Mayor Ford’s key players approved

City Council gives nod to mayor’s picks for choice roles
Chairs of important committees and Ford’s inner team chosen
Left, downtown and women mostly shut out
Kris Scheuer
(Written for Town Crier Dec. eight)

Mayor Rob Ford. Photo by Francis Crescia/Town Crier file image.

Mayor Rob Ford got a key win today at city hall as the councillors he’s hand-picked for key committees were approved by council.
But the 39-6 decision to endorse the slate with some minor amendments did not come easily.
Some complained none of the 12 councillors on Toronto-East York community council were appointed to serve on key committees including the executive, TTC, budget, police services board or Toronto Community Housing.
The make-up of the mayor’s 13 member Executive, for example, includes five Scarborough reps, three from North York, three from Etobicoke and two from York. Of the nine councillors on the TTC, none represent downtown.
Several politicians argued that these committees and other boards should include not just different ideologies but a geographical representation from all corners of the city.
“There are practical issues about how to make the city functional that require input from people (politicians) from different corners of the city,” Councillor Adam Vaughan told the media this afternoon. “Because different corners of the city are built differently.
“There is no ideological argument about which time of day you pick garbage, but there are practical reasons why you pick it up in Kensington (Market) and not at a certain time in Scarborough,” he added. “If you don’t have a cross section of people weighing in on city wide issues you lose that intelligence.”

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Mayor Ford picks team players

Ford announces key roles for councillors
Kris Scheuer
(Written for Town Crier Nov. 29)

Mayor-elect Rob Ford announces his picks among councilors for key roles. Photo by Francis Crescia/Town Crier.

Mayor elect Rob Ford announced this afternoon the team that will help guide Toronto for the next few years.
The were no surprises in the appointments to head the seven council standing committees nor the spate of other plum posts as Ford’s choices had already been widely reported in the media.
The geographic and ideological composition of the group also offered no surprise. There are reps from the suburbs and midtown, but no one from downtown. Leftie councillors were shut out but two newbie female politicians are on Ford’s team.
“This is the team that’s ready to get down to the hard work of bringing accountability and respect for taxpayers back to city hall,” Ford said.

More women on Toronto council

A total of 14 councillors now women
Seven of the newly elected reps are females
Kris Scheuer
(Column written for Town Crier Nov. 4)

Move over, Mr. Councillor.
Toronto has elected more women to council.
The 45-member city council now has 15 females, up from the 10 elected in 2006. So city council is now 33 percent female.
This is impressive when you consider the United Nations has called for governments worldwide to have at least 30 percent of the political representatives as women.
I’d argue having more women means council is more reflective of Toronto’s population. Elected officials should bring the perspectives of the many people they represent to the decision- making table.
And what’s great is the current crop of female reps are a diverse group themselves.
There are lefties like Paula Fletcher, Pam McConnell, Maria Augimeri and Janet Davis. There’s more right-of-centre councillors like Francis Nunziata and Karen Stintz, and even they can differ immensely in their views. Gloria Lindsay Luby was part of Mayor David Miller’s executive committee and so was budget chief Shelley Carroll.
These eight re-elected female councillors are all very opinionated and passionate politicians who speak up for the causes they believe in. I love that.

New councillors transition at city hall

Rough transition for some new councillors
Bussin, Walker AWOL when it comes to helping successors in new job
Kris Scheuer
(Written for Town Crier Nov. 9)

Mary-Margaret McMahon on election night after winning against incumbent Sandra Bussin. Photo by Shawn Star/Town Crier.

Being a city councillor may be a dream job for some of the newly elected reps, but for some trying to speak to their predecessors has been a bit of a nightmare.
“I have not heard anything (from Sandra Bussin),” said Mary-Margaret McMahon who defeated the incumbent in Ward 32. “It doesn’t surprise me so I am doing what I usually do and meeting with the public and talking to city staff.
“It would be nice to have some sort of contact.”
McMahon is not even sure if any of the relevant files will be left in the office when she takes over.
“I am worried it may be old Mother Hubbard’s (bare) cupboard, but I am not sure,” said McMahon who spoke to the media after a Nov. 9 orientation session for new councillors.
Incoming Ward 22 councillor Josh Matlow is in the same boat and has yet to have a post-election conversation with outgoing rep Michael Walker.
“I imagine he is disappointed in the results,” said Matlow, referring to Walker, who endorsed his executive assistant and candidate Chris Sellors instead. “I would hope Councillor Walker would meet with me to discuss transition solely in the interests of the residents he advocated for and championed for 28 years.”

Jaye Robinson takes over Ward 25

Councillor-elect beat incumbent Cliff Jenkins
Robinson sworn in as Don Valley W rep Dec 1
Kris Scheuer
(Written Oct. 29 for Town Crier.)

Jaye Robinson ready to start her dream job as councillor. Photo by Randy Rovinski/Town Crier.

It was an emotional night in Ward 25 Don Valley West when Jaye Robinson beat out incumbent Cliff Jenkins to take the council seat.
Robinson won with 9,258 votes, or 45.49 percent, beating two-term incumbent Cliff Jenkins, who picked up 8,756 votes for 43 percent.
But the win has been bittersweet for Robinson.
“I am ecstatic. That’s the only way to describe it,” the 48-year-old mother of three said days after her victory. “The room was electric that night.”
On election night, Robinson was in tears as Jenkins came to offer her congratulations on her win.
“He came and conceded. It’s amazing to win but it’s hard when someone loses. That’s how democracy works,” said Robinson, who was a senior manager with the city’s economic development for two decades.
“I want to thank Councillor Cliff Jenkins for his service over the last seven years. Councillor Jenkins ran a great campaign.”

