"Right out of Veep:" it's Mayor Parrish
The Tories are bullish. Crombie is proud. Here's what a new mayor will mean for Queen's Park
THE LEDE
Carolyn Parrish is Mississauga’s next mayor.
Despite late polling pointing to a narrowed, three way race for the top job, it was a slam dunk for the former councillor, who ran a traditional frontrunner campaign. “It played out very, very well,” said campaign manager Kim Carson, who led Patrick Brown’s initial mayoral bid in Brampton.
“We concentrated on community events, on being in the community with the people that wanted to ask Carolyn questions that were important to them.”
Parrish took a bit over 30 per cent of the vote, with runner-up, councillor and past Liberal leadership candidate Alvin Tedjo trailing at 25 per cent. Two of Tedjo’s council peers — previous Liberal cabinet minister Dipika Damerla and former PC MPP Frank Klees' top aide Stephen Dasko — came in third and fourth, at 20 and 16 per cent.
Here’s the prelude on what went down — and what a new mayor will mean for Queen's Park:
At Parrish’s hub, the mood was euphoric. As supporters hit the lavish smorgasbord, mingling outside the hall, supporters were positive that by the night’s end, the former councillor would come out on top. Within half an hour, Damerla, Tedjo and Dasko each conceded.
“She is now the leader of all of us and it is in our interest to work together to make sure that we have the best city,” Tedjo said at Keenan’s Irish Pub.
“She’s done a good job, well done,” Damerla, at the Crooked Cue, added.
“I’m proud of the fact that we ran a very positive, progressive campaign,” Dasko boasted inside the Oasis Convention Centre.
In her speech, an unscripted, jubilant Parrish — who tossed her prepared speech, calling it “way too much” — said change was on the way. “The region is going to be stronger now because you’re going to have three mayors that actually get along.”
“We will be formidable when we go to Queen's Park or to Ottawa to tell them we need our fair share of funding here,” she added.
It was a race with much at stake for Queen's Park — municipalities keep tight with the province — and locally, the Tories are bullish. “I think we can work very closely with her as a mayor, and she has a lot of views of what we want for Mississauga and the province, together,” said local PC MPP Rudy Cuzzetto at Parrish's victory party.
“There’s a lot of opportunities that were missed when the previous mayor was here. Mississauga’s population had declined. We know that we have to build homes. If you don’t want the homes up north, they have to come down here. We have to build.”
The new mayor will have to work with Ford and his crew closely. Of the six seats in the city, only one is not blue (East—Cooksville’s Kaleed Rasheed is an independent after he quit caucus and cabinet over his infamous trip to Vegas with a developer).
“Parrish will need to cultivate collaborative ties with not only Premier Ford but with the PC MPPs who hold all the seats in the city,” said Conservative strategist Christine Simundson. The Ford government was “elected with a decisive majority based on their vision for the province,” which, she explained, was bolstered when “their seats expanded to pick up two more local seats in Peel.”
And on building more homes, a top priority for the Tories, Parrish and Ford are already even: Viewed as a YIMBY throughout the race, the new mayor said she’ll be all about speeding up the construction of new digs. Speaking to reporters, she said her top item will be “to get the best developers and builders that we’ve got in our city, and bring them in to be my advisers” — and pledged to flex her “strong mayor” muscles “if I have to.”
“It’s critically important to Mississauga to secure a better deal and finally get their fair share from Queen’s Park,” said NDP strategist Erin Morrison.
Parrish — who took to Liberal leader Bonnie Crombie’s side during a spat with Ford as mayor, over legislation to force municipalities to cut development charges — has labelled Ford a “male chauvinist pig.”
“We’ve learned from Mayor [Olivia] Chow that a mayor can get Premier Ford to budge by skipping personal attacks and making it constructive,” Morrison explained. “I think it’s up to both of them now to show people they can act like grownups, drop the personal attacks, and instead focus on the needs of the people.”
Indeed, said Parrish. “I've learned a lot from Olivia, watching her work with Ford. I think she’s doing a really good job.”
Negotiating a new deal, similar to the one secured by Toronto and Ottawa, is among her options, she added.
Speaking privately, one government insider painted a contrast between Crombie and Parrish — but predicted not much will change. “Don’t think it will materially impact us. No one is fussed,” they said. “Bonnie had bigger ambitions, whereas Carolyn [Parrish] is truly passionate about the city’s future. I think that will reflect well when it comes to her asks of the province. Ford likes that.”
Meanwhile, the Liberal leader’s municipal heir is a past foe — but Crombie said she’s “very proud.”
“I’m very proud that you’ve won — and we will work together to ensure that cities have a new deal and are properly funded,” she told Parrish during an impromptu visit, saying she was convinced that she would emerge victorious.
(“Right out of Veep,” quipped one source about Crombie crashing Parrish’s victory avail. “WHO crashes the winning candidates’ press conference? I can’t. Hilarious beyond words. And very rude.”)
In town, it’s no secret that there’s no love lost between the both, dating back to a heated local council race. The new mayor has called Crombie, a past rival, “her blondness,” a failed federal parliamentarian and a “woman under orders” by former mayor Hazel McCallion. As reported in this newsletter, privately, throughout the race, “the broad consensus on Team Bonnie [was] Team Anyone But Carolyn.”
The former mayor predicted that Parrish’s “shrewd” approach, nonetheless, would help her form a “strong coalition of councillors.”
