Sarah Thomson considers ditching mayoral run for council bid

Sarah Thomson is seeking input on whether she should abandon her mayoral bid in favour of a run for a council seat.

Thomson appealed to the public on Twitter on Wednesday to take part in a poll on her website.

In a preamble appearing above the poll, it is explained that "as the only truly Liberal candidate in the race," Thomson feels she has been under fire since launching her mayoral campaign.

"Political insiders, motivated by the burning desire to unseat Rob Ford feared vote splitting and pushed to have the race narrowed to 1 challenger who would need liberal support to win," the preamble says.

"Sarah's concern is that she will split the progressive vote and her ideas to build a stronger Toronto will not gain the widespread support if she continues her run for the mayor's office. One option for her is to run for a city council where she will have a better chance of bringing her ideas to city hall."

People participating in the poll on her site are then asked to click yes or no — a yes vote being in favour of seeing her pursue a council seat, while a no vote indicating support for seeing her stay in the mayoral race.

Thomson previously ran for mayor in 2010, but eventually dropped out and threw her support to George Smitherman, the former Ontario cabinet minister who placed second in the race behind Ford.

This time around, dozens of people are running for mayor, including both Ford and Thomson. The election is on Oct. 27.

The current mayoral race has already seen one high-profile candidate drop out. Coun. Karen Stintz announced in August that she would end her bid to become the city’s next mayor and also that she would not be running for council again.