TORONTO – It’s municipal voting day in Ontario.
Canada’s largest city will be in the spotlight as residents decide whether to extend the Ford family’s reign by sending Rob Ford’s older brother to the mayor’s office – or going for former Ontario Progressive Conservative leader John Tory or ex-NDP MP Olivia Chow.
And while the race to replace Ford has drawn international attention, Toronto isn’t the only city replacing a controversial incumbent.
Voters in London will choose a successor to Joe Fontana, who resigned as mayor this summer after he was convicted of government fraud for forging a check while he was a Liberal M-P.
Meanwhile, Mississauga’s Hazel McCallion, winner of 12 consecutive mayoral elections, has thrown her support behind Bonnie Crombie, who’s battling Steve Mahoney for the top job.
In nearby Brampton, a spending scandal could affect Mayor Susan Fennell’s tenure after an audit found more than $172,000 dollars in expenses that breached city policies – though some $41,000 was repaid, and a forensic audit later concluded that Fennell owed just $3,500.
And in northern Ontario, the aftermath of the deadly shopping mall roof collapse in Elliot Lake could influence the outcome of the election there.
A report released last week found municipal officials turned a blind eye to worsening conditions at the Algo Centre Mall before the roof collapsed in 2012, killing two women and injuring several others.
