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WARMINGTON: Move over, folks, another Ford mulling run for Toronto mayor

Michael Ford, nephew of late mayor Rob Ford and Premier Doug Ford, kicking tires on potential run ahead of Oct. 26 election

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While it won’t be John Tory taking a swing to win the chains of office this fall in the Toronto mayoral race, it still could end up being Mayor Olivia Chow, Mayor Brad Bradford or, wait for it, Mayor Ford.

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You read that right. The silly season is officially here and you can thank Tory for that.

WARMINGTON: Move over, folks, another Ford mulling run for Toronto mayor Back to video

When Toronto’s 65th mayor announced Tuesday that he had decided to not come out of self-banishment and take a run against the woman who won his job in a special byelection after he resigned in 2023, it opened the floodgates for wannabe chief magistrates and the names are pouring in.

It’s great fun. It costs nothing. And it means even less. Anybody can put their hat in the ring. Still, when you see on social media that Premier Doug Ford’s venerable and well-liked 32-year-old nephew Michael Ford is kicking the tires on a potential run ahead of the Oct. 26 election, you certainly take notice.

He was, after all, on city council before, is the nephew of the legendary late great mayor Rob Ford, and served in his uncle Doug’s cabinet at Queen’s Park.

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Michael Ford tells the Toronto Sun that he will take the next month to make a decision on whether or not to enter the mayor’s race.

“This will no doubt be a pivotal election,” said Ford. “Public service has always been an integral part of my life, and it is for that reason that I am giving it consideration.”

But, mostly, it’s the state of the city and the cost of living in it that has compelled him to explore what he could do by following in his late uncle’s footsteps and lead Toronto as mayor.

“I am giving a 2026 mayoral run some strong consideration,” he said. “Like many Torontonians, we see that crime, congestion and skyrocketing property taxes are major issues that are top of mind for residents across our city.”

And he was not the only big name being floated around Wednesday.

Another former Doug Ford government cabinet minister, Rod Phillips, was also being talked about. Usually when his name comes up, it’s as a potential provincial or federal conservative leadership candidate, but it would make sense to try to take a shot at City Hall since he has been close to Tory and is highly qualified.

Former Liberal MP Celina Caesar-Chavannes’s name has been bandied about and many are wondering when Rob Ford’s daughter Stephanie Ford, 20, who is now a Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario executive member, will take a run at the family business.

Let’s not forget former police chief Mark Saunders and the much-respected former Toronto Sun columnist Anthony Furey, both of whom had a lot of support last election.

I’d like to see former Metro chair and founding Postmedia chair Paul Godfrey take a shot at it. When he was last in politics, Toronto was low in taxes and low in crime, but high in big ideas and big projects like bringing the Blue Jays here and building the CN Tower and the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

All of the names mentioned are qualified to run for mayor, but only one can win. Of course, all of this is mischief-making in that until someone registers, this is nothing more than speculation.

Even Mayor Olivia Chow hasn’t said if she is running for sure. Her chief rival, Councillor Brad Bradford, has indicated he is running, but we won’t know for sure until the nomination process opens on May 1 at 8:30 a.m. Candidates have until Aug. 21 at 2 p.m. to step into the batter’s box to take a swing at the top job.

Lots of people will. The last time, there were 102 names on the ballot.

Of course, many people would prefer to see just two main names vying for the job this time around: Chow to defend her record and Bradford, her main rival on council, to make his case that it’s time to go for a younger person raising a family in Toronto and with some fresh ideas.

Many believe that a split vote on the centre-right would give the more left-leaning Chow an edge. So Tory stepping aside changes the game in a big way. (As a sidenote, anybody throwing darts at Tory for being human might best remember that he’s paid enough of a price for this. He is a good man who has served Toronto, Ontario and Canada well.)

Sure, some lines were crossed when he admitted to an affair with a staffer, but it really was more of a personal family matter for Tory and his family. He is still in a relationship with the woman at the centre of this and some serious slack should be cut to both of them since many of those who are complaining have had their own personal failures, too.

Tory handled it like a man, left the first time like a man and made a grown up decision to not bother getting back into it. And he gave people enough time to get their own plans going. Full respect he’s earned for not stretching it out because he sure could have and very well may have completed his comeback because much of the public could care less who he loves.

The big news, though, is Toronto has a chance for a new chapter after Oct. 26. No one has to play by the club’s rules on this. Anybody can run and anything is possible in Toronto. Name recognition is a big thing in municipal elections.

Time will tell but it just very well may be Chow and Bradford won’t be the only two big names.

jwarmington@postmedia.com

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