George Smitherman and Deepa Mehta endorse woman who is not running for mayor
Toronto’s mayoral elections are notorious for being drawn-out, soul-crushing marathons—and that’s when they start on schedule. Thanks to Mayor Rob Ford’s fractious influence, though, the 2014 campaign has been raging (albeit quietly) for more than a year ahead of its January 2, 2014 start date. With a less than a month to go, things are so tense that Oliva Chow—the leading left-wing contender—is already getting endorsements, even though she hasn’t actually said publicly that she’ll run.
According to the Star, former mayoral candidate George Smitherman and filmmaker Deepa Mehta have both thrown their support behind Chow, who is widely expected to enter the mayoral race at some point in time. She reportedly already has a number of influential political organizers laying the groundwork for a run, but, unlike mayoral hopefuls Karen Stintz and David Soknacki, she hasn’t actually ever confirmed that her name will be on the ballot.
Smitherman, a seasoned politician who famously lost to Rob Ford in the 2010 municipal election, is clearly making this preemptive endorsement for a reason. A chorus of advance accolades, capped with the release of Chow’s memoir in January, would certainly make excellent stage setting for a grand debut.
(Images: Smitherman: Joseph Morris; Chow: Tania Liu)
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