Crisanti fires back at Tory after being removed as deputy mayor
Coun. Vincent Crisanti is speaking out after he was removed of his duties as one of the city’s deputy mayors.
On Tuesday, Mayor John Tory announced that Coun. Stephen Holyday would be replacing Crisanti as the deputy mayor for Etobicoke after the Ward 1 councillor announced he would be backing Doug Ford in the next mayoral election.
“I thank Councillor Crisanti for his time in this position. But based on his words and actions over the past few days, he has clearly stated he does not support my administration and intends to campaign for another candidate who has an approach that I believe will take the city backwards,” Tory said in a statement.
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Crisanti spoke at Ford Fest last Friday when Doug Ford announced he would be running against Tory in the next mayoral election.
Crisanti is firing back, saying the role of deputy mayor was less about collaboration and more of a “one way street.”
“I accepted the position to support policies that put Torontonians first and move our City forward, and that is exactly what I did as Deputy Mayor and will continue to do as an advocate for my community,” Crisanti said in a statement released on Friday.
“I also believed that, as Deputy Mayor, I would be part of a team and be given the respect of an open door policy with the Mayor, which unfortunately was never the case. There was very little collaboration around policy initiatives and announcements that the Mayor was part of. It is clear now that Mayor Tory’s definition of the role of Deputy Mayor was a one way street.”
He also claimed Tory knew about this allegiances when he was asked to take on the role of deputy mayor.
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Crisanti said regardless of political leanings he has “worked tirelessly to deliver on the mandate he gave me and I have served diligently in carrying out the duties and responsibilities entrusted to me as Deputy Mayor.”
The Etobicoke North councillor said Tory has used “bad judgement and has demonstrated poor leadership” in handling this issue.
Crisanti’s replacement Holyday is the son of former city councillor Doug Holyday – who served as deputy mayor under the late Rob Ford.
