Long-time conservative columnist and media personality Anthony Furey has announced his campaign to run in a Toronto city council byelection.
Furey announced his decision to run in the Don Valley West byelection on a Toronto talk radio station Monday morning, pledging to work on fixing Toronto’s big issues.
“We are underperforming in so many ways,” said Furey. “And that is why I have made the decision that later on this morning, I will be going to city hall to officially register to run in the Don Valley West city council byelection to join city council so I can advocate for the residents of Don Valley West and the residents of this great city.”
Furey, a long-time conservative pundit who worked as True North’s former VP of editorial and content and as a Postmedia comment editor, dipped his toe into politics with his run for Toronto’s mayorship in the city’s 2023 byelection.
Furey placed fourth in the byelection, right behind former Toronto police chief Mark Saunders and ahead of left-wing candidates Josh Matlow, a city councillor, and Mitzie Hunter, a former MPP.
In a video posted to X, Furey said that as a city councillor, he would help find solutions to help reduce crime, improve Toronto’s traffic, and to stabilize the city’s budget without drastic tax hikes.
On the 640 Toronto with host Greg Brady, Furey talked about the city’s failure to develop Toronto’s infrastructure, as demonstrated by the flood that engulfed the city last week.
When challenged on his position to restrain the increase in property taxes, Furey said that Toronto’s residents are not getting superior services in line with the increases in taxes.
“If we had done a high tax increase and then we saw ‘oh wow, the money’s actually going to solving all of those problems,’ I think people are reasonable in that they want to see results,” said Furey.
“That’s the great frustration with these tax increases, we’re not seeing meaningful results.”
Furey is opposed to the renaming of Yonge-Dundas Square to Sankofa Square, saying the project shows that city council is not focused on the priorities that matter to Torontonians.
“The Sankofa Square thing matters because it is about priorities. Where councilors’ headspaces are at, what they’re focusing on, that they are telling staff to focus on.”
Mirroring his commitment during the mayoral byelection, Furey pledged to get rid of bike lanes on major streets with chronic vehicle congestion and to scrap plans to expand bike lanes to more major roads.
The Don Valley West seat opened up after 14-year city councilor Jaye Robinson died in May following a five-year battle with breast cancer.
Advanced voting in the byelection will run Oct. 26 and 27 with election day being held Nov. 4. Other candidates include Toronto Transit Commission transit policy director Dhruv Jain and former council candidate Evan Sambasivam.