For a man who insists he hasn’t made up his mind yet, John Tory sure sounds like he is campaigning to be Toronto’s next mayor.

Starting each day at 6 a.m., Tory’s calendar is filled with meetings with community groups, charitable organizations, municipal politicians and business leaders as well as hosting his own three-hour radio talk show. In his spare time, he moderates political panels, co-authors opinion page articles and attends fundraising events.

And everywhere he goes, Tory talks passionately about the issues facing Toronto, from youth unemployment and social housing to traffic gridlock and the need for more business investment to keep the economy moving.

At the same time, though, everywhere he goes Tory is asked the inevitable question: Will you run for mayor of Toronto in the October 2014 election?

Since June, Tory has repeatedly answered only that he is “considering” entering the race to unseat Mayor Rob Ford, who has been disgraced since admitting he has smoked crack cocaine and bought illegal drugs during his time in office.

But behind the scenes, friends and supporters are organizing on Tory’s behalf, arranging for fundraising, campaign headquarters and communications plans to be ready if and when he officially jumps into the election.

“Oh, you mean John Tory’s non-campaign campaign,” laughed a senior organizer for councillor Karen Stintz, one of only two declared candidates so far, when asked this week about Tory’s heavy schedule of public appearances.

If he entered the race, Tory would be a strong contender. Recent polls give him good marks, his organizational network is strong, his fundraising ability is unsurpassed and his knowledge of civic issues is comparable to that of any potential rival.

On Tuesday, Tory spent an hour with the Toronto Star editorial board in his role as chair of CivicAction, an alliance of influential business, labour and community leaders that focuses on a variety of regional issues. He came to discuss CivicAction’s projects dealing with youth unemployment and its new campaign aimed at encouraging residents and elected officials to focus on how best to pay for a regional transportation network.

But the conversation soon spread to touch on Rob Ford, how Tory would operate if he were mayor, what went wrong with his 2003 failed mayoral campaign, his wife’s opinion on whether he should run in 2014 and more.

There’s “lots of time” to decide whether to challenge Ford, Tory said. It’s anticipated he will decide once and for all in mid- to late-February. Candidates cannot officially file to run until Jan. 2.

He expressed irritation that he’s constantly being asked if he’s running. “No one keeps asking Olivia (Chow) if she’s decided yet,” he said, referring to the NDP MP who is planning to enter the race in February.

About a recent campaign organization meeting attended by about 60 politicians and civic activists who support Tory, he said the people “are not working for me. I told them it was nice that they have confidence in me,” adding that he had no role in planning the session.

Tory, who has said Ford should take a leave of absence, said that if he were mayor he would be on the job early, noting his current 6 a.m. starts and the fact that Ford often drifts into the office at noon.

On the public and taxes, Tory said residents are “angry” over what they see as abuses of their taxes, adding there is a widespread lack of confidence towards all levels of government over how tax dollars are being spent.

On the Ontario Conservatives under leader Tim Hudak, he said he is “disappointed” the party has suggested regional transit expansion can be funded without any revenue increases. “It can’t be done,” Tory said flatly.

On the Scarborough subway, Tory said he probably would have voted for it if he was on city council, but would have urged a jobs plan be included with it.

On his wife Barbara Hackett’s view of a possible mayoral bid, Tory said that after he quit as provincial Conservative leader in 2009 she told him: “You’re not getting into political life again.” Now she says: “It’s OK with me if you run if you promise to lose.”

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For their part, campaign leaders for Stintz and Chow almost snicker when asked about a Tory candidacy, saying they are convinced he won’t get into the race because he’s afraid of finishing third behind both Chow and Ford.

Given Tory’s furious pace of public appearances and civic activity, coupled with a formidable campaign team waiting in the wings, that may be wishful thinking on their part.

Bob Hepburn’s column appears Thursday. bhepburn@thestar.ca

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