have got to pull up our socks and make sure that fiscal responsibility is a part of what we’re doing here,” Mammoliti said on Monday morning, pointing to his pitch for a line-by-line city audit.

Whoever does win the mayor’s seat will inherit a tough job, with Toronto staring down the barrel of hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of service cuts due to a COVID-19 hangover – mainly from a loss pf TTC revenue – that has not gone away. The federal government has already said that it will not be coming forward with money to bail out the city, while the provincial government has been noncommittal about providing more funds to help municipalities bear the burden.

Safety on the TTC, the future of the city’s waterfront and tackling the housing crisis will also be part of the portfolio for Toronto's next mayor.

But that person will also be armed with strong mayor powers conferred on the mayor by the province several months ago. The new powers, which John Tory had already used multiple times in the few months he held them, will give Toronto’s top elected official more say than ever over how the city is run.

Toronto voters will head to the polls to pick a new mayor on June 26.

The full list of candidates can be found on the city’s website.

- with files from The Canadian Press