Longtime Toronto councillor Paula Fletcher announces retirement
Fletcher said she’s still councillor until the fall and said she’ll continue answering calls for broken branches or sewer issues, like she has this week.
Toronto councillor Paula Fletcher has announced she will be retiring from politics after serving on city council for 23 years. Fletcher, who represented the Toronto-Danforth ward, made the decision to withdraw her name from the upcoming race just days after registering to run for another term. She told Global News that she had a "come to Jesus moment" while paddleboarding on Lake Ontario, where she decided it was time to call it a career.
Fletcher stated that her health is fine, despite questions about her sudden change of heart. However, she emphasized that it was time to enjoy the city she has fought to improve for over two decades. She also mentioned that she didn't have enough time to tackle major projects like the Don River and waterfront revitalization, which she has been pushing for.
As for a potential successor in her ward, Fletcher said she has not made any decisions and will wait to see who puts their name forward. She noted that she succeeded Jack Layton in the ward and that her constituents have a shared set of values that they expect to be respected by whoever comes next. Fletcher made it clear that she will not just put her feet up over the next couple of months.
She will continue to serve as councillor until the fall, answering calls for broken branches or sewer issues, as she has been doing recently.
Nominations for municipal elections close at 2 p.m. on Friday. Late entry candidates have already been registered, including Mike Layton for University-Rosedale and former MP Nate Erskine-Smith in Beaches-East York.
Written by urgent.news from Global News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
