'Her priorities lie elsewhere': Bradford slams mayor for removing him as vice-chair from housing committee

City councillor Brad Bradford is accusing Mayor Olivia Chow of choosing “politics over progress” following her decision to remove him as vice-chair of Toronto’s housing committee.

Chow formally announced a shuffle of several key city committees on Monday morning, including the appointment of Coun. Frances Nunziata as the vice-chair of the housing committee and the removal of Bradford from the committee entirely.

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Chow also removed Bradford from the boards of CreateTO and the Toronto Parking Authority.

"The halfway point in any administrationis a great chance to take stock, and focus on priorities, including building more homes, feeding more kids and getting Toronto moving," Mayor Chow said in a statement to CTV News Toronto.

"Councillor Bradford is an important voice in housing at the City and will continue his work on the Planning and Housing Committee. The housing committee is focussed on urgently building affordable housing, ensuring the success of the public builder model, protecting renters and unlocking an increased supply of market and nonprofit housing. Councillor Nunziata has shown a strong commitment to renters and will add a valuable perspective to the committee chair."

In a statement posted on social media following the shuffle, Bradford called Chow's "priorities" into question and accused her of making a “political decision.”

The Beaches-East York councillor went on to say that despite their differences, he had believed that he and Chow were at least aligned about housing but now believes that she is choosing "politics over progress on the housing file."

"Instead of finding pragmatic solutions to the crisis, the mayor and her team are doubling down on their ideological commitment to the Public Builder model, which will just build more bureaucracy instead of building more housing," Bradford said.

Bradford, a former city planner, served as chair of the housing committee under former mayor John Tory.

He ran against Chow in the 2023 mayoral byelection but finished a distant eight.