A poll of Mississauga residents has found that former councillor, MPP and MP Steve Mahoney would defeat Councillor Bonnie Crombie in a head-to-head race for mayor.

The Forum Research poll has Mahoney at 29 per cent support and Crombie at 22 per cent with remaining voters undecided.

The poll was conducted Tuesday, a day after Mahoney registered to make a run for Mayor Hazel McCallion’s job. The 93-year-old mayor, who has held the office since 1978, has said this will be her final term.

The telephone survey of 899 Mississauga residents is accurate plus or minus 3 per cent 19 times out of 20, according to Forum.

“It may be that Steve Mahoney has become the candidate to beat since his entrance into the race,” said Forum president Lorne Bozinoff. “Bonnie Crombie is still well-liked, but it seems Mississaugans have long memories for the good old days.”

Mahoney joined council with McCallion in 1978 and served until 1987. He then jumped to provincial politics as an MPP from 1987 to 1995, followed by another step up as an MP from 1997 to 2004.

Crombie has not yet registered to run, but is widely rumoured to be ramping up her campaign. Her husband, Brian Crombie, who is deeply involved in the local political scene, stepped down as chair of the Mississauga and Western GTA summits earlier this week as he is getting ready to help with his wife’s campaign, sources said.

Bonnie Crombie said Monday she will be making an announcement “in the next couple of weeks,” but she did not commit to running.

Crombie was a Mississauga MP from 2008 to 2011. After losing her federal seat, she ran successfully in a Mississauga byelection for the Ward 5 seat she currently holds.

Her entry into the mayoral race would pit two loyal Liberals against each other, though municipal politics does not have a party system in Mississauga.

McCallion, a Liberal supporter, could swing the vote if she endorses one of the two, but both Mahoney and Crombie said the beloved mayor is remaining neutral.

Despite their strong Liberal party ties, Mahoney and Crombie have already taken shots at each other since Mahoney registered on Monday. She suggested he does not represent Mississauga “today” while he suggested she has failed to offer any real vision for the future.

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The mayoral campaign, ahead of the Oct. 27 election, will be the first truly contested race in decades. McCallion ran virtually unopposed and didn’t even mount a campaign in recent elections.

Things will be different this year with many voters demanding to know how the candidates plan on tackling big issues facing the city, such as sharp recent tax increases to cope with its $1.5-billion infrastructure deficit.

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