Mayor Bonnie Crombie bids emotional farewell to Mississauga city council ahead of byelection

Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie bade an emotional farewell to city councillors at her last council meeting as mayor on Wednesday.

"It has been the experience of a lifetime, and quite honestly, it is an honour to serve with you and serve this incredible city," Crombie said in council chambers.

"I'll never forget it. It was always my life mission to serve. Like many of you, I still believe that politics is a noble profession and that you give it your all, as I do."

Council paid tribute to Crombie at the meeting following her successful bid for the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party. The tribute featured a video, short speeches by councillors who took turns lauding her time in office, photos and a poem. 

Her resignation as Mississauga mayor, which will take effect on Friday at 5 p.m., will lead to a byelection to replace her. 

Council is expected to declare Crombie's seat vacant at its next meeting on Jan. 17. It then has 60 days to pass a bylaw for a byelection for the vacant seat. There will be a nomination period, during which candidates can officially enter the race to replace her. 

2 councillors announce plans to run for mayor

Two councillors, Coun. Carolyn Parrish and Stephen Dasko, have already announced their intentions to run.

Parrish, who represents Ward 5, said she already has a team in place. She said she would resign her seat at the last minute to join the race for mayor. That would mean two byelections at the same time, she added.

"My plan is to run for mayor and to win," she said.

Dasko, who represents Ward 1, has already begun to identify issues for the next mayor.

"Infrastructure is going to be a significant massive issue that we do have to deal with," he said.

Until the byelection, councillors will take bimonthly turns serving as acting mayor, as they have done since September, when Crombie took leave to run for the Liberal leadership.

Shari Lichterman, city manager and chief administrative officer, has said it could be June before a byelection decides Crombie's replacement.

Myer Siemiatycki, Toronto Metropolitan University professor emeritus of politics, said the job may be appealing to politicians who previously served at other levels of government and will likely not come down to city councillors running for the top job of Mississauga.

"Becoming mayor has become a pretty attractive option for a number of politicians who previously served at other levels of government," he said.

He said whoever wins will face a number of challenges.

"How is the next mayor of Mississauga going to handle the budget challenge the city faces?"

In the last mayoral election, which Crombie won easily, there were seven other candidates.

Crombie credits Hazel McCallion as mentor

In her remarks Wednesday, Crombie talked about her political life, how the city has changed since she has been mayor and how the late former Mississauga mayor Hazel McCallion, her mentor, prompted her to run for council in the first place.

Crombie also talked about council's achievements, which she said included an increase in transparency, accountability, diversity, equity and inclusion.

Crombie wished her councillors well, speaking briefly about each of them, and saying she hopes the council remains united behind the next person in the top job.

"One of you will likely become mayor. Others will run, but the reality is you have the experience, the name recognition, and how important it is that we all get behind who the winner will be and they will continue the path that we have set," she said.

Crombie served three terms of Mississauga mayor. She was first elected mayor of Mississauga in 2014. Before that, she was city councillor for Ward 5, and previous to that, she was MP for Mississauga-Streetsville. She worked in business before getting into politics.

Coun. Dipika Damerla, who represents Ward 7, told Crombie that it's been a journey.

"What's really impressive, mayor, is you are a self-made woman," she said. "Good on you."