Longtime Toronto councillor Paula Fletcher announces retirement

Just days after registering to run for another term, Toronto-Danforth Coun. Paula Fletcher announced she’s retiring from politics and withdrawing her name from the upcoming race.

Fletcher has served on city council for 23 years and told Global News she has never entered her nomination papers early. But she said she got a little excited after returning from vacation and put her name up for another four years.

Wednesday morning however, she said she had a “come to Jesus moment” while on her paddleboard on Lake Ontario.

Fletcher said her health is fine, following questions about the sudden change of heart. But she said it was time to enjoy the city she has fought to improve for more than two decades.

She also made it clear that she didn’t have enough time to tackle another major project, like the Don River and waterfront revitalization projects she’s pushed for.

As for a potential successor in her ward, Fletcher said she’s made no decisions and will wait and see who puts their name forward.

But she noted that she succeeded Jack Layton in the ward and following her long tenure, she said her constituents have a shared set of values they will expect to be respected by whoever comes next.

Most importantly, she said made it clear that she’s not just going to put her feet up over the next couple of months.

Fletcher said she’s still councillor until the fall and said she’ll continue answering calls for broken branches or sewer issues, like she has this week.

Already this week there have been late entry candidates with Mike Layton registering for University-Rosedale and former MP Nate Erskine-Smith in Beaches-East York.