Group wants John Tory to run for mayor
Posted November 8, 2013 1:37 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A group of “concerned citizens” has drawn up a petition calling on radio host and former politician John Tory to run for mayor of Toronto.
The website for the Draft John Tory movement calls the city “world-class” and says its residents should be proud to live there.
“We need serious leadership for a change,” the group said.
“There are many qualified individuals who could lead this city, and John Tory is one of them. He can deliver real, honest leadership when we need it most.”
The campaign comes amid a heightened drug scandal surrounding Mayor Rob Ford.
Ford has admitted to smoking crack cocaine, but has refused to step down or take a leave of absence as many are pressuring him to do.
Tory, 59, said earlier this week he hasn’t decided whether or not he’ll run.
“I know that people are looking and saying, ‘Does he have in the back of his mind that he might run?’” Tory told Breakfast Television host Kevin Frankish on Wednesday.
“I have said very clearly I’m not going to consider that issue in terms of any kind of serious consideration until the time for the campaign comes. But right now I’m going about my jobs that I have with CivicAction and radio and various things.”
Tory lost to David Miller in the 2003 mayoral election and withdrew his name from the 2010 race against Ford. He was the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario from 2004-2009 and a former president of Rogers Media.
Neither Tory nor the group behind the petition could be reached for comment.
