After watching his resignation news conference (video below from CITY TV), I have to say that my overwhelming reaction to the now-ended Adam Giambrone mayoral campaign in Toronto is one of sadness for his partner and for him.

Yes, it’s politics. Yes, it’s communications. But you know what? I watch this video and I see someone who looks pretty shattered; someone who’s been punched repeatedly in the head and is at the point where he can’t quite  understand how he’s put himself into this horrible situation. And I feel for him.

We all make mistakes. Most of the time, thank God, they aren’t as severe, as public, or as damaging to others as this one was. And while I think Giambrone did the right thing by leaving the mayoral race — a race which I suspect he wasn’t ready for anyway — I just look at the video and think that this is a guy who’s going to need some serious rebuilding.

I don’t really care about his political career and whether he can ever put it back together. But I do hope that he takes this experience, finds what is possible to learn from it, and uses it as a spur to change his patterns of behaviour. It would appear he needs to do that. And sometimes you can’t rebuild while you’re still limping along; sometimes you need to totally crash in order to put ourselves back together.

To that end, while I know the urge to make jokes and to dissect this series of events in terms of politics and communications is almost irresistible, let’s not forget that this is also a human story, affecting human lives. If for no other reason than to show Giambrone’s partner a bit more empathy than she received from him, let’s be classy.

UPDATE: According to multiple sources, including former mayoral candidate and current talk-radio host John Tory and the Toronto Star, Giambrone found himself in front of the media with one page of a two-page speech, which explains his odd departure from the stage yesterday. A sad ending to a short run for mayor.

Here’s what Tory said: CFRB’s John Tory on Giambrone

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