Recent candidates announce mayoral bids following John Tory's plan to step down

Hours after Toronto Mayor John Tory said he'll be stepping down from the role, recent mayoral candidates are announcing their bids to take over his post.

The announcements come after the Toronto Star reported on Tory's relationship with a former employee in his office Friday — something Tory called a "serious error in judgment" that risked "tarnishing" the city's top job.

The runner-up for the mayor of Toronto in the last municipal election Gil Penalosa says despite the short notice, he's ready to run again with the same platform as before, saying Tory is "creating a crisis" that "should not have happened."

"I think that it's an opportunity for Toronto to elect someone that will work on creating a Toronto for everyone," Penalosa told CBC Toronto.

"Many candidates that would have run if Tory was not running, they didn't run because they thought Tory had too much money and power."

Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie, a Scarborough councillor who was re-elected to a second term in last October's election and an ally of Tory's, will take over until a new mayor is elected. According to provincial legislation, a byelection is likely to take place in the coming months.

Penalosa, an urbanist, and founder and chair of the non-profit 8 80 Cities, was one of Tory's most vocal challengers during the campaign. He garnered almost 18 per cent of the total vote, whereas Tory came in with over 60 per cent of the votes cast.

Penalosa's platform included housing zoning reform, creating what he says would be the longest urban trail network in North America, and expanding rapid bus transit. He also proposed to tear down the Gardiner Expressway East and build housing on it instead. 

Blake Acton, who came in fourth for mayor in the October election, announced on Twitter he'll be running again as well.

He says he was "flooded with calls and texts" following Tory's resignation, and that Torontonians should elect him for a "safe and clean" city.

"Tory has stepped down, this is the time the people of Toronto need to demand Blake Acton become Mayor of Toronto!" he wrote on Twitter.

The next mayor will be tasked with taking over policy on key issues that have been coming to a head in recent weeks, including council's decision not to open 24/7 warming centres for unhoused people and combatting rising violence on the TTC. 

Councillor, ex-city staffer weigh in on next mayor

Jennifer Keesmaat, former chief city planner and a 2018 candidate for mayor, received support from many online urging her to run for the byelection.

Speaking with CBC News, the current urban planner ruled out her bid for the role. But she said some "really great candidates" are lining up and talking about the opportunity to transform Toronto behind closed doors.

"I think it's a really important job, and it's a job where if done right, can really shift the trajectory of the city," said Keesmaat.

"I couldn't be more passionate about what I'm doing and I'm going to stick to that course."

Former downtown city councillor Joe Cressy, who did not run for re-election, citing "a desire to be a present dad," says he will not be running for mayor, despite receiving many inquiries about whether he'd step in to try to replace Tory.

"While recent events have changed the political landscape, they haven't changed my desire to be a more active and present dad," Cressy said in a statement posted to Twitter on Sunday.

Toronto-St. Paul's councillor Josh Matlow, who's also been fielding comments to run for mayor, urged residents and council not to let the news about Tory distract people from the task at hand next week: cementing the city's budget.

"We are going to be debating whether or not we're going to allow our infrastructure to continue to crumble, our parks to receive the lack of maintenance that they do today, and, you know, bottom line is we also have people out on our streets in the cold who don't have anywhere to go," Matlow told CBC News Network.

Matlow wouldn't confirm if he'd run for mayor, and says he isn't sure when he'll provide an answer.

"It is a huge sacrifice to run for mayor. That being said though, I care deeply about this city, and that's why I'm intentionally hedging because I want to have these conversations," said Matlow.

Isabella Gamk, an advocate for people with disabilities and people on welfare, plans to run for mayor. Gamk is founder of POOF, which stands for Protecting ODSP OW Funding. Gamk run for mayor last year.

The group wants the Ontario Disability Support Program shelter allowance to be quadrupled and the ODSP basic needs allowance to be doubled. Ontario Works needs to be increased 150 per cent, Gamk said.

"Anybody who is on welfare is ending up on the street. I want to make the public aware of this," Gamk said. "It's not a choice to be homeless. It's a predicament or situation that people find themselves in."

Gamk said Tory did nothing in eight years to draw attention to the plight of unhoused and precariously unhoused people in Toronto.

"I want you to know that Gil Penalosa is not the only one running. I'm running as well," Gamk said.