Ending months of speculation, John Tory has officially joined the race to be elected Toronto's next mayor, alongside a growing number of other high-profile candidates including former TTC chair Karen Stintz.
Tory, a former Ont. PC party leader, mayoral candidate and radio personality, arrived at city hall to file his nomination papers Monday morning, one day after he announced his intention to join the race for Toronto's top job.
Speaking to reporters, Tory repeated the message in his campaign launch video, saying he vows to make building a subway relief line his top priority if elected mayor.
"People are like sardines…trying to get around the city…let's get on with it," Tory said.
He also promised low taxes and a more functional city hall in his bid to unseat Rob Ford on Oct. 27, 2014.
Asked about how he plans on building a downtown relief line while keeping taxes low, Tory said he will unveil a detailed financial plan during the course of his campaign.
Tory officially joined the race the same day Coun. Karen Stintz also filed her nomination papers Monday morning. Joined by her two children, the Ward 16 councillor also vowed to build a downtown relief line.
"I want to focus on alleviating congestion," Stintz told reporters at city hall, adding she would turn to the province for funding "without asking people to pay more."
Both Stintz and Tory join an already crowded field, which include current Mayor Rob Ford, former councillor David Soknacki, and dozens of lesser-known candidates.
Asked about how he intends to run his mayoral bid, Tory said he plans on running a "positive campaign."
"How others choose to run their campaign is entirely up to them," Tory told reporters.
This is the second time Tory is running to be Toronto’s mayor. In 2003, he unsuccessfully ran against David Miller. Other potential mayoral candidates include NDP MP Olivia Chow, and Coun. Denzil Minnan-Wong.
