Deputy mayor makes first public comments following John Tory’s abrupt resignation

cont’d from pg. 21 premier might encourage his nephew Michael Ford, who is currently an MPP, to run for the mayor’s chair.

A number of other names have been floated as well, such as former councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong, and current councillors Josh Matlow and Brad Bradford.

“I think we can tell already that it’s going to be a spirited, tough, energetic, contentious campaign,” Siemiatycki said. “We’ve seen that signal by Premier Ford’s comments yesterday. So I would imagine there will be some name candidates and they’ll be going at each other.”

Tory announced last Friday that he would be stepping down following the revelation that he had an affair with a woman on his staff. He subsequently said that he would remain as mayor long enough to see through the budget process. That process concluded in an all-day meeting that stretched late into the night Wednesday.

While some councillors had hailed Tory’s resignation as an opportunity to rewrite the budget, there were no major amendments proposed.

In a statement last night, the clerk’s office said all mayoral decisions made to date remain in effect.

Speaking with CP24 Thursday, Coun. Diane Saxe said she’s pleased that the question around Tory’s departure has been settled quickly.

“I’m glad that he didn’t drag us through a long period of uncertainty. That would have been very bad for the city,” she said. “The whole thing is very unfortunate. It certainly distracts us from the necessary business of the city, but at least we now know what to do. We’re moving forward. I’m sure that Jennifer McKelvey will steer us safely through the transition and it’s time to have a good conversation about the future of the city.”

She said she hopes whoever becomes the next mayor brings “a really thorough understanding” of the many challenges the city faces.

“It’s one of the largest governments in Canada and of the large governments, it’s the one with the most difficult financial challenges,” Saxe said. “We also need somebody of course with compassion to understand the ocean of needs that is really surrounding us, that has to somehow be balanced with our very limited resources.

“It’d be wonderful to have someone who can bring some inspiration and collaboration with other councillors.”

CP24

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