Rossi, Thomson crash Pantalone’s Labour Day party

Rossi, Thomson crash Pantalone’s Labour Day party

In terms of formal endorsements, there’s really only one dyed-in-the-wool left wing candidate in the mayor’s race, and that’s Joe Pantalone. He has secured the endorsements of most major unions and federal NDP leader Jack Layton.  So it was no surprise that the city’s Labour Day parade would be, well, all about him. Pantalone was formally endorsed by the parade’s organizers, which poses a problem if you’re a mayoral candidate not named Joe Pantalone. Undaunted, candidates Rocco Rossi and Sarah Thomson showed up for the parade. Rossi has at least been endorsed by a smaller union and thus got to march near the back of the parade, but Thomson, somewhat tellingly, was reduced to following along the sidewalk.

The Toronto Sun:

The roughly 25,000 people who attended the event showed they didn’t want Rossi and Thomson there, [John] Cartwright added.  “I think everybody ignored them,” he said.

Sarah Thomson, another candidate, walked on the sidewalk alongside the marchers but did not join in.

“I have said we should look at opening the bidding on garbage so the private and the public sector get to vote together for that privilege,” said Thomson, who added “I think it’s narrow-minded” other mayoral candidates did not receive an invitation.

While Pantalone seemed a little offended by the gate-crashers, it wasn’t all catty: as Pantalone was being interviewed by the Sun, Rossi came up and offered him an umbrella to keep him out of the rain.  Now if only the rest of the campaign could be so kind and amicable, there would be so much less shouting and acrimony.

Somebody tell Rossi to be meaner—without the shouting, this election would be unrecognizable.

• Rossi, Thomson crash Labour Day parade [Toronto Sun]
• Labour Day march was Pantalone’s party, unions say [Toronto Star]
• DiManno: Interlopers, but no dramatics, at Labour Day love-in [Toronto Star]
• Mayoral candidates court union vote [Toronto Sun]
• Rocco Rossi’s Labour Day charade [NOW Toronto]
• Mayoral Candidates Crash Labour Day Parade [City News]