Say hello to your new mayoral slate. And get ready for a brutal six-week campaign charged with some campaign chemistry seldom seen in Toronto politics. Can John Tory continue to be seen as the only acceptable choice for mayor? Will his sober and friendly approach to politics win enough hearts and minds? As of this week, he stood at 40 percent in public support. But with Rob Ford out of the race, and sick into the bargain, will his brother, Doug, launch furious in-fighting to change that. Will he, of all things, extract a sympathy vote because of his brother’s illness? Will Olivia Chow stay in the race? In what seems an unlikely inversion of sentiment, the John Tory campaign may not want her out. Sure, she is not likely to win, but at the least she will draw fire if she is in the race. The chemical cocktail may put electors flat on their backs. The polling has already begun
