Why it’s not about winning for some mayoral candidates

While Torontonians will have more options than ever before when they head to the polls to pick a new mayor, only a few were able to leverage the resources, political experience, or name recognition needed to run a winning campaign.

On a ballot 102 names long, each has had their own reasons for running for a position they’re unlikely to win. But that wasn’t always the goal.

CityNews caught up with three outliers about how they are reframing what it means to win.

Sarah Climenhaga

Sarah Climenhaga, who entered the mayoral race for the third election in a row, told CityNews she doesn’t run specifically to get the most votes.

“I run for my ideas,” she said.

Policy ideas that include eliminating TTC fares, improving access to parkland in the city, or giving half our road space back to people, whether that’s express transit, a wide bike lane or a street café.

Kiri Vadivelu

Kiri Vadivelu also had his name on the ballot in October’s municipal election. He garnered about 10 per cent of the vote in Scarborough Centre, placing fourth.

A member of the Municipal Socialist Alliance, Vadivelu is running to elevate his political movement to city hall. His platform includes cutting the police budget by at least 50 per cent, and increased taxes on big business and the rich.

“This is a grassroots campaign,” he said. “For us, getting people engaged, and building that class consciousness is a victory.”

Bahira Abdulsalam

Bahira Abdulsalam admits she put her name forward for mayor to win. The structural engineer boasts her background outside of politics, noting most of the city’s projects are engineering projects.

“I am trying to fill this gap,” she said.

But Abdulsalam is also a renter, a single mother of three, someone she describes as living the issues.

She knows getting elected would be a longshot but pointed out it’s been a narrow race. Candidates outside the status quo were not given an equal opportunity to share their ideas on the mainstream stage, she noted.

“I think this is unfair not just for me as a candidate but for everybody in Toronto,” said Abdulsalam, who questions what it will mean for the possibility for change in our democracy. “Many people will say okay if there is someone already winning, the result is already available, why would we go and vote?”

In October, John Tory was re-elected with just 40 per cent of eligible voters casting a ballot. Climenhaga thinks having so many in the running this time around might be the difference.

“Each candidate goes out and spreads news that an election is happening,” she said.

Now the hope is that the winning candidate draws on the vision of other people.

“It is about those ideas of how we can make our city better. The further they go, the more I’ll feel like my campaign was worth it.”

Vadivelu shares that sentiment.

“Our ideas are solutions, so it doesn’t matter who implements them.”