Toronto Muncipal Race: Pitfield Can't Beat Miller

An article in the Globe and Mail interviewed a number of key people in the past campaigns of Mel Lastman and John Tory.

The conclusion?

None wished to speak for attribution about Ms. Pitfield's prospects -- and none expressed much enthusiasm for her candidacy.

Dennis Mills for Mayor?

Some are doing more than waiting. Behind the scenes, a number of the powerful politicos that put Mr. Lastman in the mayor's chair are looking for another candidate.

The current hot prospect is Mr. Mills.

Now the vice-chairman of Magna Entertainment Corp., Mr. Mills was an aide to former prime minister Pierre Trudeau and a four-term Liberal MP for Toronto Danforth who earned a reputation as one of the most effective organizers in the House of Commons.

He provided the political push for the Pope's World Youth Day visit in 2002 and organized the Rolling Stones-headlined benefit concert after the SARS outbreak in 2003.

He almost dropped out of politics before the 2004 election, but stayed on to run unsuccessfully against NDP Leader Jack Layton, after which then-prime minister Paul Martin named him a one-man task force on the redevelopment of the Toronto waterfront -- a file that would land on his desk again if he were to become mayor.

Mr. Mills said last week that his priority is business, but also expressed an interest in getting into city politics at some point.

"Once our team cuts Magna Entertainment free of debt, I would like to challenge David Miller to turn his promises into performance," Mr. Mills said in an interview.

Despite his protestations, Mr. Mills is under heavy pressure to get into the race. One source said that if the money and campaign team needed for a serious challenge are lined up by midsummer, it is still better than even odds the former MP will enter the race by Labour Day.