First real mayor’s race in five decades
Twenty candidates registered to run as of Friday deadline
A record number of candidates have put their name in the race to be Mississauga’s next mayor — including four current councillors, the ex-husband of the former mayor and a failed wannabe from last year’s Toronto mayoral election.
The mayoral byelection, taking place on June 10, is the first time in decades there seems to be a race with several strong candidates in the running — and no one with an incumbent advantage.
Although the number of candidates registered to run is the highest according to records on the city’s website — 20 when the nomination period officially closed Friday afternoon — it’s too early to say if that larger number alone will translate into a higher voter turnout, according to experts.
“We see more of a correlation between voter turnout and if there are quality candidates,” said Zachary Spicer, a professor in York University’s School of Public Policy and Administration. “And I think you will see a higher voter turnout because there is a high number of quality candidates, and also not a lot of certainty about who is the front-runner.”
For the past 46 years, the mayoral seat in Mississauga has been held by either Hazel McCallion, who was at the helm for 36 years, or Bonnie Crombie, who stepped down from the mayoral role in January after becoming provincial Liberal leader. The last time voter turnout saw a boost was in 2014, when Crombie ran for the first time, when 36 per cent of eligible voters cast their ballots.
Who’s running?
Among the candidates are four members of city council: Carolyn Parrish, Dipika Damerla, Alvin Tedjo and Stephen Dasko. Parrish stepped down from her Ward 5 seat after making her mayoral intentions known. The byelection for Ward 5 will also take place June 10, with 14 candidates running.
Polling done over the past month has shown long-time politician Parrish (also a Liberal MP in the early 2000s) in the lead, with Damerla, who was a Liberal MPP in second, and the newest local politician in the city, Tedjo, seeing significant gains.
The leading candidates are set to spar at several debates over the next few weeks, including one sponsored by local advocacy group More Homes Mississauga, which is pushing to make housing more accessible and affordable in the city.
Among the other candidates are Brian Crombie, the ex-husband of former mayor Crombie. The local radio host and businessman, who registered just this week, was ordered to pay $300,000 to the Ontario Securities Commission in 2009 after admitting his conduct violated Ontario securities law while he was chief financial officer at the pharmaceutical company Biovail.
Dennis Pilon, politics professor from York University, says that the assumption is often that name recognition would help a candidate to get votes, but he said, “it’s not a slam dunk,” and especially if there is little support from those who supported the previous politician.
Peter McCallion, the son of the city’s long-standing mayor Hazel McCallion, dropped out of the race on Thursday and endorsed Parrish. Soon after, Tedjo’s campaign announced they had the endorsement of Hazel’s granddaughter, Erika McCallion, who was working on their campaign.
Also running in Mississauga is Xiao Hua (Edward) Gong, who came in 11th in his run for the mayor’s seat in Toronto’s byelection last year. Gong’s campaign was notable for plastering the city with his campaign materials, including lawn signs, ads on flyers, TV, taxis and a billboard at Yonge-Dundas Square.
What are the issues?
The candidate’s platforms appear to share the same broader issues and priorities: increasing housing supply, addressing affordability, improving transit and strategies to fight crime. Spicer said the challenge will be to find a way for candidates to differentiate themselves, when generally voters are not engaged on municipal issues.
“It’s very tough because there is an information deficit,” he said, adding that so far there haven’t been any debates, nor much polling or media coverage around the race.
But one thing is clear from past elections: “Voters have always elected people who have strong personalities who are not afraid to defend the city and sell the city,” he said. “I think people will be looking for something like that.”
Who’s backing whom?
In a rare move, some of the candidates have gotten endorsements and shows of support from other municipal politicians: Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti has endorsed Damerla, while Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie has thrown his support behind Tedjo.
In an email, Bonnie Crombie said she wanted to leave the decision of mayor to voters alone.
“I am very pleased to see a number of fine candidates stepping forward, but I will not be making an endorsement as the former mayor.”
Also in the running are: Zulfiqar Ali, Diya Atassi, Jamie Dookie, Frank Fang, Winston Harding, Sara Iqbal, Syed Jaffery, Mohsin Khan, Mitchell MacEachern, Sinisa Mandrapa, Mike Matulewicz, David Shaw, George Tavares, Nathalie Xian Yi Yan.