“I know you will be a very strong voice and very strong leader for Mississauga, carrying on the tradition from Hazel, and I hope, a little bit of myself.”
But for the Liberal leader, much more was on the line. She stayed out of the race. “Far be it for me, from the perch of Queen’s Park, to come down and tell the people of Mississauga who to support for mayor,” Crombie said. “I know all the councillors — but I knew all along that Carolyn would be victorious tonight and I’m very pleased for her.”
With a split of key Liberal operatives with Tedjo and Damerla, including two of her top allies, jumping into the race was internally viewed as a risky move.
“It would be embarrassing for Darryn [McArthur] if she endorsed Dipika and embarrassing for Tom [Allison] if she endorsed Alvin,” one source said. Allison is Crombie’s incoming provincial campaign director, while McArthur is her de facto chief.
“I don’t understand why the Liberals divided themselves on a race they were probably never going to win,” a second said.
“What we need is for everyone to come together,” Crombie said of the disunity. “It’s unfortunate that everyone was split — but everyone will come together when it's time to fight the provincial race.”
Meanwhile, it's all eyes on Allison's future in her inner circle. With Damerla placing a distant third, questions about the veteran’s role on Team Crombie are swirling — and there’s shade all around.
“By choosing to run a mayoral campaign at this time shows where his priorities are — and it's clearly not with Bonnie,” said another source. “Sure, he could’ve been an advisor, but having a day-to-day role is poor judgement,” pointing to his cameo on CP24, seemingly masquerading as a resident supporting his boss.
“Our team is evolving and there will be some announcements about the team going forward,” Crombie said when asked about Allison’s future.
Despite the raised eyebrows, we’ve learned that, alongside activating the “electoral urgency” clause, the party’s campaign committee was named at Sunday’s executive council meeting — and Allison, like McArthur, is on the roster. They will be part of a team in charge of approving nomination rules.
Over in Ward 5: veteran Liberal organizer Natalie Hart beat Parrish’s former executive assistant Danny Singh. With indication of a “statistical tie” between the two, Hart received the former mayor’s endorsement a week out — and Crombie recorded a robocall that hit residents’ phone lines on election eve and day.
Unlike the mayoral, the nod in this local council race was viewed as a no-risk move, according to several party sources.
At the Turtle Jack’s, Hart said she was “grateful” for Crombie's support. “As a former councillor and the former mayor, she understands the work. I’m very proud to have received that support. I do believe that it did make the difference.”
At the local level, it’s viewed as a counter to Parrish, who despite promising to stay neutral, had, seemingly, all but backed Singh. His canvassers have knocked doors and installed twinning signs for both candidates. Singh took a shot at Crombie over her nod to Hart in a Facebook post: “She is endorsing a Liberal candidate so she can control council from Queen’s Park.”
The next day, the runner-up blamed Crombie for the vanquish. “[She] couldn’t handle a local guy who did the work here and has lived here his entire life to win,” he wrote. “I urge you all to get involved in Bonnie’s campaign and ensure she is defeated in the next election as she interfered with my campaign after abandoning us twice!”
In Liberal land, too, not all were happy with Crombie’s move. “Crombie interfering in a municipal by-election against a strong local candidate (who is a highly qualified person of colour in one of the most diverse wards in the city ) has divided the party. Many feel this is against Liberal values of diversity and representation and strategically, a very bad move,” texted one insider.
“It's just the latest in a series of disastrous decisions that have seen the excitement around Crombie as a challenger to Ford evaporate.”
“For the record: I would have advised against this,” wrote former trustee Nokha Dakroub, who supported Crombie during the leadership race. “I love Natalie but the Premier of Ontario has better things to do than pick winners in council races.”
Cue a counter — publicly and privately.
“Why would Bonnie endorse Parrish’s EA?” texted one, in response to the above shade. “The whole party is supportive of her. Context: It was truly no risk for Bonnie; anecdotal: I have not heard one person talking about how she made a mistake except two or three people on social media who are angry at Bonnie anyways.”
“I don’t know who this insider is but they know nothing about anything and are not an actual insider,” wrote Grit strategist Sharan Kaur.
“No actual ‘insider’ would write this about their own campaign,” added Omar Yar Khan, a former top aide in Kathleen Wynne’s government.
“Paging Doug Ford, he did it in Toronto just six months ago,” reacted Mainstreet's Quito Maggi.
“Frankly, I think that she’s a woman that wants to see women succeed in politics — and that’s okay," Hart said. “I don’t think it’s about a party.”
“Everyday a new drama in Bonnie land,” bantered one Liberal, privately.
What’s next: Parrish’s inauguration will go down on June 24 at 7pm inside the council chamber, per the city. Hart will also take the oath as a councillor.
WHAT WE'RE READING
— This reporter teed up the dynamic between Mississauga’s new and former mayor — and how her surprise cameo came down. Though chummy on camera, the duo’s relationship has been sour.
— Edward Keenan says Parrish won “the safest job in Canadian politics.”
— Here’s how many people voted (be warned: not many).
— John Michael McGrath says if she’s lucky, the province will help her by injecting new cash to cover budget gaps before she's on the ballot again in two years.
— Meanwhile, Joe Warmington says beware: Parrish is “one who will hold no prisoners or hold back on how she feels about anything and everything.”
— Brampton and Caledon’s mayors are optimistic about the future of the cities’ relationship.
— Laura Stone has a biog of the new mayor, who doesn’t carry any banners anymore. “I’m not a Liberal and I’m not a Tory.”