Former Toronto councillor Adam Giambrone is looking to re-enter politics after bowing out of Toronto’s mayoral race three years ago.
Giambrone was formally nominated Sunday as the NDP candidate for the upcoming provincial byelection in the riding of Scarborough-Guildwood.
This is the first time Giambrone – a city councillor from 2003 to 2010 – has sought office since ending his 2010 mayoral bid amid revelations he had been cheating on his girlfriend.
But speaking with CP24 a day before he was formally nominated, Giambrone shrugged off the idea his run constitutes a comeback effort.
“I don’t know if it’s a comeback,” Giambrone said.
Calling the current Liberal government “tired” and “out of touch,” Giambrone said he could offer strong leadership to residents in the Scarborough community where he’s running.
In a release Sunday afternoon, NDP Leader Andrea Horwath sounded a similar note. She praised Giambrone’s record as a former councillor for Davenport and as a former chair of the Toronto Transit Commission.
“Adam is a leader who can deliver results for families,” Horwath said in her statement.
She pointed to service increases on Scarborough buses while Giambrone was TTC chair as an example of his good record.
Asked whether he’s concerned people may have already written him off, Giambrone told CP24 he understands he’ll have to work to convince voters he’s their best choice.
“We all have the same job. At the end of the day this is going to be up to the residents of Scarborough-Guildwood,” Giambrone said. “And they’re going to have tough questions.”
The Scarborough-Guildwood seat was vacated when Liberal MPP Margaret Best resigned from the provincial legislature June 27.
CivicAction CEO Mitzie Hunter is looking to hold the seat for the Liberals, while the Progressive Conservatives are running realtor Ken Kirupa.
It is one of five seats up for grabs following the recent resignations of a number of high-level Liberal MPPs.
One of those races will already see two sitting Toronto councillors face off against one another. Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday announced July 4 that he will run as the Progressive Conservative candidate in the riding of Etobicoke-Lakeshore. The PCs are looking to pick up a Toronto-area seat there after Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Laurel Broten announced last month that she was resigning in order to relocate with her family to Halifax.
Holyday will face off against council colleague Peter Milczyn, who will be running to hold the seat for the Liberals.
Other byelections are set to take place in London West, Ottawa South and Windsor—Tecumseh. All are scheduled for Aug. 1.
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