By Hamutal Dotan

David Miller speaking to reporters during the recent strike. Photo by danepstein from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.

David Miller will be issuing some kind of announcement about the 2010 municipal election at 10 a.m. this morning (Friday). Word that he would be doing so started to spread a few hours ago, though no official press release has yet been issued by City Hall.
We aren’t, of course, privy to the contents of this statement, but we have been hearing from City Hall watchers that the mayor may announce that he will not be seeking reelection—contrary to his previous declarations. As recently as last month, after the city workers’ strike had concluded, Miller had proclaimed his intention to run in 2010, for what would be his third term in the mayor’s office. Certainly there is a great deal of speculation going on at the moment, for the precipitating cause of the announcement—almost fifteen months prior to the election, and more than three prior to the opening of nominations—is unclear.
Regardless of whether Miller announces a reelection bid or a withdrawal, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the upcoming campaign will be far more heated, and hard-fought, than seemed likely just a few months ago. In the aftermath of the strike Miller has been facing increasingly virulent criticism on a number of fronts, including from an expanding roster of potential campaign challengers. As we have argued before, we are inclined to find much of this criticism overblown, and we find ourselves hoping that the speculators prove, in this case, to have read the signals wrong.