Attention, John Tory: mayoral hopefuls can no longer register to run for mayor

Attention, John Tory: mayoral hopefuls can no longer register to run for mayor

Weizhen Tang: mayoral hopeful, alleged fraudster (Image: Toronto Police Services)

As of 2 p.m. today, Toronto knew for sure that one of the leading five candidates (sorry, everyone else) is going to be the mayor after October 25. That’s because the deadline for entering the race has now officially passed. In just the past two months, we’ve seen rampant speculation about John Tory, Adam Vaughan and even David Miller. But, according to the Toronto Sun, the only person to make a late entry so far is this guy:

Weizhen Tang — the self-proclaimed “Chinese Warren Buffett” — jumped into Toronto’s mayor’s race Thursday, just a day before the deadline to register.

Tang, 52, told the Sun Thursday he thinks he’s got a shot at replacing outgoing Mayor David Miller.

“I want to announce that there is a much greater real fraud against all the good peoples and taxpayers of Toronto,” Tang wrote in his speech announcing his candidacy.

“The fat of certain Toronto political leaders is destroying the fitness, the goodness, the future of Toronto … less services, more taxes. People must work harder, while politicians waste and steal money. This is the greater fraud.”

Now, there’s the small matter of Tang’s criminal prosecution for fraud—he’s alleged to have run a million-dollar Ponzi scheme across three countries. He seems to be under the impression that being elected would make him immune to prosecution, telling the Sun that, if he wins, “I don’t need to go to court.”  We’re pretty sure that’s not how it works.

• ‘Chinese Warren Buffett’ running for mayor [Toronto Sun]
Alleged Ponzi schemer joins T.O. mayor race [Toronto Star]
• Alleged fraudster wants to run for Toronto mayor [National Post]
• Dear white knights: You have 24 hours to register for mayor [Globe and Mail]