As the summer winds down, the city’s mayoral race is preparing to kick into high gear with less than two months to go in the marathon campaign.
Incumbent Rob Ford spent Labour Day Monday in Etobicoke signing a new round of bobblehead dolls being sold to raise money for Humber River Regional Hospital.
Speaking to reporters at the event, Ford said his campaign is “going fantastic.”
“We’re hitting on all cylinders,” Ford said. He added that his campaign this year is “going a lot better than it was in the last campaign.”
He said he hopes to spend another 14 years on council.
Fans lined up hours before the dolls went on sale at 10 a.m. in order to make sure they got their hands on one.
Meanwhile rival candidates Olivia Chow and John Tory took part in the annual Labour Day Parade downtown.
Speaking to reporters at the event, Tory dismissed Ford’s doll sale.
“I’m for producing a government that’s going to get along with other governments, get along with city council and get some transit built, get some jobs to Toronto; he’s selling bobbleheads. No problem,” Tory said.
Speaking with CTV, Olivia Chow also criticized Ford’s sale.
“Mr. Ford has become an entertainer, not a leader,” Chow said. “If I’m the new mayor, I’ll get things done. I won’t be so concerned with entertaining and I think the bobblehead is a symbol of him becoming an entertainer rather than a real mayor.”
First week of September promises to be a busy one for candidates
The campaign is expected to intensify in the coming weeks as election day (Oct. 27) draws closer.
In a press release Monday, Chow’s campaign said she will make a significant announcement at her campaign headquarters Tuesday morning to mark the mayoral campaign’s traditional kick-off after Labour Day.
Last week Ford’s campaign team said that he will unveil his transit strategy sometime before Friday.
Chow is trailing in the race, with the latest poll putting her in third place (23 per cent support) behind Tory (34 per cent) and Ford (31). Former budget chief David Soknacki sits at four per cent support.
A number of debates are also scheduled for this week. However Ford’s campaign said Monday that he is pulling out of two of them because he is too busy to attend. Chow, Tory and Soknacki are expected to attend the events.
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