Olivia Chow officially enters Toronto mayoral race

Watch the video above: NDP MP Olivia Chow is resigning her seat in Parliament and entering the race to become Toronto’s next mayor. As Christina Stevens reports, she could give Rob Ford a run for his money.

OTTAWA – Olivia Chow has officially entered her name to replace Rob Ford as mayor of the country’s largest city.

READ MORE: Olivia Chow could soon enter Toronto’s mayoral race

Though an agent officially registered Chow’s name for her, she plans to launch her mayoral campaign Thursday morning in the inner city Toronto neighbourhood in which she grew up, St. Jamestown.

Meanwhile, it didn’t take long for the John Tory camp to react to Chow’s candidacy.

In a statement to Global News, Tory spokesperson Amanda Galbraith stated that although they welcome her into the race, “she’s never met a public dollar she couldn’t spend.”

Tory’s campaign soon launched a website saying as much at valueofadollar.ca

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“We welcome the contrast with John who is committed to keeping taxes low and building a more liveable, affordable, functional city,” Galbraith wrote.

Jamey Heath, the communications director for Chow’s campaign, says the former city councillor will be the only “progressive” contender in the already crowded race.

But he predicts she’ll appeal to people across the political spectrum, including the blue-collar folks who supported Ford’s no-nonsense populism but now believe it’s time for a change following Ford’s admitted “drunken stupors” and use of crack cocaine.

“We think there are two candidates who can appeal to sort of blue collar, regular voters in Toronto, one of whom is Rob Ford and one of whom is Olivia Chow,” Heath said in an interview.

“We don’t see John Tory being able to connect with them. We think Olivia can.”

Chow’s campaign launch will stress her personal story, growing up in Toronto as the daughter of struggling immigrant parents, a story Heath said many Torontonians can identify with.

“She had a modest upbringing. She doesn’t just talk about public transit, she uses public transit. She’s used it all her life,” Heath said.

Chow’s campaign will involve New Democrats like Heath and Brian Topp, who were key to late husband Jack Layton’s success in the federal arena.

Veteran Conservative strategist John Laschinger, who masterminded David Miller’s successful mayoral campaigns, will head Chow’s campaign.  Her war room will be run by Warren Kinsella, a well-known Liberal.

READ MORE: Olivia Chow doesn’t think Rob Ford is a good role model

Chow is likely the last of the big names to enter the mayor’s race, the others being incumbent Rob Ford, David Soknacki, Karen Stintz and John Tory.

Along with Tory, both Ford and Stintz were quick to attack Chow’s political history Wednesday.

The mayor suggested Chow “made David Miller look conservative.”

Stintz claimed Chow worked “to raise property taxes at excessive levels, cripple many of Toronto’s social services, and accumulate hundreds of millions of dollars in new debt,” during her previous city council tenure.

Chow is also expected to draw in formidable fundraising efforts for her campaign, which expects to raise the maximum $1.5 million allowed.

But the fundraising’s about more than raising money. Chow is expected to target individual donors – a practice that helped propel Ford into the mayor’s office.

Biography

Chow’s been a major player in the federal New Democratic Party (NDP) since she was elected to the House of Commons in the Toronto riding of Trinity-Spadina in 2006.

She was married to the former leader of the NDP Jack Layton, also a former city councillor, who led the party to Official Opposition status for the first time.

Her career in politics started nearly 20 years ago.  She was elected as a school trustee to the Toronto District School Board in 1985.

In 1991, she was elected to the Metro Toronto city council and was re-elected five times serving for a total of 14 years before heading to Parliament Hill.

While in parliament, she’s focused on transit, frequently calling for a National Public Transit strategy and served at vice-chair for the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure, and Communities. However, the Toronto Sun reported Wednesday that Chow failed to show up for a majority of meetings since rumours began to swirl in the fall about a potential mayoral bid.

Social media reaction to the news was mostly enthusiastic, with many showing their support for Chow.

Voters head to the polls on Oct. 27.