[URBAN NOTE] "Inside David Soknacki’s Last Day on the Campaign"

[rfmcdonald]

Torontoist's David Hains has a nice piece of inside reportage inside the David Soknacki campaign for mayor of Toronto. It leaves me thinking--correctly?--that Soknacki is the mayor this city needs. Who, I wonder, will we get?

Sitting on a downtown patio with campaign manager Brian Kelcey and spokesperson Supriya Dwivedi, the David Soknacki camp is much more relaxed than usual on a sunny Monday. All their work—a year of preparation, campaigning, and personal sacrifices—is now out of their hands. Staff, and volunteers alike have the day off: an unusual move for a campaign that should be kicking into high gear. Soknacki himself attends a mayoral forum in the morning to discuss seniors’ issues, and then spends the rest of the day at his spice business offices just outside the city.

This is not a typical day in the campaign.

It’s September 8, and Soknacki has until Friday the 12th to decide whether to withdraw his name from the ballot. He is leaning towards doing so, and the final decision hangs on the outcome of a new Forum poll. Soknacki and his advisors aren’t campaigning because they are spending the day waiting: depending on the results of that poll he’ll either carry on, or announce that he’d be bowing out on Tuesday night. He’s got a campaign event already planned—a rallying-of-the-troops to celebrate his volunteers, at the St. Lawrence Market Jack Astor’s. It’s also to mark his birthday: Soknacki turns 60 on Tuesday.

The results of that poll come in a day later: it shows him at 6 per cent support, with 78 per cent name recognition. And with that, Soknacki decides to end his bid for mayor.