Two city councillors say they’ll run to succeed Crombie as mayor of Mississauga
Published December 5, 2023 at 5:29 pm
Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie said earlier today she expects a well-populated and “open field” of candidates to do battle to succeed her once she resigns her post early in the new year.
Well, the first two candidates have already tossed their hats into the mayoral byelection ring.
The pair of hopefuls, City of Mississauga councillors Carolyn Parrish (Ward 5) and Stephen Dasko (Ward 1), have revealed their intentions to run for mayor of Canada’s seventh-largest city once Crombie, 63, officially leaves to take full-time charge of the Ontario Liberals.
That’s expected to happen sometime in early January, according to Crombie, who’s said she wants to take care of final budget business — both Mississauga and Region of Peel financial plans — over the next month or so before calling it quits in Mississauga.
Upon Crombie’s resignation, the municipal wheels will turn toward a yet-to-be-scheduled mayoral byelection to determine her successor for the remainder of the four-year term.
The next municipal election in Ontario takes place on Oct. 26, 2026.
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Ward 1 Coun. Stephen Dasko said on Tuesday he intends to run for mayor once Mayor Bonnie Crombie resigns the seat in the new year.
Veteran politician Parrish, 77, who has served both as an MP (1993-2006) and Mississauga city councillor (since 2006, with a four-year absence from 2010-14), confirmed to insauga.com on Tuesday afternoon that she does intend to run for mayor.
She added she’ll resign her Ward 5 seat in time for a ward byelection to take place at the same time as the mayoral race.
“I have always believed that those vying for a new office should relinquish the old,” Parrish said in a text to insauga.com. “I will be resigning as Ward 5 councillor in time for the byelection in (Ward) 5 to take place at the same time, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars and two rounds of disruption.”
Dasko, meanwhile, is a relative newcomer to Mississauga city council, having earned the seat in the 2018 municipal election.
A guest Tuesday morning on The Norm Show on Sauga 960 AM radio, Dasko, 52, spoke generally about the upcoming mayoral byelection before letting it be known he’s planning to take a run for the mayor’s office.
“Between you, me and the audience, yes, I’ll let you know here that I do intend to put my name forward at the appropriate time,” Dasko told host Norm Murray.
Dasko also noted there are rumblings from others on city council who feel compelled to take a shot at succeeding Crombie. While not naming anyone in particular, he added that such interest reflects positively on Mississauga.
“So, having some people indicating they’re interested is a healthy day for the city,” he said.
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