Coun. Joe Cressy says he has no plans to seek re-election

Cressy, first elected to Toronto city council in 2014, represents Spadina-Fort York

Cbc.ca
Oct. 5, 2021

Downtown city councillor Joe Cressy said on Sunday he will not be running in next year's municipal election.

Cressy, who represents Ward 10, Spadina-Fort York, was first elected to Toronto city council in 2014. He announced he has no plans to run for office in 2022 in a tweet.

Speaking to the CBC about his decision, Cressy said he won't be running for public office again, in any level of government.

"The time has come for me to contribute elsewhere and take what I've learned from government and hopefully contribute to our community and city in other arenas," Cressy said.

Cressy currently serves as the chair of the Toronto Board of Health.

He said his time as chair during a global pandemic took a "personal toll," but also that he was focused now on spending more time with his family.

"It has been an emotional burden governing through a pandemic, that has taken its own personal toll on me, and time from my family," he said. "This is the decision that's best for me and my family."

'Privilege' to work with Mayor John Tory
Cressy added that his plan was always to leave after serving two terms of city council. Though he admits he considered running for mayor, he says he chose family over politics after his son was born.

He's confident Spadina-Fort York will elect a "dynamic, tremendous" city councillor after he vacates the seat and applauds Mayor John Tory and city council's collaborative effort during the pandemic.

"I think our response and the way we governed our response in the city has been unique throughout North America," Cressy said.

"Mayor Tory setup a wartime cabinet, we governed as a coalition for the sake of our residents, it has served our city well and a reflection of our mayor for seeing this emergency for the type of emergency it was," he added.

"It's been a privilege to work alongside him."

Cressy hopes he'll be remembered as a councillor for "doing politics differently," trying to balance his principles and working collaboratively with those who disagree.

"I hope if there's a legacy to be had for me, it's that at all times I tried to be both principled and effective," Cressy said.