Should John Tory run for Toronto Mayor? Maybe he should ask Sam Katz http://www.nationalpost.com/m/blog.html?b=news.nationalpost.com/201... Search Menu Home - Top Stories Should John Tory run for Toronto Mayor? Maybe he should ask Sam Katz Katherine Laidlaw, National Post Thursday, Jul. 29, 2010 Sam Katz waited until the bitter end, 21 days before the mayoral election, the day of the deadline to file. The wealthy, well-known Winnipeg entrepreneur sat in his private booth at the CanWest Global ballpark he helped build five years earlier, with his wife and three-year-old daughter, pondering whether he would take a chance on running for mayor of Winnipeg. “I’m going to make my decision based on what’s best for Sam Katz and his family and what’s best for the city of Winnipeg,” he told reporters on May 31, 2004. “Maybe it’s who talks to me last.” John Tory, take note. Mr. Katz could give him a few pointers on winning an election quickly, if indeed the Toronto businessman and radio host is contemplating another mayoral run, as renewed speculation from his friends suggests.Mr. Katz jumped into a byelection when then-mayor Glen Murray, now MPP for Toronto Centre, resigned six years ago, and won it handily with 42% of the vote. He ran against four other prominent candidates, including veteran city councillor Dan Vandal (24%) and provincial legislator MaryAnn Mihychuk (10%), who quit her Cabinet post to run. He remained undecided in the face of media scrutiny, always leaving a sliver of hope that he would run while maintaining he had no campaign team, platform or office. He was urged on by hundreds of letters and emails of support — he was somewhat of a local celebrity, the owner of the Goldeyes baseball team. Some friends were telling him he had done enough, that he didn’t need to run. Others, including wife Baillie, were spurring him on. He ran for a council seat once before and lost. There was talk for years in the city that he was the best mayor Winnipeg never had. “From the day he entered, he was the one to beat,” says Christopher Leo, a city politics expert and professor at University of Winnipeg. “Name recognition is the name of the game in municipal politics, certainly in Winnipeg.” He ran on a platform of bringing a new vision to City Hall, freezing property taxes and eliminating the business tax. “It won’t be business as usual at City Hall,” he told reporters at the time. [linked image] Peter J. Thompson/National Post Files John Tory: exiting or entering? You decide. 1 of 3 9/7/2010 16:45 Should John Tory run for Toronto Mayor? Maybe he should ask Sam Katz http://www.nationalpost.com/m/blog.html?b=news.nationalpost.com/201... Newspapers called Mr. Katz’s election a perfect pitch by a rookie player, but Mr. Tory, 56, is no political newcomer. He ran for mayor of Toronto in 2003, losing narrowly to David Miller. He led the provincial Progressive Conservative party beginning in 2004, later losing an election and a byelection. But one strategist familiar with the Toronto candidates says entering a mayoral race already well underway could be what Mr. Tory needs to win. “He can dine out on the ‘myth of John Tory’ around him, just the pure name recognition, for quite a while,” the analyst said. “In a short campaign, that will really help him.” A poll conducted in June by Forum Research Inc. showed councillor and mayoral hopeful Rob Ford neck-and-neck with former deputy premier George Smitherman. Forty-four per cent of voters were undecided. But when Mr. Tory was added to the lineup, 38% declared they would vote for him and numbers for the others plummeted: Mr. Smitherman at 19%, 14% for Sarah Thomson, Mr. Ford at 13%, 10% for Joe Pantalone, 4% for Rocco Rossi and 2% for Giorgio Mammoliti, who has since left the race. The undecided votes decreased to 30%. John Wright, senior vice-president for pollster Ipsos, said although it’s not a sure bet, someone with the profile of Mr. Tory could drastically change the election’s landscape between the Sept. 12 deadline to file and the Oct. 25 election. “Somebody who decides to get into the race then, with the type of credentials that John has, with the platform he has at Newstalk 1010, he’d simply have to demonstrate what he brings to the city that the other candidates can’t already bring,” Mr. Wright said, adding that Mr. Tory, as a centre-right candidate, would likely fall somewhere in between centre-left Mr. Smitherman and right-wing Mr. Ford on the political spectrum. Of Mr. Katz, now 59, Winnipeg Free Press journalist Gordon Sinclair wrote in 2004, “Sam Katz has been paralysed by the pressure people are putting on him. And maybe the great expectations that go with it.” Mr. Tory’s friends say he is driven by a sense of “civic duty,” one that his wife, Barbara Hackett, also shares. He says he has no plans to enter the race, but has used his “never say never” catchphrase to hedge. He has rejoined the board of directors of Rogers Communications Inc., chairs the Toronto City Summit Alliance, moderates mayoral debates and hosts a talk-radio show on Newstalk 1010. And yet, the rumour mill turns. The other mayoral candidates say they don’t intend to fold if Mr. Tory jumps in. In January, many would-be supporters of Mr. Tory decamped to his 2003 campaign manager and Liberal fundraiser Mr. Rossi. On Wednesday, Mr. Rossi said he is committed to finishing the race with his campaign team intact. “On Oct. 25, my name will be on the ballot,” he said. “I have no fears. These are people that I worked with, many of them in 2003 when I was John Tory’s campaign manager. They’ve made their commitment and they’re people of honour.” At a news conference on Wednesday, George Smitherman’s campaign manager Bruce Davis was unfazed, saying he doubted Mr. Tory would renege on his January announcement. “He would certainly be competitive,” he said. “I think you’re going to see a certain amount of parsing of the Conservative vote [if it happens]. It’s not a foregone conclusion that he would be in first place.” 2 of 3 9/7/2010 16:45 Should John Tory run for Toronto Mayor? Maybe he should ask Sam Katz http://www.nationalpost.com/m/blog.html?b=news.nationalpost.com/201... Mr. Davis claimed Mr. Smitherman’s campaign is gaining supporters in light of the renewed speculation. Mr. Ford, for his part, says he hasn’t discussed the race with Mr. Tory outside of the context of his radio show and doesn’t intend to change his plans. He said rumours that former Ontario premier Mike Harris asked him to step aside are false. “Mike Harris has not called me to ask me to pull out of the race. I’m not pulling out of the race no matter who calls me.” Mr. Tory is keeping mum, only emailing today that he has “still nothing new to say. Know that’s not much good in the news business, but it’s the truth!” National Post, with files from Cory Ruf Related - 2010/07/28/john-tory-for-mayor-of-toronto-no-no-no-no-yes-perhaps-yes - 2010/07/27/john-tory-mulls-entering-mayoral-race-friends-say - 2010/07/29/should-john-tory-run-for-toronto-mayor-maybe-he-should-ask-sam-katz [linked image] Home - Top Stories Home News Opinion Canada World Arts Life Sports Blogs Full Version Financial Post © 2010 National Post Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized distribution, transmission or republication strictly prohibited. 3 of 3 9/7/2010 16:45.