Scanned, recopied or Internet copy, if there are errors, please e-mail me with corrections: Opening comments: More at the end. National Post - Mar. 4, 2010 - By Megan O'Toole - motoole@nationalpost.com Only death will keep me from re-offering, Ms. McCallion, 89, lashed out at her fiercest rival, Councillor Carolyn Parrish, who has made no secret of her future mayoral ambitions. "There are people that may want to be mayor, on council now, that want to be mayor very badly," Ms. McCallion said. "And if they want to be mayor, put their name up. Run against me. Put their name up ... I challenge anybody to keep up with me." The mayor's comments come after Ms. Parrish publicly speculated on Ms. Mc-Callion's failure thus far to register for re-election in October. Though some observers were not surprised at the delay-- Ms. McCallion has won votes easily in the past and enjoys almost mythic popularity among the electorate, even without campaigning-- Ms. Parrish suggested there may be more to the story. Specifically, Ms. Parrish indicated the mayor may be biding her time strategically as she awaits the outcome of a pending judicial inquiry that will dissect past city business dealings. "I am not waiting for anything. I am running for mayor of Mississauga this fall," Ms. McCallion said. "I am 100% sure, unless I don't exist." Regarding the delay, Ms. McCallion said she would register when she gets around to it, noting she has given no time to the election this year, instead focusing on other challenges such as public transit and waterfront development. Ms. McCallion was highly critical of Ms. Parrish's overall approach in council, acknowledging the former Liberal MP has managed to wrest some control of the 12-member body since winning a seat in 2006. "The people that support me, support me not because they fear me," Ms. McCallion said. "You must ask those that support Carolyn as to why they support her ... The people are very happy with the way the city has gone. I don't know what went wrong in the last couple of years, but it's obviously that a certain councillor got on the council." Asked whether her next term in office, should she return as mayor, threatens to be equally contentious, Ms. Mc-Callion said that will be determined in October. "Whether this negativity that exists on council should remain, the public will decide," the Mayor said. "It's easy to be negative. It's far more challenging and satisfying to be positive." Home Page - Main Table of Contents - Back up a page - Back to Top [COMMENTS BY DON B. - ] |
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