Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie is stepping down. Here's what happens next

Now that Bonnie Crombie has announced her departure date as Mississauga's mayor, the city, which has only had two mayors since 1978, is preparing for a by-election in the new year. 

After winning Ontario's Liberal leadership race at the start of the month, Crombie, who has held the mayor's office for nine years, told her colleagues this week that she will step down on Jan. 12.

"I'm going to continue to work with our CAO (chief administrative officer) and our council to ensure a smooth and orderly transition," Crombie said in a tearful address Wednesday. That transition will include passing the 2024 budget  and "ensuring the city is set up for success until the new mayor is elected," she said. 

But electing a new mayor could take some time. The city's CAO, Shari Lichterman, says although Crombie is leaving in January, it could be June before a byelection decides her replacement.

And although there's lots of speculation, it's still too early to tell who will be running to lead Ontario's third largest city.

Mississauga is likely to go without a mayor for a large chunk of the year, says Lichterman.

Until the byelection, councillors will take bi-monthly turns serving as acting mayor, as they've done since September, when Crombie took leave to run for the Ontario Liberal leadership.

The nomination period will follow, when candidates will officially enter the race.

Crombie's replacement process will look very similar to what happened in Toronto this year after Mayor John Tory stepped down there in February, when a by-election was held four months later. But the wheels won't get in motion until after Crombie's final day in office.

"It takes several months to plan the election," Lichterman said.

It's unclear yet, even unofficially, who might be part of the byelection race, but at least one of Crombie's colleagues has already informally said she'll run.

Ward 5 Coun. Carolyn Parrish informally said this week she'll run for the office when the time comes, but declined an interview before the race begins, saying only that her leadership style and priorities would differ from Crombie's.

Ward 7 Coun. Dipika Damerla says she'll make an announcement one way or the other, but feels it's too early to tell who might replace Crombie.

"There's all sorts of rumours, right?" she said. "With the holidays coming, people are going to give this serious thought and I think in January, we'll know who's running and who's not."