Battleground Toronto: with Doug Ford staying on city council, Tim Hudak’s job just got a little harder

The CBC is reporting that Doug Ford, the mayor’s brother and occasional stand-in when reporters can’t get a quote from the mayor’s office, is not going to run for Tim Hudak’s provincial Tories as he had previously mused he might. According the CBC, the Fords have their work cut out for them at city hall, and Doug is sticking around to help his brother fight the good fight.

Coun. Doug Ford says he has turned down an offer to run for the the provincial Tories in the October election …

But he said Thursday that he would stay on as councillor instead.

“Rob needs my help down here and we’re going to turn this ship around,” Doug Ford told CBC News.

No doubt the mayor appreciates his brother’s help, but we’re more interested in how this affects the Progressive Conservatives’ plans to try and break into Toronto, which is strongly held by the Liberals and the NDP. We’d assumed that if Doug Ford ran for a seat in Queen’s Park he had a good chance of actually winning—and we’re still skeptical of Rocco Rossi’s run in Eglinton-Lawrence.

Looks like Tim Hudak’s job just got a little harder. Ford would have been a nice get for the Tories, but Etobicoke-North is probably fertile ground for them, whoever they run—in 1999, the last time the Tories were competitive in Toronto, they won that seat narrowly, so it might be worth another try. We’re pretty sure this fall’s provincial election will see whether the Ford family magic can muster up more Tory support.

• Doug Ford won’t run for provincial Tories [CBC.ca]

(Image: toronto.ca)