Ever since former Ontario PC leader John Tory announced he wouldn't be announcing his mayoralty campaign this time around, Progressive Conservatives the city over have been looking for another standard bearer in the 2010 mayoralty race. Other, that is, than Rob Ford (who is still at this point mulling over the encouragement he's received from his polling numbers and certain newspaper columnists).
One name that's come up among the city hall whispering class is that of Chris Stockwell - the former Etobicoke Tory MPP, Harris government cabinet minister and House Speaker. In this role, one might say he helped fend off the amalgamation of Toronto when he let an anti-Megacity filibuster continue despite attempts by the Mike Harris government to shut it down.
He didn't leave Queen's Park on the best of terms - he left politics amid an expense account scandal in 2003. But he might have been a viable candidate to give voice to the right, from the right, in this election wherein all the right-of-centre talking points are being monopolized by Liberals like Rocco Rossi and Giorgio Mammoliti.
Alas, it appears as though Stockwell's not up for it. In a telephone interview, he said the idea has no draw for him.
"I've certainly had people phone - but I have no interest right now," he said. "I think there's more interest in having me run than I have in running myself."
He bristled at the idea that Rossi, who has spoken about putting the brakes on Transit City and selling off public assets, is a conservative voice.
"If anyone's starting to talk about program spending, layoffs, balancing the budget and renegotiating labour agreements - that's what I'd call a conservative view," he said. "Right now it's a big Liberal pillow fight."
Those may sound like fighting words. But as Stockwell insisted...
They're not.