The former leader of the Ontario Liberal Party made the announcement Tuesday morning and pledged to focus on fighting the city’s traffic gridlock.
“Well, first of all, I’ve spent the last two months with family and close friends thinking about what happened in June. It’s been a humbling experience. There’s no doubt about that. But I’m passionate about public service again.”  Del Duca told CP24 Tuesday morning.
Outgoing Vaughan Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua announced in June that he would not seek another term after holding the role for more than a decade.
Del Duca says he had the opportunity to work closely with Bevilacqua and thanks him for his service to the city.
“We’ve had great leadership over the last 12 years from Maurizio Bevilacqua, a dear friend of mine, and I want to continue with that tradition of continuing to build especially to ensure that our transport network keeps pace with growth, because traffic The gridlock is a brutal, brutal problem right now here in the city of Vaughan, and that’s what I want to focus on,” he said.
Del Duca resigned as Liberal party leader in June immediately after his landslide defeat in the provincial election.
The 49-year-old ran for a seat in Vaughan-Woodbridge but lost to incumbent PC candidate Michael Tibollo, who also beat Del Duca in the same riding in 2018.
Del Duca was first elected to provincial office in 2012 and served as Minister of Transportation and Economic Development in Kathleen Wynne’s government between 2014 and 2018.
He then became party leader in 2020 after Wynne resigned following her defeat in the 2018 provincial election.
Last month, the Ontario Liberal caucus selected John Fraser as the party’s interim leader.
Del Duca says his experience as transport minister gives him an advantage in combating the “traffic gridlock crisis” in Vaughan.
“I want to see GO train lines through Woodbridge and through what’s known as Kleinburg-Nashville. I want the Yonge North subway extension to Vaughan, but we have a bunch of east-west road connections that need to be built. On Teston Road , on Kirby Road. There’s a whole lot of work that needs to be done, and it needs to be done in a way that helps every family and every small business here in this incredible community.”
Del Duca has lived in Vaughan for the past 35 years with his wife, two daughters and two dogs.
Municipal elections are set for October 24.