Mississauga mayoral byelection: here’s who have entered the race

The son of Hazel McCallion and three councillors are among those who have thrown their names in the hat to become the next mayor of Mississauga.

On Wednesday, the race to lead the city west of Toronto officially kicked off as aspiring mayoral candidates began filing their nomination papers.

Peter McCallion, whose late mother was mayor of Mississauga for 36 years, submitted his paperwork on the first day of the nomination period, which will run until April 26.

“I’m gonna follow in her footsteps and keep going with it, and make it affordable for everybody and try and keep the taxes down,” McCallion said, adding that the race is wide open and there is a “good chance” that he will win.

Three current Mississauga councillors also filed their nominations this afternoon: Ward 1 Councillor Stephen Dasko, Ward 2 Councillor Alvin Tedjo, and Ward 5 Councillor Carolyn Parrish.

Tedjo said he was running to build a better future for Mississauga, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

“We have an incredible opportunity right now to plan for the future, to build more housing, to help make people’s lives more affordable,” he said.

“We need to grow up, we need to have more transit lines, we need to build connected communities. That’s what I’m going to try to do, and that’s why I think people are finding this race so interesting.”

For Dasko, he said he was passionate about the city, so he put his name forward. He added that while Mississauga is “good” right now, he wants to make it “great.”

“This is the time that we’re going to really come into our own,” Dasko said.

“We’ve got 50 years under our belt right now, and our next 50 is when we are going to truly make history around the globe for being excellent.”

When asked what sets her apart, Parrish said that, unlike her fellow councillors who are running, she resigned her seat before filing her papers because she was confident she would be elected mayor.

“People have different reasons for doing it. Some people want to raise their profile. Some people want to move on to another level of government. And they don’t give up their seats, do they? I have given up my seat on principle,” she said.

“If you’re not risking anything, why not throw your hat in? I’m risking something.”

Meanwhile, Peter Tolias, who owns a landscaping and plowing company, said he would bring a lot of business experience to the mayor’s office if elected.

“I’m just happy to be in the arena with them and let the best person win,” he said, referring to the other mayoral contenders.

Ward 7 Councillor Dipika Damerla is expected to file her nomination papers on Thursday.

The mayor’s seat was vacated earlier this year after Bonnie Crombie resigned from the position to lead the Ontario Liberal Party. Crombie was the mayor of the city for almost a decade.

Mississauga residents will choose their next mayor on June 10.

The complete list of candidates can be found on the city’s website.