Rookie NDP MPP Joe Cimino quits less than 6 months after election
Rookie NDP MPP Joe Cimino, who made headlines for his physical resemblance to departing Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, has resigned suddenly.
Cimino, 44, who won the riding of Sudbury on June 12, cited personal reasons for a departure he admitted will come as “a huge surprise to the community.”
“Unfortunately the pendulum has swung too far to one side in the last several months,” he said Thursday of the difficulty of balancing his “young children, wife and extended family while still serving my community.”
“Simply, for my personal health wellness, and more importantly the well being of my family I must resign my seat in the provincial legislature.”
The former Sudbury city councillor appealed for privacy as he departs politics.
“I ask media to respect the fact that I am re-entering private life fully and wish this release to be my only comment on the tough decision that my family and I have made. I thank you in advance for your understanding in this matter,” he said.
His resignation from a seat the New Democrats picked up from the governing Liberals in the spring election, is a blow to NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.
Cimino only beat Liberal Andrew Olivier by 980 votes in a riding that had been held by retired Grit MPP Rick Bartolucci for 18 years.
The resignation comes less than a week after she won the endorsement of 76.9 per cent of NDP delegates at a leadership review last Saturday.
Horwath said it was “with great sadness that I have received Joe Cimino’s resignation as the member for Sudbury.”
“I know this is a tough decision, but Joe is doing what’s best for his personal health and well-being of his family. He’s been a valuable member of our caucus, a local champion for his community, and is a dedicated husband and father to two young daughters,” she said.
Cimino gained attention during the spring campaign because he is a dead ringer for Toronto’s world-famous mayor.
“I’m generally considered more handsome than Ford,” the New Democrat joked on Twitter earlier this year.
When the Star tweeted Cimino’s photos without comment, folks on Twitter immediately made the connection.
He noted at the time that a Toronto couple attending a wedding in Sudbury last year had their picture taken with him so they could pretend Ford was at their celebration.
“It’s more of a comedic thing. I take it with a grain of salt, I am not offended by it,” said Cimino.
