gong xiao hua toronto

Someone is trying to auction Gong for Toronto Mayor merch at a bonkers price

Toronto's turbulent mayoral by-election is now in the history books, and you can own a piece of that history for yourself, assuming you are either sitting on infinite wealth or have absolutely zero regard for your own finances.

Someone is selling an official t-shirt produced for the wildly confusing mayoral campaign of Xiao Hua Gong, and, if the asking price is any indication, it's just the latest joke at the longshot candidate's expense.

The eBay listing advertises a "Gong 4 Mayor!! VOTE #44 Original campaign t-shirt for the legendary candidate!"

Included in the listing is a completely unexplained Michelle Pfeiffer-era Catwoman poster, with absolutely no mention of why.

A starting bid set at a staggering $4,444.44 — a reference to Gong's #44 position on the comically long ballot — and with a sale price of $24,444.44, there have been a grand total of zero bids, and it's pretty obvious that nobody is going to fork over that ridiculous sum for such an obscure piece of Toronto municipal politics history.

gong xiao hua toronto

Gong attained meme-level status during his campaign to take Toronto's top job, drawing attention through omnipresent ads that appeared to multiply overnight, invading TTC bus ads, and even massive digital signage overlooking Yonge-Dundas Square.

He was an immediate hit with younger voters, likely more for the memes than in support of his all-over-the-place platform or his shady past.

Despite plastering every inch of real estate with his now-iconic blue and yellow signs, Gong only managed to secure 2,983 votes on election night, or 0.41 per cent of the vote.

The candidate would go on to demand a recount following Olivia Chow's win, likely shellshocked by the realization that he probably had more signs on city streets on election day than he did voters.

Lead photo by

Jack Landau


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