George Smitherman, the former Ontario cabinet minister and Toronto mayoral candidate, is set to re-enter politics, this time as a city council candidate with competition.

Smitherman told the Star on Tuesday he will register Wednesday to run in the new Ward 23, which includes Regent Park and Cabbagetown, “with a couple of prominent local supporters and my kids.”

Pam McConnell, the veteran councillor who died last year, represented the area before electoral boundaries were changed and the number of wards increased from 44 to 47.

“I will fall back on my community lessons learned from (former mayor) Barbara Hall and Pam McConnell, and will be running with the support of Barbara as well as the McConnell family ...,” Smitherman said.

“I am a community champion who helped bring (MP) Salma Zahid and (federal Immigration Minister) Ahmed Hussein into politics as well as shepherd diverse appointments. My hiring and support for minority business will continue.”

The former health minister and deputy premier quit provincial politics in 2010 to run for mayor but lost to Rob Ford. He decided to run for council last year but at one point thought about running in the provincial election.

Smitherman said he expects to have more than a dozen challengers when ballots are cast Oct. 22.

One of them will be Walied Khogali, a 34-year-old labour and anti-racism activist who moved to Regent Park in 2005 and grew up there.

Khogali, who works in the social services sector and is a co-founder of Coalition Against White Supremacy and Islamophobia, told the Star he plans to register his candidacy on Friday.

He said he became committed to grassroots community watching his parents, who moved his large family from Sudan, make sacrifices and work to establish themselves in Canada. Khogali said his campaign will focus on getting residents good affordable public transit, equity and human rights.

“I’ve been working in the community for more than a decade and I am part of a new generation of leaders who want to bring bold ideas to city hall to make this a more affordable caring city,” he said.

One candidate, Megann Willson, is already registered to run in Ward 23. The Star was not able to reach her Tuesday.

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Willson’s campaign website says she is a business owner, community builder and mom working on projects involving poverty reduction, homelessness, community gardens, affordable transit and more.

“There’s a vital role that can be played by both small businesses and fast-growth startups in advancing prosperity in communities of all sizes, and how both are needed in a world-class city like Toronto,” says Willson, the Regent Park Neighbourhood Association’s interim leadership co-chair, on her website.