The former president of the federal Liberal party, Stephen LeDrew, is mounting a last-minute campaign to become Toronto's next mayor, accusing incumbent David Miller of letting the city deteriorate.

LeDrew told CBC Radio on Friday morning that he has decided to run in the Nov. 13 election because he feels the city has deteriorated under Mayor David Miller and the race lacked a strong opponent.

Stephen LeDrew says Toronto's incumbent mayor, David Miller, has not been an effective or accountable mayor: 'This city cannot afford him as mayor for another four years.'
(CBC)

"I don't think that David Miller deserves another term as mayor," said LeDrew. "This city cannot afford him as mayor for another four years."

"Last weekend, I was mulling the situation over and I thought I will not let this race go by default to David Miller," he added.

LeDrew, 53, served as president of the Liberal Party of Canada from 1998 to 2003 and is known for his political punditry and bow ties.

While he has never been elected to public office, he touted his years of political activism.

He was forced to declare personal bankruptcy last year and ordered to pay over $240,000 by Revenue Canada, an issue his two main opponents figure to bring up in the final six weeks of the campaign.

LeDrew said it was not his choice to file for bankruptcy and that he didn't think it had any bearing on his capability of managing the budget for the biggest city in the country.

"I had a proposal to pay every penny and interest, and all penalties, and they [Revenue Canada] went ahead and did it.

"It's not a matter of mismanagement and it's not a matter of doing anything wrong."

Consider incineration, keep island airport opened

LeDrew criticized Miller for failing to be accountable to the public in a number of recent decisions, including the sole-source Bombardier contract and a deal to buy a landfill site.

He says one of the final straws for him came when he heard that the city had decided behind closed doors to purchase the Green Lane landfill site without releasing any financial details to the public.

He also disagreed with Miller's refusal to consider incineration as a viable solution to Toronto's growing garbage problem.

"Incineration is an option that should be seriously considered by Toronto," he said, though he acknowledged that at the moment there is no choice other than a landfill.

Asked about his opinion about the Toronto island airport, LeDrew said he believes the airport should stay because it provides business and a valuable service, but that a fixed link to the island would be "disastrous."

Final day to declare

LeDrew said he plans to file his papers mid-afternoon on Friday, the last day for candidates to declare.

The last-minute decision drew harsh criticism from mayoral candidate and city councillor, Jane Pitfield, who said anyone who waits until the last nanosecond to declare is not a serious candidate.

But LeDrew responded that he's serious about his bid to become mayor and six weeks is enough to campaign. It's not a presidential campaign after all, he retorted.

Asked about whether he would just end up splitting the vote by entering the race, he said he intends to drop out if Pitfield is leading as the election draws to a close.

"I will not be a spoiler," he said, adding that he'd expect the same of Pitfield if he's leading. "I hope she won't be a spoiler either."

In addition to the three main contenders, 35 others are running for mayor.

When nominations closed Friday, 278 people had declared their intention to vie for the 44 city councillor spots.