Toronto councilors and mayor elected

Rob Ford elected new mayor
Some incumbent councillors lose
New faces on 45-member city council
Kris Scheuer

Mayor-elect Rob Ford at the Town Crier's editorial board. Town Crier file photo.

Here’s a run down of the winners, upsets, and top place results for the Oct. 25 vote.
Of the possible 1,546,732 eligible voters, voter turnout was about 52.6 percent, which is up from the 2006 election with 39.3 percent.
RESULTS: Toronto here’s your new mayor and 44 councillors.
Are you pleased with the results for mayor and council seats? Please let me know…
Mayor-elect is Rob Ford with 383,501 votes for 47.11 percent followed by George Smitherman in second with 289,832 for 35.6 percent, according to the city’s website. Of course, 38 other mayoral candidates were on the ballot and results for each can be found here and may vary as the city updates the election results.
Here are the councillors-elect for all 44 wards with a list of each winner and closest runner-up. For a full list of all candidates votes in each race, click here.
Etobicoke-North Ward 1:  Vincent Crisanti won with 40.75% of the vote ousting incumbent councillor Suzan Hall, who got 36.96%.

Jaye Robinson ward 25 candidate

Robinson runs in rematch against Councillor Jenkins
The two faced off in heated ’03 Toronto election battle
By Kris Scheuer
(Written May 31 for Town Crier.)

Photo courtesy of Jaye Robinson.

Seven years after she lost to Cliff Jenkins by only 80 votes Jaye Robinson is back again to challenge the Ward 25 incumbent for his seat on council.
Robinson, a former senior manager in the city’s economic  development department, said Toronto is in decline and needs fresh blood and new ideas to set it on the right course.
“There’s a lack of vision and long term thinking,” she said. “When you see what’s happening in other cities compared to Toronto, it feels like they are moving forward and we are going backward.”
To get the city back on what she sees as the right track, Robinson says you don’t have to look any further than the city’s purse.
“It’s all rooted in your financial situation,” she said. “We need to get (city finances) back on track so the city can be livable.”

Toronto election races to watch

These are the hot races to watch in this city
Election offers plenty of sparks, sparring
By Kris Scheuer
(Updated and expanded Oct. 25)

 

Councillor Case Ootes isn't seeking re-election and the race to replace him in ward 29 is a hotly contested one.

 

There are some exciting races in the Toronto election. Here are my 18 reasons to pay attention. What do you think, am I missing any races?
1. Mayor David Miller is not seeking a third term, but *40 candidates have made their bid to replace him. *Sarah Thomson withdrew but is still on the ballot. Find out who is running, here. Who will you choose?
2. Councillor Adam Giambrone Davenport Ward 18 was running for mayor but now he’s not. He’s also not seeking re-election locally. This race has attracted 12 candidates: Twelve candidates are running: Coun. Giambrone’s Executive Assistant Kevin Beaulieu, Doug Carroll, Nha Le, Joe MacDonald, Mohammad Muhit, Kirk Russell, Joanna Teliatnik, Hema Vyas, Ana Bailao, Ken Wood, Abdirazak Elmi and former Green Party of Ontario leader Frank de Jong.
3. Councillor Joe Pantalone Trinity-Spadina Ward 19 is running for mayor. His seat is up for grabs and 9 people are running: David Footman,  NDP leader Jack Layton’s son Mike Layton an urban planner and environmentalist, Jim Likourezos, sportscaster Sean McCormick, journalist Karlene Nation, George Sawision,  Jason Stevens, community activist, planner and environmentalist Karen Sun and Rosario Bruto.
4. Councillor Anthony Perruzza for York Centre Ward 8 is seeking re-election. This should be a real tough fight between former local rep Peter Li Preti who represented the ward but lost by 579 votes to Perruzza in ’06. Li Preti has signed up for a rematch. Plus six other candidates: John Gallagher, Naseeb Husain, Antonius Clarke, Gerardo Miniguano, Arthur Smitherman (George Smitherman’s brother) and Ramnarine Tiwari are also running here.

Toronto councillors 2010 election

The election campaign already heating up
Who is retiring, running, playing coy in TO election
By Kris Scheuer
(Updated Oct.25- Election Day.)

 

Joe Mihevc is one of the incumbent councillors seeking re-election.

 

One thing is certain in life – that’s change. And we can count on that in this city’s election. The vote is Oct. 25.
Of the 44 incumbent city councillors so far 35 current Toronto politicians have signed up for re-election in their own ward. Of the remaining 9 incumbents: 2 are running for mayor instead and 7 aren’t running at all. Want to see for yourself?
Check the city’s election website that shows all 477 candidates running for mayor, councillor and school trustee positions.
Here’s the scope on where all the candidates stand as of Sept. 10 the final nomination day.
Mayor David Miller is not running for re-election. There are 40 candidates registered to run for mayor.
Council races – there are 279 candidates running for 44 council seats
Ron Moeser (Scarborough East Ward 44) has registered and so have three others: Diana Hall, Heath Thomas and Mohammed Mirza.
Paul Ainslie (Scarborough East Ward 43) is running again and has four challengers: John Laforet, Benjamin Mbaegbu, Bhaskar Sharma and Samuel Getachew.