Torontonians split on Miller’s legacy; 2010 Mayoral race wide open

As David Miller begins his last year in office, people in Toronto are divided on his legacy and the race to replace him as Mayor is wide open, a new poll has found.

In the online survey of a representative sample of 503 adults in the City of Toronto, 45 per cent of respondents believe Miller will leave a positive legacy when he steps down as mayor, while 51 per cent believe his legacy will be negative.

One-in-four Torontonians (23%) think their city is in better shape now than it was in 2003 when Miller took over as mayor, and a similar proportion (24%) think Toronto is in about the same shape now. Two-in-five respondents (43%) believe Toronto is in worse shape now than it was six years ago.

The 2010 Race

In the early stages of the 2010 Mayoral race, name recognition plays a key role in the way voters relate to “would-be” candidates. Almost half of respondents (47%) are undecided in their assessment of seven prominent local politicians whose names have been mentioned as possible contenders.

Among decided voters, former leader of the Ontario PC Party John Tory is ahead with 46 per cent, followed by Ontario Minister of Energy and Infrastructure George Smitherman with 21 per cent, and City of Toronto Councilor Adam Giambone with 14 per cent.

Former Mayor of Winnipeg Glen Murray is fourth on the list with eight per cent. Support is lower for three city councilors: Denzil Minnan-Wong (3%), Michael Thompson (2%) and Giorgio Mammoliti (1%).