On his first day as mayor-elect, John Tory named his 29-person transition team and began selecting his staff at city hall.

In the wake of his victory over Doug Ford and Olivia Chow, Tory is now calling on his political rivals to join him at city hall when he takes the chair in December.

The new transition team will include former journalist-turned communications expert Christopher Eby, who becomes Tory’s chief of staff.

Vic Gupta, a onetime provincial Progressive Conservative candidate in Richmond Hill, becomes Tory’s principal secretary. Gupta was the executive assistant to councillor Rob Davis from 1997 until 1999. He was also the deputy campaign manager for Tory’s 2003 mayoral bid.

Both Gupta and Eby formerly worked at Sussex Strategy Group in Toronto.

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The transition team and advisory council will both be led by former deputy mayor Case Ootes, who also helmed Rob Ford’s transition team in 2010.

The team includes campaign strategist Nick Kouvalis, mayoral candidate David Soknacki and former city bureaucrats, along with several non-profit, business and academic leaders.

Over the next month, Tory will pick others to fill out his office staff, including a communications director. Amanda Galbraith, the chief spokesperson for Tory’s campaign, is being considered for the role.

Tory’s first day as mayor-elect started at 5 a.m. Tuesday, when he began making the interview circuit on radio and TV. He told Ryan Doyle, the host of his former show The Live Drive on Newstalk 1010, that he would strive to not act like an “ass” on council.

Tory’s team, meanwhile, set up inside a 15th floor office at city hall — what will be transition headquarters for the next month before he moves down to the second-floor office of the mayor.

If the invitations are accepted, Tory’s team at city hall could soon include those who once ran against him.

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Tory told the Star he spoke with Olivia Chow on Monday, after the polls closed. In his victory speech, he commended Chow for her “vision of Toronto that appealed to the best in a lot of us.”

“Olivia I had a brief conversation last night, obviously on the phone. And I’ve obviously said some things publicly, which I meant — which is that I would like to find a way for both of them to participate in some way,” Tory said of both Chow and Soknacki in a phone interview Tuesday. “In Olivia’s case, you know I don’t want to violate a private conversation, but she said she’s going to take a bit of a rest as any sane person would.”

Just how Chow might contribute is yet to be discussed.

Chow said she has not yet decided what she will do post-election. On Tuesday she enjoyed a sit-down lunch with her mother and brother and said she looks forward to doing “normal things.”

“I’m going to take some time off,” she told the Star. Chow said she had no suggestions for Tory as he starts his transition this week.

“I think he has good people around, so I don’t think he needs any advice from me.”

Tory said he would also like Doug Ford, Karen Stintz and Ari Goldkind to be involved at city hall in some way.

“I honestly believe people who have enough gumption and passion to run for public office are people that obviously care a lot about the city,” he said. “We need them all to be given whatever chance they like to do something.”

As for appointments — including that of deputy mayor and the chair positions on the city’s seven standing committees — Tory said those roles have not yet been discussed.

“When it comes to city council, I have not discussed anything with anybody, to make that clear,” Tory told reporters. “So any rumours you hear are rumours you should not take to the bank.”

When making appointments in 2010, Rob Ford packed his executive committee with mostly right-wing councillors representing suburban wards.

Tory, who ran on a promise to end the “division” at city hall, told the Star he wants to have a balanced approach to committees — putting the people he needs to achieve his agenda in key roles while making sure every councillor has a place.

“I want to wait and see what they want to do,” Tory said. “And I want to have further conversations with them, because you want to put people in positions of responsibility you can rely on, as well as putting the people in who are best suited to do those jobs.”

Tory will be sworn in Dec. 2.

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