Those who want to be the next mayor of Mississauga can soon sign up
Published March 1, 2024 at 12:33 pm
Those who want to take a shot at succeeding Bonnie Crombie as mayor of Mississauga can officially enter the race starting next Wednesday.
Four City of Mississauga councillors and two former mayoral candidates have already made public their desire to seek office as the top elected official in Canada’s seventh-largest city.
The official nomination period, though, opens on March 6 at 3 p.m. following the passing earlier in the day by city council of a byelection bylaw.
Nominations will close on April 26, at 2 p.m., and the mayoral byelection campaign will then follow until election night on June 10.
The winner will become the seventh mayor of Mississauga, following Robert Speck (1968-72), Chic Murray (1972-73), Martin Dobkin (1973-76), Ron Searle (1976-78), Hazel McCallion (1978-2014) and Crombie (2014-24).
Crombie left her post as Mississauga mayor on Jan. 12 to grab the reins of the Ontario Liberal Party. She had earlier taken a leave from the city back in October and councillors since then have been taking turns serving as acting mayor.
In order to qualify as a candidate to succeed her, according to the city, mayoral byelection hopefuls must be:
- a Canadian citizen
- at least 18 years old
- a resident of Mississauga or owner or tenant of property in Mississauga or the spouse of an owner or tenant of property in the city
In order to run, candidates also must not be prohibited from doing so under the Municipal Elections Act or other law.
Each candidate must also pay a $200 nomination fee to the city.
For those interested in running, the city will host a free candidate information session on March 26 from 6 to 10 p.m. at city hall. Participants can also participate virtually.
Four members of Mississauga city council have already expressed interest in or declared they’ll be running to succeed Crombie.
Stephen Dasko (Ward 1), Alvin Tedjo (Ward 2), Carolyn Parrish (Ward 5) and Dipika Damerla (Ward 7) have all thrown their hats into the ring.
Former mayoral candidates George Tavares and David Shaw have also reportedly said they’ll enter the race.
Speaking in early December just after winning the Liberal leadership, Crombie said she expects the race to succeed her to be “an open field.”
She added she doesn’t plan on endorsing any one candidate.
There had been speculation Mississauga Ward 8 Coun. Matt Mahoney might enter the race, but he put an end to the idea with the release of a statement this week.
However, the councillor didn’t rule out a future run for the position.
“After careful consideration with my family, friends and hundreds of residents across Mississauga, I have made the tough decision not to run for the job of mayor of Mississauga in the upcoming byelection,” Mahoney, whose mother, Katie Mahoney, was a longtime member of Mississauga council, said in the statement. “While I may not be pursuing the mayor position at this time, I am not ruling out a run at a future date.”
Mahoney’s father, Steve Mahoney, is a veteran of provincial and federal politics and ran unsuccessfully for Mississauga mayor in 2014, finishing second to Crombie.
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