Toronto councillor Anthony Perruzza has thrown his hat in the running to become mayor of the city.
In a press release, Perruzza’s team confirmed he had registered at City Hall to run on Wednesday.
Perruzza said his priority is to “help Torontonians get by in these tough times.”
“That means stopping the hikes on property tax, TTC fares and user fees,” the statement read. “Torontonians need these services and can’t afford to shoulder more costs.”
According to the release, Perruzza immigrated to Toronto as a child and is a carpenter by trade.
A profile on the city’s website says Perruzza was a North York councillor from 1988 to 1990, when he then became a member of provincial parliament.
Perruzza then served as a Toronto councillor for Ward 8 from 2006 to 2018, when he was elected to serve the new mega-Ward 7.
He was re-elected to represent Ward 7 — Humber River – Black Creek — in 2022.
In the release, Perruzza said he voted against raising property taxes.
“This year the City of Toronto will be writing a cheque to the provincial government for $2.2 billion. We can’t keep giving away almost one third of our property taxes,” he said. “It’s time for a new deal for Toronto and everyone knows it,” said Perruzza. “I will negotiate a new deal that works for our city.”
Perruzza said in the next few weeks he will be “talking to Torontonians about the future of our city and to seek their mandate to negotiate a better deal for Toronto.”
Perruzza joins a long list of high-profile candidates, such as former police chief Mark Saunders, city councillors Josh Matlow and Brad Bradford, and former city councillors Ana Bailao, Rob Davis and Giorgio Mammoliti.
Toronto’s top spot was left up for grabs after former Toronto Mayor John Tory stepped down earlier this year.
The official process for filing nomination papers opened on April 3.
The byelection for Toronto mayor is set for Monday, June 26.
— With files from Global News’ Gabby Rodrigues
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