The city clerk has already set out a timeline for the race to replace the former Mayor, John Tory, with voters expected to head to the polls on June 26, but that plan is subject to council approval this week.
Once council passes a bylaw requiring a byelection, nominations for the mayoral race would be expected to open April 3 and close May 12, with advance voting available from June 8 to June 13.
Tory stepped down last month after revealing he had an “inappropriate affair” with someone who used to work on his staff.
In his statement, Tory thanked his staff, his colleagues, the city’s public service and the people of Toronto, saying he tried to unite the city during his tenure.
The position of Mayor is currently vacant. Until the vacancy is filled, Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie has assumed the powers and duties of the Mayor under the Council Procedures and has taken over day-to-day supervision of the Mayor’s office operations.
Until now there are some full-prepared candidates interested in succeeding John Tory.
The urbanist Gil Penalosa was one of the first candidates to declare that they would run in the mayoral election, making his intentions known to CP24 one day after John Tory announced his resignation.
Penalosa finished second in October’s municipal election but was nearly 250,000 votes behind Tory.
Also the retired police officer Blake Acton was quick to announce that he would run again following the resignation of the Mayor.
He has promised to make the TTC free but hasn’t provided specifics on how he would offset the revenue loss.
Giorgio Mammoliti, the outspoken former city councillor, is another name in the field. During his time in the council chambers he was known for his sometimes colourful advocacy – he once even ripped his shirt off to protest a planned nude beach at Hanlan’s point. In 2018 he also faced criticism after referring to some tenants in social housing buildings who were involved in criminality as “cockroaches.”