Councillor Anthony Perruzza running for mayor of Toronto

Known for his colourful speeches at city hall, the representative for Ward 7, Humber-River Black Creek is considered part of council’s centrist faction.

Thestar.com
April 13, 2023
Ben Spurr

The field of Toronto mayoral candidates got a little more crowded Wednesday when veteran council member Anthony Perruzza signed up for the June 26 byelection.

Known for his colourful speeches at city hall, the representative for Ward 7, Humber River-Black Creek is considered part of council’s centrist faction.

He sits on the board of the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, and last year made headlines by advocating for the provincial transit agency to keep its promise to build a community hub near a rail yard in his ward.

In a statement announcing his campaign, Perruzza said he would oppose hikes to property taxes, TTC fares, and city user fees.

“My priority is to help Torontonians get by in these tough times,” he said. “Torontonians need these services and can’t afford to shoulder more costs.”

He also pledged to negotiate a “new deal” with other orders of governments to put Toronto on stable financial footing.

Perruzza has been a City of Toronto councillor since 2006. Before that, he was a member of North York council, and an Ontario New Democrat MPP in Bob Rae’s government.

After Premier Doug Ford reduced the size of Toronto council in 2018 Perruzza kept his seat by beating out Giorgio Mammoliti in the newly enlarged Ward 7. Mammoliti has also registered to run for mayor.

Perruzza is the third sitting council member to enter the byelection, which was triggered after former mayor John Tory resigned in February over an inappropriate relationship with a member of his office staff.

Josh Matlow (Ward 12, Toronto--St. Paul’s) and Brad Bradford (Ward 19, Beaches-East York) submitted their papers last week on the first day of nominations. Councillors don’t have to resign their positions to run for mayor.

As of Wednesday, a total of 43 candidates had signed up.