The race for the top job at city hall is heating up in Mississauga as two high profile candidates launched their campaigns on Sunday, setting up a showdown between the city’s current and former mayor.
Carolyn Parrish is Mississauga’s incumbent, and she’s looking to secure her first full term in next month’s municipal election after winning a byelection in 2024 when Bonnie Crombie stepped down in order to run for the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party.
However, after failing to win a seat in the provincial legislature, Crombie decided to return to municipal politics and try to win her old job back.
During Sunday’s campaign kickoff, it was clear there is no love lost between the two rivals.
“It’s very hard, I think it’s hard for her,” Parrish tells CityNews. “I think she’s floundering a little bit and we’ll just sit back and let it happen.”
“I don’t think this looks like floundering,” Crombie shot back during her launch party. “We are doing very, very well.”
During her kick off, Parrish stressed a desire to continue with the path she begun since taking over as mayor.
“I love our city. I’ve spent 40 years representing it at different levels and I’m not giving up on it now,” Parrish said, her voice breaking with emotion.
At her campaign kick off, Crombie reiterated she has the experience needed to create a future that is more affordable for the city’s residents.
“I am here because I care, because I love this city,” she said. “I could have had any job I wanted in the private sector, but I wanted to be here. I want to fix the mess at City Hall right now and I want to serve the people of Mississauga.”
Recent polling shows frontrunners Parish and Crombie in a dead heat with around 35 per cent support among decided voters.
Two other current city councillors have thrown their hats into the ring for the mayors race. Alvin Tedjo, who represents Ward 2, finished runner-up to Parrish in the mayoral byelection, and he’s looking to take the next step this fall.
“They’re looking for someone who can make their lives affordable, they’re looking for someone who can make their city a safer place. They’re looking for someone who can tackle the challenge that we have in front of us, with the international chaos that’s going around, we need Mississauga to be prepared for that and we need someone who’s going to plan for the next five, 10, 15 years, and that’s what I bring to the table,” he said.
Dipika Damerla has been a Mississauga councillor since 2018 and currently represents Ward 7. Before that, she was a Liberal MPP for seven years.
“All of the things that I’m running on I have already fought for,” she said during her campaign kick off on Saturday. “I’m running on a new independent audit agenda, I fought for it. I’m runnning on fixing the policing formula, I fought for it. …Everything in my platform I’ve already fought for, it’s change you can believe in.”
Mississauga voters will get the opportunity to size up the candidates when they take part in a mayoral debate at 7 p.m. Oct. 1 on CityNews 24/7. Mark McAllister will moderate the debate as candidates field questions from Food Banks Mississauga and the Metamorphosis Network.
Voters are set to go to the polls on Oct. 26.
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