Former Toronto police chief Mark Saunders joins mayoral race

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Restoring a sense of safety in Toronto would be his top priority if elected mayor, former police chief Mark Saunders says.

The high-profile candidate told the Toronto Sun he is running to be mayor of Toronto in the June 26 byelection.

“In my decades of service as a Toronto Police officer, I never experienced this level of fear creep across the city,” Saunders said. “Every corner of Toronto is feeling the unease, from Scarborough to Etobicoke, Black Creek to the downtown core. Restoring public trust and bringing a sense of community safety back to our streets must be the No. 1 priority for Toronto’s next mayor.”

As a former police chief, Saunders said he knows that just adding more police officers or spending more money are Band-Aids that won’t cure the city’s ills.

Instead, Toronto needs a mayor that will do the hard work needed for long-term results.

“My unique experience battling crime and its root causes in every community across Toronto gives me an equally unique understanding of how to tackle it,” he said. “City council needs new leadership, new ideas — or we’ll continue to get more of the same.”

If people don’t feel safe in Toronto, businesses and jobs will leave, and the city will continue down its negative path, he said.

Too many TTC riders feel anxious, like a young female transit customer who told him recently that it was her first time back in months and that she still feels nervous, or a man who said he’d rather drive in heavy traffic because he doesn’t feel safe on the subway, Saunders said.

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“We’re at a pivotal moment in our city and need to elect a mayor who can bring all voices to the table to focus on the real priorities and start fixing the problems,” Saunders said. “And I think it needs to be said: adding bike lanes to our busiest streets is not our biggest priority. The mayor needs to listen to all the voices, not just the loudest voice … We need leadership focused on restoring Toronto to the city where my Jamaican immigrant parents dreamed their children could prosper.”

Saunders is entering what is shaping up to be a crowded mayoral campaign, but he brings strong name recognition both as a former police chief between 2015-2020 and former provincial Progressive Conservative candidate in the riding of Don Valley West.

Nominations for mayoral candidates officially open April 3, but several people have already indicated they will run or are seriously considering it.

aartuso@postmedia.com