Never rush your bets. We have no idea just who and how many will be entered in the race for the Toronto mayor’s chair. The job pays just under $200,000 a year with lots of benefits. You have until 2 pm on May 12 to register as a candidate and the election day is June 26. Babel-on-the-Bay will have to hold its Morning Line until registration closes, in case there are any late surprises.
I cut my teeth on a municipal election back in the 1960s. It was when we were still having elections in December for the next year and I was putting up signs and canvassing in the early winter. My first-time candidate won easily with the simplistic campaign we had designed.
I have worked on campaigns for a number of mayors and councillors over the years but never in a city the size of Toronto. It means a much larger budget but the basics remain the same. I always resolved to try to bring a smile to voters’ faces when the candidate’s name was mentioned. Provincial and federal elections are actually much more difficult because the central campaigns take so much away from the individual candidates. I try to overcome this by designing and writing tabloids featuring the candidate and the candidate’s relationship with the community.
If you want to know who is the loose cannon in this race, you have to look to Queen’s Park. He might be premier, but Doug Ford has his own designs on this campaign and you can count on him to let you know how he wants Torontonians to vote. One of his problems is that there is already a surfeit of conservatives in the race. It has even put a strain on the availability of conservative campaign managers. Some conservatives solve the problem by hiring liberals who need the work to stay active. (Sorry, I’m retired.)
But that will not stop me from commenting occasionally through the campaign. There are some interesting candidates deserving to be noticed and some deserving of their sure defeat. Yes, name recognition will be a factor in this by-election but every candidate will have the same problem in getting out the vote. We could see a turnout as low as 35 per cent. The candidates can win the support but can they get it to the polls? You will see the problems when you see our Morning Line.
-30-
Copyright 2023 © Peter Lowry
Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to: