Steven Del Duca to run for mayor of Vaughan

Former Ontario Liberal leader Steven Del Duca is running for mayor of Vaughan, the Star has learned.

Thestar.com
Aug. 16, 2022
Robert Benzie

Former Ontario Liberal leader Steven Del Duca is running for mayor of Vaughan, the Star has learned.

Del Duca, who resigned as Liberal chief after losing the June 2 provincial election to Progressive Conservative Premier Doug Ford, will officially enter the Vaughan contest on Tuesday.

“There’s no question the election result was a humbling experience,” he said in an interview Monday.

“But I love public service and I really love the city of Vaughan, where I’ve lived for 35 years.”

With Friday’s deadline for entry looming, there are five other candidates registered: former federal Liberal minister Ded Schulte, Vaughan Coun. Sandra Yeung Racco, nurse Parveen Bola, realtor Robert Gulassarian and businessman Danny DeSantis.

A former provincial transportation minister, Del Duca is running on an anti-gridlock platform.

Notwithstanding his personal opposition to the proposed 60-kilometre Milton-Vaughan Highway 413 that was Ford’s cornerstone election pledge, he vowed to work with Queen’s Park and Ottawa “to get Vaughan moving.”

“As the saying goes, I’m running to get things done,” said Del Duca, echoing the recent Tory campaign slogan, “Get it done.”

Asked about Ford’s plan to extend the “strong-mayor” powers being granted to Toronto and Ottawa to other cities, he said that “is something that should be looked at.”

Del Duca emphasized that “council input and community input should be top of mind,” but noted that if the new governance structure delivers better services for constituents, then it would be worthwhile.

“Delivering outcomes is what matters,” he said.

To that end, Del Duca said he would work with the other levels of government to secure GO train service for Woodbridge and Kleinburg and push for the Yonge north subway extension.

As well, he would work to widen Highway 7 in Woodbridge and connect Langstaff Road, move truck traffic from Highway 7 to Highway 407 by subsidizing tolls for commercial operators, and build new east-west connections on Teston and Kirby roads to ease traffic on Major Mackenzie Drive and Rutherford Road.

It is not uncommon in Ontario for defeated provincial opposition leaders to jump into municipal politics.

Former NDP leader Andrea Horwath, who resigned the same night as Del Duca and officially quit as an MPP on Monday, is running for mayor of Hamilton.

Toronto Mayor John Tory was the Progressive Conservative leader between 2004 and 2009.

One-time PC leader Patrick Brown is seeking re-election as mayor of Brampton.

Incumbent Vaughan Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua is a former Liberal MP who has been in office since 2010. He is not seeking re-election.

Del Duca pointed out that he worked closely with Bevilacqua when he was Liberal transportation minister in premier Kathleen Wynne’s government.

“It was an honour for me to partner with him to deliver the Highway 427 extension, to open Vaughan’s subway, to secure more GO train service and GO station parking spaces and to launch the construction of Vaughan’s hospital,” he said.

After losing his seat in the 2018 election, Del Duca was in the running be the chair of York Region until Ford cancelled plans to make that an elected position.

At the time, several senior provincial Tories were helping him on that bid to be regional chair.