He finished a very distant fourth in a mayoral race dominated by three other candidates, but Ari Goldkind still wants a role to play in Toronto politics.
"If I can serve as a reality check on the machine, or the conscience of the city, that would be of great interest to me," Goldkind said Tuesday as he mulled the results of his longshot run.
A lawyer, the first-time candidate started getting some press and got under the skin of Doug Ford, who notably threatened to pull out of debates if Goldkind was participating in them.
Still, he finished with 0.4 per cent, and fewer than 4,000 votes.
"There was certainly a cacophony of reporting that said I had no chance," said Goldkind, arguing the voters, after seeing city hall decisions for years through "a Ford lens," divided into pro- and anti-Ford camps.
But rejecting the Fords is not the same as rejecting their policies, said Goldkind, one of the few municipal candidates stumping for higher property taxes – perhaps 50 cents a day - to help people who are struggling or address areas where Toronto is lagging behind.
"The sky would not fall," he added in a city hall restaurant where he was recognized by several passers-by.
Why didn’t he run for a council seat, he was asked.
"I was not intending to be part of the machine. I wanted to reboot the machine, as naïve as it might sound," Goldkind said.
Though he continued to criticize Mayor-elect John Tory’s policies as too similar to those of the Ford brothers, Goldkind praised "the grace and dignity" with which Tory campaigned, and said he’d offer the new administration his help, if asked.
He might get that chance.
Outside in Nathan Phillips Square barely an hour later, Tory said his opponents, Goldkind included, had shown they had ideas and a passion for the city. If they wanted "to take on some role" to make Toronto better, Tory said, he’d let them.
He named David Soknacki, a former Scarborough councillor who dropped out of the race before Nomination Day last month, as a member of his Transition Advisory Council.
There were dozens of other candidates for mayor, ranging from political bloggers to a dominatrix and a professional clown.
Selina Chan, a photographer who finished fifth and announced she had not voted for herself, was left wondering on Tuesday who the 2,336 people were who cast their ballots for her. "I love them," she said in one tweet.
Morgan Baskin, a 19-year-old candidate who also participated in some debates with top contenders, finished eighth, with one-tenth of one per cent of the vote.
Dewitt Lee, who also ran for mayor in 2010 and said he had "great expectations" to finish in the top five this time, didn’t, but was glad to take part nonetheless.
"It’s a real honour to invite people into the democratic process," said Lee, who worked in cooperation with some other lesser-known candidates in a "united fringe."
On Tuesday, he also announced the launch of the Toronto Community Agency Board, a group Lee said will seek to keep citizens engaged and councillors accountable in wards across the city.
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