City councillor Josh Matlow says he’s tossing his name in the race for Toronto mayor.
Matlow issued a statement Tuesday morning saying he will run for the city’s top job and create a “City Works Fund to fix our city.”
“My first act as Mayor will be to launch the City Works Fund — a dedicated property tax that will cost the average homeowner $67 a year and raise over $390 million dollars over five years to improve the services our communities rely on,” Matlow said in his statement.
“The City Works Fund will ensure that buses and streetcars run on time,” Matlow continued. “Libraries are open when your family needs them. Warm places are available for unhoused people to go when it’s cold outside. Streets and sidewalks are cleared so parents with strollers or people with mobility issues can get around safely. Roads aren’t cracked and covered in potholes. Parks and recreation programs are accessible and available.”
Matlow has been a city councillor since 2010 when he was first elected and was re-elected in 2014, 2018 and 2022. He currently represents Toronto-St. Paul’s ward. Previously, Matlow was a TDSB trustee.
In Matlow’s statement on his bid for mayor, he said “for far too long, our political leadership at City Hall has held this city back from reaching its full potential.”
“The deterioration of our city was not inevitable. It was a choice. The past decade of leadership has kept taxes artificially low by starving the services that made Toronto the incredible city I grew up in,” Matlow said.
The mayor’s job was vacated by John Tory — who was serving just a few months into his third term — in February after admitted to having a relationship with a former staffer that began during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tory said he would step down so he can “reflect on my mistakes” and “do the work of rebuilding the trust of my family.”
Matlow’s announcement that he’s running for mayor comes as former Toronto police chief Mark Saunders announced late Monday that he is also going to run.
Last week, former city councillor Ana Bailao also announced that she would be running for mayor of Toronto.
Official nominations for mayor don’t officially open until April 3.
The byelection for Toronto mayor is set for Monday, June 26.
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