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Senior Member
Suitors woo Smitherman as mayoral candidate
Health Minister pledges loyalty to province
JAMES RUSK
April 4, 2008
TORONTO -- A loose backroom political coalition that supported former mayor Mel Lastman is ready to back provincial Health Minister George Smitherman as its candidate for mayor of Toronto in the next municipal campaign.
One member of the group confirmed discussions about a possible Smitherman candidacy but, like others in the coalition, asked not to be named because talks with - and about - prospective candidates are still preliminary.
Mr. Smitherman, who is also Ontario's deputy premier, said in a statement that he is aware of the interest in him as a possible candidate, but he is focused on his cabinet job.
"I am a son of Toronto, so it's flattering to be asked," Mr. Smitherman said in an e-mail message relayed through his communication staff.
"But nobody should doubt that my current job in support of my premier, Dalton McGuinty, and all Ontarians is an enormous privilege and occupying all my energies."
Potential backers believe that even if the minister were eventually to become a candidate, he should for now stay at the Health Ministry and do the best job he can.
The members of the group said that despite Mr. Smitherman's high profile at Queen's Park, he may find running for mayor attractive as he likely has gone as high in provincial politics as he ever will, and that if he is ever to reach a top job, it would be easiest at the city, where he was chief of staff to former mayor Barbara Hall.
They also said they believe that neither a current councillor nor a high-profile political neophyte would be as effective a candidate as Mr. Smitherman, who would bring a high, city-wide profile and a proven set of political skills to the race.
The coalition is made up of a floating group of political fundraisers from the business community, veteran campaign managers and local political activists that coalesces around a chosen mayoralty candidate when it decides to get into a municipal election.
While the backroom group is more than a year away from laying hands on a preferred candidate for the Nov. 8, 2010, election, the process of selecting a mayoral horse to back is already under way. Hopeful candidates have already begun canvassing key backers for support.
The coalition, an alliance with both Liberal and Conservative party roots, has played a key role in recent city elections, backing Mr. Lastman's two winning campaigns in 1997 and 2000, as well as John Tory's narrow loss to Mayor David Miller in 2003.
In the 2006 race, it stayed on the sidelines as Mr. Miller beat councillor Jane Pitfield.
The consensus in the group is that it has to get back in the next race, either against Mr. Miller, if he chooses to run a third time, or against whomever the political left backs as his successor.
By late next summer, the coalition hopes to settle on a candidate and offer them both campaign funding and an organization that will allow them to run hard early in 2010.
It also hopes to avoid making the mistake that the centre-right made in 2003, when the presence of former MP John Nunziata split its vote, and it will use its muscle to make certain that candidates it does not perceive as viable don't get into the race.
Health Minister pledges loyalty to province
JAMES RUSK
April 4, 2008
TORONTO -- A loose backroom political coalition that supported former mayor Mel Lastman is ready to back provincial Health Minister George Smitherman as its candidate for mayor of Toronto in the next municipal campaign.
One member of the group confirmed discussions about a possible Smitherman candidacy but, like others in the coalition, asked not to be named because talks with - and about - prospective candidates are still preliminary.
Mr. Smitherman, who is also Ontario's deputy premier, said in a statement that he is aware of the interest in him as a possible candidate, but he is focused on his cabinet job.
"I am a son of Toronto, so it's flattering to be asked," Mr. Smitherman said in an e-mail message relayed through his communication staff.
"But nobody should doubt that my current job in support of my premier, Dalton McGuinty, and all Ontarians is an enormous privilege and occupying all my energies."
Potential backers believe that even if the minister were eventually to become a candidate, he should for now stay at the Health Ministry and do the best job he can.
The members of the group said that despite Mr. Smitherman's high profile at Queen's Park, he may find running for mayor attractive as he likely has gone as high in provincial politics as he ever will, and that if he is ever to reach a top job, it would be easiest at the city, where he was chief of staff to former mayor Barbara Hall.
They also said they believe that neither a current councillor nor a high-profile political neophyte would be as effective a candidate as Mr. Smitherman, who would bring a high, city-wide profile and a proven set of political skills to the race.
The coalition is made up of a floating group of political fundraisers from the business community, veteran campaign managers and local political activists that coalesces around a chosen mayoralty candidate when it decides to get into a municipal election.
While the backroom group is more than a year away from laying hands on a preferred candidate for the Nov. 8, 2010, election, the process of selecting a mayoral horse to back is already under way. Hopeful candidates have already begun canvassing key backers for support.
The coalition, an alliance with both Liberal and Conservative party roots, has played a key role in recent city elections, backing Mr. Lastman's two winning campaigns in 1997 and 2000, as well as John Tory's narrow loss to Mayor David Miller in 2003.
In the 2006 race, it stayed on the sidelines as Mr. Miller beat councillor Jane Pitfield.
The consensus in the group is that it has to get back in the next race, either against Mr. Miller, if he chooses to run a third time, or against whomever the political left backs as his successor.
By late next summer, the coalition hopes to settle on a candidate and offer them both campaign funding and an organization that will allow them to run hard early in 2010.
It also hopes to avoid making the mistake that the centre-right made in 2003, when the presence of former MP John Nunziata split its vote, and it will use its muscle to make certain that candidates it does not perceive as viable don't get into the race.
