Random Access

Don’t look now, but there are fewer than four months left until the municipal election.
And what’s this? It looks like there might be a contest for not one, not two, but for three offices in a single ward this time around.
The headline race will clearly be the battle between former Mississauga-Erindale MP Carolyn Parrish and former Ward 7 councillor Ron Starr in Ward 6. Due to unforeseen circumstances, not only is there no incumbent for councillor in ward 6 because the City has two additional wards, but there are no incumbent trustees in the combined Wards of 6 and 11 either.
For those of us accustomed to seeing races for open seats once in every generation in Mississauga, it’s a real shock to the system.
The current Ward 6, held by George Carlson, was divided into half for purposes of representation on council, creating the new Wards 6 and 11. Carlson has chosen to run in 11, so there’s an open seat in the southern half, ward 6.
Wards 6 and 11 will remain one entity in terms of representation on the school boards, however, and there will be no incumbents running.
Warren Kennedy is moving out of Mississauga and is not seeking re-election to the public school board in 6-11. (Good thing they didn’t combine Wards 9-11 eh?)
Peter Ferreira, who was appointed to represent Ward 6 on the Dufferin-Peel board after the death of veteran trustee Art Steffler in 2004 is running for councillor in Ward 3.
Where no incumbent resides, a clutch (or is it a cluck) of candidates rush in to fill the void. So far there are four vying for public school trustee and three for separate in 6-11. You can view all the names at http://www5.mississauga.ca/vote2006/candidateslist.
The only real contests for councillor so far appear to be in Wards 6 and 3, where Ferreira did remarkably well against Maja Prentice last time around in a last-second campaign.
Eve Adams is seeking re-election for the first time in Ward 5 following Cliff Gyles’ involuntary inspection of Ontario’s penal system. If any incumbent is likely to be turfed, the common wisdom is that it is after the first term. But Adams hasn’t attracted any big-name opponents yet.
The long delay by Peel board trustee Rick Williams in registering for re-election on the board in Ward 5 prompted some to think he would run for council. However, he has now declared his intent to remain on the board.
The only remaining acclamation for council is in Ward 1. That’s a bit of a surprise given the current controversy over the Fram/Slokker rezoning application on the former St. Lawrence Starch property in Carmen Corbasson’s ward.
Know matter how Corbasson votes on that issue, it’s almost certain that someone in the opposing camp will mount a campaign. If the councillor endorses the rezoning, she may well attract an opponent from the powerful Credit Reserve Association.
The Ward 10 race will be this year’s version of the 2003 race in Ward 5, when you needed a scorecard, and a daily tout sheet, to sort out the 21 runners.
We’re already at 14, not counting three who’ve withdrawn. The potential councillors include some well-known names including current Ward 9 public school trustee Sue McFadden, Mississauga Committee of Adjustment member Craig Lawrence, Elias Hazineh of Palestine House who formerly ran Parrish’s constituency office and Adnan Hashmi, editor-in-chief of Sunday Times of Canada.
McFadden’s candidacy has caused a domino effect, with seven candidates already registered to try to take her spot. And that’s before school board trustees even consider raising their salaries.
If we’re not careful, this thing happening Nov. 13 looks like it might even have the potential to turn into an election.