John Tory has always been around: a friendly, avuncular man about town, forever popping up here and there.I recall seeing him march in the 2003 Pride Parade a few years after I arrived in Toronto. He was running for mayor then, and it felt somewhat remarkable, as he was a prominent conservative at a time when a lot of conservatives didn’t do Pride.Some still don’t. That’s what makes him a compelling civic and political figure: he showed up for things for a long time on the road to being mayor. Indeed, John Tory has mounted what has to be one of the longest sustained efforts to attain elected office, running a decades-long political marathon.He worked in premier Bill Davis’s and mayor Mel Lastman’s backrooms. There were intermittent stints practicing law, serving as CEO of Rogers and running the CFL. He also ran Kim Campbell’s failed 1993 federal election campaign, one that wasn’t so friendly as it had the infamous attack ad that mocked Jean Chrétien’s facial paralysis, suggesting there’s a calculated political ruthlessness behind Tory’s friendliness.In 2003, he ran for mayor, losing to David Miller. The next year, he became leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservatives, but the party lost the 2007 general election and Kathleen Wynne beat him in Don Valley West, the riding he chose to run in. He later lost a byelection and ultimately resigned as leader.Still in the public eye, or ear rather, Tory became CFRB’s drive time radio host each weekday. He also chaired CivicAction, a municipal engagement organization that has also been a stepping-stone into political office for MPPs Mitzie Hunter and Rod Phillips.Read more:John Tory takes your questions at the Star on TuesdayMayor John Tory taps Beaches-East York candidate to be ‘relief line champion’Jennifer Keesmaat struggling to gain on John Tory, poll showsAll of this requires showing up. Days. Evenings. Weekends. Endless events and ...
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