Giambrone enters race for Toronto mayor

Toronto city councillor Adam Giambrone announced on Monday that he will run for mayor in November's munipical election.

The 32-year-old Toronto Transit Commission chair has been signalling his intention to put his name forward for days now on Twitter, YouTube and Facebook.

His tongue-in-cheek YouTube video all but made his intentions official: "Mayors aren't made in a day. It takes years of physical and mental training to prove you can run a city," he says while doing jumping jacks, pushups and running on the spot.  "Political candidates must train hard for the long journey to the polls."

Political observers say he was using social media to create a buzz over his candidacy before making it official. Giambrone has been sending out email invitations since last week to a "Celebrate Toronto" party Monday night that will kick off his campaign.

As TTC chair, Giambrone recently faced negative publicity after charges of poor service on the transit system led him to publicly apologize last week.

Riders took photographs of TTC employees napping on the job and of one streetcar driver who stopped mid-route to use an ATM to do some personal banking. The photos were made public the same month the commission raised its fares.

Giambrone joins a field of candidates that includes former Ontario cabinet minister George Smitherman, former Liberal fundraiser Rocco Rossi and two fellow Toronto city councillors, Joe Pantalone and Giorgio Mammoliti.