TORONTO – She’s not running in the election, but Hazel McCallion may just be the deciding factor in the Mississauga mayoral race.
A new poll shows Bonnie Crombie pulling ahead of Steve Mahoney, after McCallion endorsed Crombie as the best candidate to replace her as mayor.
READ MORE: Hurricane Hazel endorses Bonnie Crombie for Mississauga mayor
“I say to you, look at the programs – you have to – of both candidates, the chief candidates that are running, and I have every confidence that when you review it, that you will vote for Bonnie Crombie,” McCallion said earlier this month.
“I’m saying it because of my experience working with her,” McCallion said. “I leave it up to you. And I say to the young people: Bonnie is young and she’s ambitious. She works hard. She’s got some new ideas and I hope those new ideas will come forward.”
A new poll from Forum Research shows that 56 per cent would vote for Crombie, with 31 per cent saying they would vote for Mahoney.
The results are drastically different from previous polls, which had the two frontrunners virtually neck-and-neck. At one point, Mahoney appeared to be pulling ahead.
READ MORE: Frontrunners in Mississauga race neck and neck
But that was before McCallion had thrown her support behind anyone.
“It is clear that the royal touch of Queen Hazel has had the desired effect, and Bonnie Crombie is now firmly in the lead, after going neck and neck with Steve Mahoney for months. It is interesting that not only Crombie’s approvals have increased as a result of her anointment, so have Hazel’s,” said Dr. Lorne Bozinoff, Forum Research President.
“Hurricane Hazel” continues to have a higher approval rating than all the leading candidates, at 85 per cent. The new poll shows Crombie’s approval rating up to 74 per cent, from 66 per cent previously.
McCallion, 93, announced she was retiring after 36 years as mayor – making her the longest-serving mayor in Mississauga’s history.
The poll was conducted among 769 Mississauga voters, based on results of an automated telephone survey. The poll is considered accurate +/‐ 3.5%, 19 times out of 20.
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