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Toronto mayoral candidate Jennifer Keesmaat still sees herself as giant killer, even if opinion polls suggest her campaign is failing to catch up to Mayor John Tory as the Oct. 22 vote looms.
“I’m incredibly
optimistic,” Keesmaat told reporters Friday after installing a campaign
sign on the front lawn of a Bristol Ave. home.
“I
think three weeks is a long time in a campaign. As long as we get out
and our campaign gets the message out to Torontonians that we can work
together to make this city better, I believe we have a real shot.”
Keesmaat, 48, made a surprise jump into the mayoral race July 27 as nominations were about to close, jolting a Tory re-election campaign that appeared set to cruise toward the election without a prominent challenger.
She quit her job as Toronto’s chief planner just over a year ago, having worked closely with Tory on issues including the Gardiner Expressway, proposed Scarborough subway extension and King St. transit pilot project.
Keesmaat, 48, made a surprise jump into the mayoral race July 27 as nominations were about to close, jolting a Tory re-election campaign that appeared set to cruise toward the election without a prominent challenger.
She quit her job as Toronto’s chief planner just over a year ago, having worked closely with Tory on issues including the Gardiner Expressway, proposed Scarborough subway extension and King St. transit pilot project.
Keesmaat
was outspoken for a senior civil servant, even one with an
international reputation as a planner and champion of pedestrian- and
cyclist-friendly urban streets, and initially sparred with Tory, whose council allies are primarily suburban, over plans to keep the eastern portion of the Gardiner aloft.
But they seemed to mend fences and the Star confirmed Tory asked Keesmaat to stay when she told him she planned to leave the city after five years.
She told reporters in July she was pushed into the race by Tory’s “weak” response to Premier Doug Ford’s plan to unilaterally slash the size of council midelection, calling it the “last straw.” Since then she has stepped up attacks on him as “dithering” and unable to stick to a plan while casting herself as the leader people need to “stand up for Toronto.”
But, after releasing policies on transit, affordable housing, public safety and more, Keesmaat’s path to the mayor’s chair remains unclear and neither front-runner emerged the winner of recent debates.
On Friday, Keesmaat did not deny she has a lot of ground to gain. She recalled helping build a design firm from three employees to hundreds before working at city hall, and compared herself to the biblical boy who killed a giant with a shot from a sling.
But they seemed to mend fences and the Star confirmed Tory asked Keesmaat to stay when she told him she planned to leave the city after five years.
She told reporters in July she was pushed into the race by Tory’s “weak” response to Premier Doug Ford’s plan to unilaterally slash the size of council midelection, calling it the “last straw.” Since then she has stepped up attacks on him as “dithering” and unable to stick to a plan while casting herself as the leader people need to “stand up for Toronto.”
But, after releasing policies on transit, affordable housing, public safety and more, Keesmaat’s path to the mayor’s chair remains unclear and neither front-runner emerged the winner of recent debates.
On Friday, Keesmaat did not deny she has a lot of ground to gain. She recalled helping build a design firm from three employees to hundreds before working at city hall, and compared herself to the biblical boy who killed a giant with a shot from a sling.
“I’m pretty used to a David and Goliath situation, Mr. Tory’s the incumbent so that shouldn’t surprise anyone,” she said of polls
that peg his support at between 50 and 70 per cent of voters while her
support has remained between 25 per cent and 35 per cent.
“You know the story of David and Goliath, you know how that ends,” Keesmaat said.
“You know the story of David and Goliath, you know how that ends,” Keesmaat said.
“I’m
optimistic that Torontonians want to see change ... I think
Torontonians want a mayor who will stand up and who will fight when this
provincial government comes knocking for our public services, comes
knocking for all of the things we treasure.”
Neil Thomlinson, an associate professor at Ryerson University’s department of politics and public administration, said Friday it’s too early to count out Keesmaat.
“We are certainly living in a time of uncertainty where unexpected results seem to be the order of the day,” he said, adding Keesmaat’s campaign seems to be patterning itself on that of Valérie Plante, who won a stunning 2017 upset against incumbent Denis Coderre to become mayor of Montreal.
“I’m sure that’s the hope of her campaign,” Thomlinson said. “I know she’s getting a lot of coverage downtown and is being fairly well-received but the big question is if she is getting any traction at all in Etobicoke, Scarborough and North York.”
“You need to have some support in all those areas, or really strong support in at least one of them, to have a hope of becoming mayor of Toronto.”
A total of 35 people are running for mayor of Toronto
Neil Thomlinson, an associate professor at Ryerson University’s department of politics and public administration, said Friday it’s too early to count out Keesmaat.
“We are certainly living in a time of uncertainty where unexpected results seem to be the order of the day,” he said, adding Keesmaat’s campaign seems to be patterning itself on that of Valérie Plante, who won a stunning 2017 upset against incumbent Denis Coderre to become mayor of Montreal.
“I’m sure that’s the hope of her campaign,” Thomlinson said. “I know she’s getting a lot of coverage downtown and is being fairly well-received but the big question is if she is getting any traction at all in Etobicoke, Scarborough and North York.”
“You need to have some support in all those areas, or really strong support in at least one of them, to have a hope of becoming mayor of Toronto.”
A total of 35 people are running for mayor of Toronto
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