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Former Toronto police chief Mark Saunders will run to become the city’s next mayor

He hopes to restore public trust, but may face an uphill battle from critics of his time as police chief

Thestar.com
March 20, 2023
Alyshah Hasham

Former Toronto police chief Mark Saunders is running to become the city’s next mayor.

“I thought it was something you could walk away from,” he said of his nearly four decades of “public service” as a frontline police officer and later the city’s first Black police chief. “But once you get a taste of helping people, it’s hard to get rid of.”

Saunders, who was chief from 2015 until his shock resignation in 2020 to spend time with family, sees himself as uniquely qualified for the job of addressing fears about public safety in Toronto, particularly random crime in public spaces and on the TTC.

“It’s about having all hands on deck towards the problems, not just law enforcement,” he said in an interview Monday evening.

Saunders said he can connect with people across the city -- he knows what it is like to struggle in Toronto, as the son of immigrants from Jamaica who wanted a better life and education for their children. And as a police officer he spent time all across the city “hugging mothers that looked my mother, stepping over young men that looked like a younger version of me.”

He hopes to restore public trust, but may face an uphill battle from critics of his time as police chief.

Saunders has been criticized for downplaying the fears of the LGBTQ community about a serial killer stalking the Church-Wellesley village, even as police believed this was true. Saunders later called for an external review of how Toronto police handle missing persons’ cases.

“The role of a chief of police is complex,” he said. “But you have to understand something. There are people that know me and then there are people who know about me ... the people that know me know what my values are and know where I stand. They know I care about keeping everybody safe in the city.”

He said “there were things that were learned” and he will continue to listen and work hard “to make sure what I do as mayor is earned.”

Saunders has also been challenged for failing to deliver meaningful police reforms to address systemic racism and better responses to mental health crises. He said Monday he does not want to continue the “status quo” and points to 24-7 mental health care access as a priority need in the city he will focus on.

Premier Doug Ford has had nothing but praise for Saunders, who lost a run for the Progressive Conservatives in Don Valley West last year, recently telling reporters: “I think the world of a lot of the candidates, but chief Saunders did a great job as police chief and if he goes in, that’s good. I think that’s great.”

Following Saunders’ resignation in 2020, Ford appointed him a special adviser on the controversial plan to redevelop Ontario Place, including building a large private spa.

Saunders said his role was to act as a conduit for communications during the planning process.

“It’s going to be one of the most vibrant sections of the country and I’m excited about that,” he said.

Ford has pledged to stay out of the mayoral race and to work with whoever is elected -- the next mayor will be tasked with negotiating for $1.5 billion in COVID bailout funds from both Queen’s Park and Ottawa to fill a massive budget hole.

When asked about his relationship with Ford, Saunders said he will be focused on making Toronto the best possible place to live, noting that working with the other levels of government is critical and he would “definitely use that to my advantage.”

Meanwhile, a notable Conservative team with close connections to Ford has been assembling behind Saunders, including PC fundraising chair Tony Miele.

Saunders joins an increasingly crowded field of likely contenders, including former city councillors Ana Bailão and Giorgio Mammoliti, current councillors Brad Bradford, Josh Matlow and Stephen Holyday, and last year’s runner-ups Gil Penalosa and Chloe Brown.

Nominations for the June 26 byelection officially open at the start of April.