Longtime Toronto city Coun. Giorgio Mammoliti says he is seeking the Progressive Conservative nomination in the new riding of Brampton Centre.
He made the announcement on The John Oakley Show on 640 Toronto.
Mammoliti said he filed his nomination papers on Tuesday with the support of PC Leader Doug Ford, a longtime ally.
“He’s asked me to consider a number to things, one of them was to run for mayor, and the other was to be by his side at Queen’s Park, because there’s a lot of work to be done there as well,” he said.
LISTEN: Giorgio Mammoliti reveals intentions to run in Brampton Centre
The Ward 7 (York West) councillor served as an NDP MPP in the Bob Rae administration from 1990 to 1995.
He told the Oakley show he would not give up his seat on Toronto council, but would forego his salary in the lead-up to the June election. Mammoliti also said his provincial run wouldn’t exclude him from running for mayor or council in the fall.
WATCH: ‘It’s almost like a religion’: Giorgio Mammoliti on Doug Ford campaign
Mammoliti has represented municipal ridings in west-end Toronto since leaving provincial politics in 1995.
The veteran conservative councillor is known for his brash political style and opposition to many of Toronto Mayor John Tory’s policies.
He famously sparred with the mayor over his short-lived plan to implement road tolls on Toronto’s expressways in 2016. More recently, he has been a vocal critic of the 2018 city budget and the King Street transit pilot.
In 2010, he ran and then backed out of a Toronto mayoral bid and was later fined for overspending in the campaign.
Brampton Centre is one of 17 ridings that will be contested for the first time in the spring election.
WATCH: Mammoliti and Tory get into heated exchange about road tolls
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