A Gay Mayor in Toronto?

by Michael Jones · 2009-09-09 12:22:00 UTC
Topics:

George Smitherman

There's a certain Deputy Premier of Ontario who happens to be testing the waters for a run as Toronto's mayor next year.  His name is George Smitherman, and he's got a lot of titles.  Member of Parliament. Ontario's Minister of Energy and Infrastructure. And he also wears the badge as the first openly gay Cabinet Minister.

Come next year, if he follows through with his political teasing, he might just be elected Mayor of Toronto.  That would make Toronto North America's largest city with an openly LGBT mayor.  And that would be a pretty darn cool achievement.

Sure, Smitherman has a resume far beyond just his sexual orientation.  Here's the Globe and Mail's rather vivid take on him:

In a field where name recognition is critical, he is a headline-grabbing, oxygen-sucking Big Dog, the noisiest mutt in the pound. Ambition radiates off him like heat from a wood stove.

He has been a prominent MPP since 1999, when he became Ontario's first openly gay legislator and first openly gay cabinet minister. He has headed the high-profile, big-money Health ministry and, since last year, the powerful ministry of Energy and Infrastructure.

He has roots in the city, representing the diverse downtown riding of Toronto Centre. He has a history in city politics as campaign manager and chief of staff to former mayor Barbara Hall.

In short, he is just the sort of candidate who could the rip the chain of office from around Mr. Miller's neck like a run-by thief when Toronto votes in November 2010.

The Miller referenced above is David Miller, the current Mayor of Toronto with approval ratings rapidly approaching Dick Cheney levels.  That could be in part because of a massive strike in Toronto this summer which froze many city services, including trash collection.  Or it could just be that folks want a change.

Either way, Smitherman seems like he's ready to pounce.  And that could make Toronto the largest city in North America with a gay mayor.

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
PREVIOUS STORY:
Happy Birthday Rachel Maddow Show
NEXT STORY:
On Aeroflot's Birthday, Russian Activists Condemn Company's Anti-Gay Record. And You Can Help.

COMMENTS (4)

    Comment Policy

    · All fields are required to comment.

    [X]

    Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the campaign on Change.org. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments which, as determined solely in our discretion: (1) are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; (2) include content solely intended to personally attack the campaign creator, (3) are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them; and/or (4) violate our terms of service and/or privacy policy. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion. Please also be advised that: (A) we do not actively curate and/or monitor in any manner whatsoever the comments made on the Change.org platform, and (B) the creator of each campaign on Change.org may remove any comment at her/his/its discretion.