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Mississauga incumbent Carolyn Parrish and the city\u2019s former mayor Bonnie Crombie<\/a> both opened their campaign offices on Sunday, while challengers Dipika Damerla and Alvin Tedjo \u2014 both city councillors \u2014 launched their campaigns on Saturday.<\/p>\n Speaking to her supporters and volunteers at a local coffee shop, Damerla, a two-term councillor<\/a>, said: \u201cMy ambition for Mississauga is not to be a big city. Oh no. My ambition for Mississauga is to be a great city.\u201d<\/p>\n The councillor, who represents Ward 7 that serves Cooksville, Fairview and parts of Erindale, City Centre and Dixie, said Mississauga is ready for change.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m running for change because all of the things I\u2019m running for I already fought for. I\u2019m running on a new independent auditor general I fought for. I\u2019m running on fixing the police funding formula; I fought for it. I\u2019m running on value-for-money audits on policing and I fought for it in the past \u2026 It\u2019s change you can believe in,\u201d Damerla said.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Tedjo, who serves Ward 2 in the Park Royal, Lorne Park and Clarkson neighbourhoods, kicked off his campaign<\/a> with a block party at his campaign headquarters on Saturday.<\/p>\n Tedjo, who previously ran for mayor in the 2024 byelection and came in second, told CTV News<\/a> he and his supporters are confident about his chances the second time around.<\/p>\n \u201cWe came second in the last election, so they\u2019re are really excited that we can win this time and they\u2019re tired of the politics of the past,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Crombie, who served as Mississauga\u2019s mayor for nearly a decade before stepping down in 2024 to join provincial politics as leader of the Ontario Liberal Party, opened her campaign office Sunday afternoon in a commercial office building in the city\u2019s northeast.<\/p>\n RECOMMENDED VIDEO We apologize, but this video has failed to load.<\/p>\n Play VideoCrombie, Parrish in neck-and-neck battle<\/p>\n Later in the afternoon, Parrish also opened her campaign office in the city, tearing up as she told supporters that she spent 40 years representing Mississauga at different levels of government \u201cand I\u2019m not giving up on it now.\u201d<\/p>\n Polling by Liaison Strategies last month showed Crombie and Parrish are neck and neck in the mayoral race<\/a> with both candidates tied among decided and leaning voters with 35% support.<\/p>\n Damerla and Tedjo trail slightly in the poll with 18% and 12% support, respectively.<\/p>\n A total of 14 candidates have registered to run in the mayoral race with the municipal election day set for Oct. 26.<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n Advocacy group urges Toronto candidates to stick to city hall basics<\/p>\n![\"Alvin](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/alvin-tedjo-headshot-2026_302861573-e1777572675496.jpg\")
Alvin Tedjo is a city councillor in Mississauga.Tedjo confident about his odds<\/p>\n![\"Loading...\"](\"https:\/\/dcs-static.gprod.postmedia.digital\/22.0.1\/websites\/images\/common\/icon-spinner-animated.svg\"){kind=icon}
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