Wednesday, November 25, 2009 2:45 PM
Curious George goes to the Board of Trade
Anna Mehler Paperny
It'll be a familiar face addressing well-heeled attendees on municipal leadership and the city's economic challenges at a Board of Trade luncheon next month.
Mayoral candidate George Smitherman, a political heavyweight in what promises to be a hotly contested race to replace Mayor David Miller, will speak at the inaugural discussion of the Board of Trade's lofty Vote Toronto 2010 speaker series.
The series is part of a gauntlet the Board threw down for would-be mayoral candidates last month, a year before Torontonians head to the polls (or, if previous voter turnout are anything to go by, a year before about a third of residents end up voting).
The ambitious "Framework for a Better City" challenges those running to come up with a fresh vision and budgetary fix for a city girding itself to wade through a potential $500-million worth of red ink.
There weren't supposed to be any speaking events for the next several months, however -- campaigns don't officially kick off until at least January, which is when Vote Toronto had hoped to roll out a roster of candidates and and mayoral hopefuls for a series of discussions and debates on the city's future.
"But Mr. Smitherman declared his intentions and the opportunity arose," said Philip Preville, the board's director of public affairs. "We wanted to act on that immediately, and so we did."
The Liberal MPP threw his hat in the mayoral ring officially early this month when he stepped down as deputy premier and energy and infrastructure minister -- making himself one of only two people to formally declare their candidacy in the race to replace Mayor David Miller 11 months from now.
But he's no stranger to the board's luncheons: It was at a January speaking event two years ago that Mr. Smitherman delivered a famously fiery, unscripted speech at a gala dinner -- one so passionate it sparked rumours that this was an unofficial launch for mayoral bid.
The then-health minister called Toronto "the greatest city anywhere, and touted himself as "one who was born in the city of York and raised in Etobicoke and who came out downtown."
He congratulated Mr. Miller on his recently released balanced budget -- "Next is a Stanley Cup for the Maple Leafs," Mr. Smitherman predicted.
But at the time he demurred when pressed on the question of a potential mayoral run -- Toronto mayor was his "dream job," he said, but that he was perfectly happy at Queen's Park.
Anyone interested in hearing more about Curious George's vision for the city, and too impatient to wait for the campaign platform he has promised will be forthcoming early next year, can do so for $130 a plate Dec. 11.
