From a McDonald’s GO station to the 2022 mayor’s race, here’s what you might have missed at Toronto city hall

Thestar.com
August 7, 2019
David Rider and Jennifer Pagliaro

Call it a midsummer night’s fever dream, but 2022 mayoral election chatter is a hot topic in an otherwise sleepy city hall. We have the dish, plus updates on the hiring of a former top official in Mayor John Tory’s office, an alarming story on rental housing’s 1 per cent, and a fact check on the push to rename GO stations after the highest bidder. Email us your hot summer tips -- but not your vacation photos -- at jpagliaro@thestar.ca and drider@thestar.ca.

Who will run the city in 2022?

Yes we know it’s still 2019 and the election was only last fall. But that has not stopped the rumour mill in our office over who on council is positioning themselves for a run for the mayor’s chair. Our colleague David Nickle wrote about it not being too early for Torontonians to consider what kind of city they want. Some names being floated by councillors and staffers:

• Joe Cressy, a left-leaning councillor who took a leadership role in fighting last-minute cuts from Premier Doug Ford’s provincial government, has said publicly he will not seek a third term on council. “If there was an election tomorrow, I would not be running for mayor, but it’s just too far away to think about what I’ll be doing in 2022,” said Cressy, whose first child is due in November.
• Josh Matlow, who beyond being very well liked in his midtown ward has also gained attention as an independent voice who has challenged Tory. Matlow says: “I was just elected less than a year ago to represent Toronto--St. Paul’s and my focus now is on the job I was elected to do.”
• Michael Thompson, a right-leaning Scarborough rep, says he’s “flattered that my name is coming up for such an honour but I have been super busy with economic development issues, jobs, housing, transit and so on. It’s the first year of a four-year term and it’s a long way from 2022. When I’ve been around the city people have said that and I’m surprised and flattered but it’s not occupying any of my thoughts right now.”
• Jim Karygiannis, the independent-minded Scarborough councillor and former Liberal MP, confirms he might run for mayor. “The thought has crossed my mind, I’m contemplating it and we’ll see where we go.” Issues to consider are whether Mayor Tory will seek re-election, Tory’s record (“What record?” Karygiannis says), and the ability to raise up to $2 million for a campaign. “If I run, I intend to win. If the (polling) numbers are not in my favour I will not run,” Karygiannis says.
• Tory, for his part, said through his spokesperson that he’s “focused on doing the job he has been twice elected to do.” Tory had ruled out a third term but has been less clear in more recent statements. “The Mayor has been clear in interviews and scrums over the last year that he wouldn’t rule out seeking a third term in order to complete important projects which are underway, to lead in ensuring the continuation of Toronto’s strong economic success, and to protect the city’s interests at all times.”

CreateTO didn’t actually fill a $250,000 senior position

After Jennifer wrote about the hiring of Tory’s former principal secretary Vic Gupta to a plum position at the city’s realty agency, which he helped create, she went back to the CEO of CreateTO with more questions and learned the senior vice-president position that was originally in question was never actually filled. As promised last week, here’s the latest:

• An earlier SVP position appeared to target former staff of the Toronto mayor’s office. That position was sent to Gupta directly. When contacted by the Star, Gupta said he wasn’t interested in the job and CreateTO said it was “open to anyone.”
• Both that position and the one Gupta was eventually hired for came with a $250,000 salary.
• Jennifer recently asked CEO Brian Johnston what became of the first SVP position and was originally told it had been filled by a Ryan Glenn.
• But when she looked into it more, Jennifer realized Glenn was not part of the executive team. CreateTO confirmed this when Jennifer further questioned Johnston, saying his earlier answer lacked “nuance.”

In the battle for affordable housing, a new twist and a victory (for some)

In a city that is increasingly more unaffordable to live in and the landscape for renters is truly terrifying, we have a fascinating tale from our colleague Emily Mathieu and an update on an old story.

• Tenants are being evicted from apartments in a large house in the Danforth and Greenwood Aves area after a new owner was given a 1 per cent stake, leaving questions about loopholes in the provincial rules governing rentals in a hot housing market.
• Meanwhile, the federal agency responsible for surplus land is adding a condition to the sale of the land on Queens Quay to ensure affordable housing is considered for the site after criticism the Liberals were selling off the land for condos. That left local MP Adam Vaughan in an odd political bind after he insisted prolifically on Twitter for days that there was nothing the federal government could do about the sale already underway.

Former councillor Augimeri is moving to the federal arena

Maria Augimeri’s decades-long political career seemed to end last fall when she lost to James Pasternak in a battle of incumbents triggered by Premier Doug Ford’s cut to the size of council, but she’s now won the federal NDP nomination in Black Creek--Humber River to run in the October election.

• Augimeri, who entered local politics as a school trustee in 1982, is trying to knock out Judy Sgro, another former councillor who jumped to federal politics and who is finishing her seventh term as Liberal MP. Residents of the North York riding “don’t see the fight in her that they see in me,” Augimeri told the Star.
• Sgro shot back that she has lots of energy and decided to run again only after residents urged her to not retire. Residents are also happy with federal Liberal investments in housing and the Canada Child Benefit, she said.

Can Doug Ford rename Exhibition GO the McDonald’s GO station?

Yes.

The provincial transit agency, as the Toronto Sun first reported they are looking to do, can certainly try to sell off naming rights to prospective buyers. But that doesn’t mean anyone is going to bite. As our Ben Spurr reports, it’s not the first time Ford has wanted to do something like this. As a councillor in 2011, he and brother Rob Ford, then mayor, wanted to auction off the rights to naming TTC stops. But nothing ever came of it, causing some to mock the business sense they often puffed their chests about. It’s also been attempted in our North American cities without much success, Ben writes.