John Tory will now contemplate his future as a private citizen, a tireless advocate for the charitable sector, and of course a father and a husband.
News of John Tory’s official departure from the race to become Toronto’s next Mayor this morning seems to have caught my contacts over at Queen’s Park and within the Toronto municipal political scene off guard, as he was clearly seen as a consensus candidate that centre and centre-right support could turn to in unison.
Even some friends who are David Miller supporters and traditionally aligned with the centre-left in all three realms of Canadian politics privately acknowledged Tory’s previous momentum and appeal in serveral conversations over the past few months.
Why you may ask was a bumbling and ineffective former Conservative leader and already once unsuccessful mayoral candidate already considered as such a hot political property? Simply put…Tory was a guy with a personality that just about everyone liked and respected. They might not have agreed with his politics, but they always appreciated the man. Point and case? My friend Warren Kinsella, who as a Liberal strategist and war room leader for Premier Dalton McGuinty was ruthless with a brilliance that few could match and from which Tory’s electoral prospects could never recover. Enter the municipal realm, however, and Tory would have had a loyal general that would have gone all out for his campaign.
So with the “nice guy” out of the race, what happens to the new focal point of the mayoral campaign (some might say only serious candidate) whose straight-forward style often rubs people the wrong way?
Major outreach and a substantial branding overhaul, if he and his advisors have any smarts.
