Karen Stintz has dropped out of the mayoral race amid sagging poll numbers and rising costs she says have "impacted" her financial ability to continue.

A former chair of the TTC, Stintz made the announcement at city hall on Thursday morning, bringing an end to several hours of speculation after the National Post published a report drawing attention to her relative silence on the campaign trail in recent days.

Stintz did not take any questions following the announcement and refused to say whether she would endorse another candidate.

“I am proud of my efforts over the last six months,” Stintz said. “I am proud that I am someone who stood up against the odds to make a difference in the city and through my efforts I believe I made an impact on the mayoral race. It has been an honour and a great privilege to be a part of it.”

Though Stintz never seemed to pose much of a threat to frontrunners Olivia Chow, John Tory and Rob Ford, the three-term councillor did generate discussion with a proposal to sell part of Toronto Hydro to help fund transit expansion as well as a plan to create an apolitical “transit czar” to guide decision making.

Discussing her decision to pull out of the race at city hall, Stintz said she was “disappointed” her ideas didn’t gain more traction but hopeful they wouldn’t be entirely forgotten either.

“I hope the conversations I have started and the solutions I have offered help the residents of Toronto make a thoughtful choice on election day,” she said. “Leadership matters.”

Stintz says she is done with politics

Stintz, who fell to last place in a recent Forum Research poll with four per cent of the vote, has repeatedly said that she would not drop out of the mayoral race to run for re-election in Ward 16 and on Thursday she reaffirmed that, saying it was “time for a new chapter.”

In an interview with CP24 after her announcement Stintz then stressed that politics won't be a part of that new chapter.

"My political career in the short term and long term is over," she promised.

Reacting to the news of Stintz's exit, the remaining mayoral candidates put politics aside and spoke favourably of their one-time rival.

"Karen did so much for the city and I want to thank her for her contribution to the people in her ward and advancing the cause of getting better public transit now," Olivia Chow told CP24. "I am going to miss her. She brings a lot of ideas into the discussion."

“As an advocate, city councillor and as TTC chair, she championed Toronto neighbourhoods and families, and we all owe her a debt of gratitude for her public service,” John Tory added in a written statement. “I know we will continue to see her involved in building Toronto's great future, and I wish her much happiness and success with her young family."

Mayor Ford, who had a public split with Stintz over the Scarborough subway, also weighed in, releasing a written statement in which he credited her for making a "lasting contribution to the residents of Ward 16 and the City of Toronto."

Meanwhile, former budget chief and fellow longshot candidate David Soknacki told CP24 that Stintz was a "formidable" oppoenent with "some good ideas" who was involved in politics for the right reasons.

Candidates have until Sept. 12 to remove their names from the ballot for the Oct. 27 municipal election.

 

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