Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly has arguably become Toronto's most powerful politician after an unprecedented vote saw much of Mayor Rob Ford's power transferred to the long-time municipal politician.
The 72-year-old veteran councillor had remained relatively quiet on the recent troubles that have surrounded Ford. But after Toronto police confirmed the existence of an infamous crack video, Kelly publicly urged the mayor to take some time off.
On Tuesday, one day after Toronto council overwhelming voted to strip Ford of much of his office's budget and power, transferring it over Kelly, the deputy mayor said he's not running the city alone. He noted that municipal politics run on cooperation.
"Lately that working relationship between mayor's office and members of council, even the mayor's executive committee, has broken down," he told CTV News Channel. "I'm going to be part of the team -- that's the key word -- that repairs that."
Here are five things to know about Kelly as he prepares to take a larger role on Toronto’s political landscape:
He's a veteran politician
Kelly served as a Scarborough alderman for six years and sat as a Liberal MP under former prime minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau from 1980 to 1984. He unsuccessfully ran for Scarborough mayor in 1985 and 1988, placing second both times. He was elected to the old Metro council in 1994 and the new Toronto council in 1997. He’s won a seat in each municipal election since then.
He's been described as a 'political chameleon'
Kelly has worked with both left-leaning and right-leaning mayors -- serving on council's executive committee for the Mel Lastman, David Miller and Ford's administrations. He was appointed deputy mayor by Ford after Coun. Doug Holyday moved to provincial politics.
He's a trained historian
Kelly studied Canadian political history at the undergraduate and post-graduate levels. One of the books he worked on – The National Dream – won Canada's most prestigious literary prize, the Governor General's Award, and was later turned into an award-winning documentary that aired on CBC.
He has controversial views on climate change
Kelly has been criticized for his skepticism about global warming and humans' impact on climate change. In 2007 he said there's "no consensus" on the warming climate or the cause. He made similar comments at a committee meeting earlier this year, which troubled some of his colleagues, particularly since he’s the chair of council’s parks and environment committee.
He considers himself a peacemaker
Prior to council overwhelmingly voting in favour of stripping Ford of more powers and slashing his office budget, the mayor declared "outright war" on his council colleagues, leaving many at city hall speechless.
Kelly later made a declaration of his own. “The mayor wants to wage war, I want to wage peace,” he tweeted on Monday afternoon.
