Organizers of a debate at Ryerson University are frustrated with mayoral candidate John Tory for backing out of the event at the last minute.
The debate, hosted by TTCRiders and the Ryerson Students’ Union, was scheduled to take place at 5 p.m. and was supposed to focus on each mayoral candidate's vision for transit in Toronto.
TTCRiders Executive Director Jessica Bell told CP24 that the group is “furious” with Tory’s decision to cancel just hours before the debate was slated to start.
“We spend weeks and weeks organizing this transit debate so that candidates can tell Toronto’s million daily riders where they stand on improving transit now and he doesn’t even have the courtesy to turn up,” she said.
“It is extremely disrespectful, not only to organizers of this event, but to transit riders everywhere.”
Bell said that Tory’s campaign told her the reason that the mayoral candidate could not make it to the event was because “campaign priorities have changed.”
“I don’t understand what that means because transit is the number one issue in this election,” she said.
“Sixty per cent of people out there are looking at voting for a candidate that has the best transit plan. What priorities does he have?”
In an emailed statement to CP24, Tory’s team said that due to “extraordinary” demands on the mayoral candidate’s time, he is unable to accommodate every debate request.
“With Doug Ford entering the race and less (than) six weeks to go until election day, we have entered a new phase of the campaign,” Amanda Galbraith, a spokesperson for Tory’s campaign, said.
“John has attended 22 debates since the campaign began and he will attend many more before Oct. 27.”
But Jesse Root, vice-president of education for the Ryerson Students' Union, said Tory’s crew, as recently as Saturday, confirmed he would be attending.
“Our reaction was one of frustration. Obviously there is a lot of effort that goes into organizing debates like this,” Root said.
“We expect that candidates are going to keep to their promises.”
With Tory a no-show and Doug Ford absent from the campaign trail, Olivia Chow was the only candidate who attended the event.
Chow’s campaign took the opportunity Monday night to criticize her mayoral rival for his decision to back out.
“It’s clear John Tory can’t compete with Olivia’s knowledge or her transit plan,” Chow’s communications director, Jamey Heath, said in a written statement.
“It’s no wonder why he ran away. I’d run away too if I had to pass back-of-the-napkin silliness off as a real plan, up against someone who knows far more.”
Smitherman says Tory has 'frontrunner syndrome'
Former mayoral candidate George Smitherman weighed in on the move in an interview with CP24 late Monday afternoon.
“For John Tory, a seasoned veteran of politics, to drop out of a debate just because Olivia has him on the run a little bit on transit or whatever is really pretty inexcusable to the poor people who put their hearts and souls into organizing this," Smitherman said.
When he ran in the 2010 municipal election, Smitherman said candidates didn't think that there was such a thing as "too many" debates.
"Rob Ford and I did 105 of these things and we said yes to every one we possibly could have," he said.
"I think it is a bit of a sad frontrunner syndrome that we see coming into play with Mr. Tory ducking at the last minute and I don’t think he’ll do that again."
Both Tory and Chow are scheduled to attend another debate tonight at St. Andrew’s Church at 7 p.m.
