The Mayoralty: A New Reality TV Show

I have a great idea for a new reality TV show. It’s called, “The Mayoralty,” and it will be filmed in Toronto.

The Plot

Twelve pre-selected contestants vie for the city’s top position: Mayor. The pre-selection process includes an in-depth investigation into each contestant’s background to assess their character, a psychological assessment and a polygraph examination. (Have you ever thought about applying to the RCMP?) Hopefully, there’ll be twelve contestants remaining at the end of the pre-selection process.

The Elimination Process

Participating in five town hall forums, each contestant will have to explain their vision for the city. Each town hall will focus on one of the five following themes: Transit, Crime, Environmental Sustainability, Football and Casino, er, Waterfront Development.

At the end of each town hall, the audience will grade the contestants, on a scale from one to ten (ten being a perfect score) on the following criteria: clarity of vision, full participation at each town hall (i.e., contestant didn’t leave early to coach a sports team), level of sobriety, and how well the contestants will be able to lay blame elsewhere (i.e., the media, Premier, the neighbour’s dog, etc.) for their problems. The three contestants with the highest scores (50 is the highest score possible) will be placed on the official ballot for mayor in the next municipal elections.

The Winner

To be elected mayor, one of the three candidates must win fifty percent plus one of the eligible votes cast. The candidate with the lowest percentage of votes cast will be removed from the ballot and the two remaining candidates will face off in a second ballot.

Understanding that the mayor is the City’s representative and may be away promoting the City, the winning candidate must commit to attending at least 80% of all Council meetings. Failure to do so could result in their removal from office. If, during the course of their mandate, allegations (criminal in nature or not) are levied against the mayor, the mayor — and not a third-party designate — must publicly speak to the validity or inaccuracy of said allegations. No more than 48 hours may lapse between the time that the allegations were made and the mayor’s response. To avoid irreparable harm to the city’s reputation Council may, should the mayor fail to address said allegations in a timely fashion, pass a motion removing the mayor from office. Council may then appoint an interim leader until a new segment of “The Mayoralty” goes into production.

Applications for The Mayoralty are now being accepted.