Adam Giambrone ends bid for Toronto council re-election

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TTC Chairman Adam Giambrone has decided not to run for re-election, putting an end to his council career but not his political aspirations.

The 33-year-old councillor intends to take a breather from public life for a few years before attempting a comeback, likely at Queen's Park or Parliament Hill, he said in an exclusive interview with The Globe and Mail.

"[Jean]Chrétien left politics. Look at Bob Rae, right?" Mr. Giambrone said. "Those are only the first two that come to my head. I'm sure you could come up with a list of 20 or 30 in the last couple decades that decided either by their own choice or because they lost an election or a leadership, to go off, do something else and then come back."

An archeologist and former president of the federal NDP, Mr. Giambrone said he's already received at least one job offer. He plans to pursue an international project or a local job outside the elected realm now that he's confirmed he won't defend his Davenport seat.

Kevin Beaulieu, Mr. Giambrone's executive assistant, confirmed last night that he will run for the seat. Mr. Beaulieu, known around City Hall and Ward 18 as an affable and hard-working lieutenant, said "it's a commitment I've decided to make and I'll have more to say about it later."

Mr. Giambrone's decision closes a chapter that began with high hopes for a wunderkind elected at 26 and ended with a disgraced withdrawal from the mayoral race.

In the nearly two months since he admitted to lying about affairs with multiple women, Mr. Giambrone said he's buckled down on TTC work and spent time with old friends, all the while marvelling at the support he's received from average Torontonians.

"What I was very interested to see across the city were people's reactions," he said. "Because a lot of people, across the broad stroke of the population, faith communities, everything, made a very clear distinction between politicians' lives and whether you support someone for their ideas and their competency in the post."

That doesn't mean Mr. Giambrone defends cheating on his long-time girlfriend and lying about it to the press and public. Leaning back in his office chair with his fingers interlaced behind his head, the lanky councillor is eager to talk about how he's learned his lesson. He returns to that redemptive theme again and again when asked why he lied about his philandering.

"When you go through one of these situations - and I say an opportunity almost because it's a learning experience," he said. "You know, a lot of this is about your personal life and what I feel very strongly is that there should be a separation between your work politically and your personal life. What you go through is you make mistakes in your personal life, you have a chance to learn about the situations, and you recalibrate."

He insisted his core campaign team - "to a person" - urged him to stay in the race to replace his mentor David Miller.

"You've got to decide how much you're prepared to drag your family through," he said. "For me, the decision to drop out was as much about the effect it would have on people who I cared a lot about."

His failed mayoral bid didn't leave him bitter or jaded, he said. He bounced back thanks in part to the resiliency he learned surviving the day-to-day travails of running the TTC. He's proud of the work he's done in nearly four years at the helm of the transit agency, despite a few months of terrible public relations for the Red Rocket.

"There's been some recent negativity but if people step back and look at what's happened to the TTC in terms of programs, there's a lot happening in the electronic initiatives, and [we had]the largest amount of new service added to the commission in four years in its history," he said.

He believes that neither simmering troubles at the TTC nor the sex scandal would have cost him Ward 18, southwest of Dupont Street and Dovercourt Road.

Local fans outweigh the vocal minority who criticized his support for narrowing Lansdowne Avenue and reducing on-street parking on Dundas Street West, he said, waving to a map of his pie-shaped ward.

"That's not really an issue. Hard-fought campaigns - I've done those. I'm not worried about that. There's a lot of support out there in Ward 18."