Fragedakis takes over Ward 29

Mary Fragedakis to tackle city and ward issues
New councillor will be shift from retiring Case Ootes
Kris Scheuer
(Written for Town Crier Nov. 11)

L-R: Second place candidate Jane Pitfield congratulates councillor-elect Mary Fragedakis. Photo by Francis Crescia/Town Crier.

Councillor-elect Mary Fragedakis may be a new face at city hall, but she’s fairly familiar one in the community she will represent beginning Dec. 1.
“I’ve lived my whole life in ward 29,” said the new Toronto-Danforth rep. “My friends, family and neighbours are here. I started the Broadview Community Youth Group because of the lack of affordable programs. I understand the context of the area.”
And Fragedakis arguably made history on election night, introduced at her victory celebration as the first woman of Greek background to win a seat on council.
She captured over 41 percent of the vote, beating out runner-up Jane Pitfield and five other candidates.

Advertisement

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%.

Jack Layton G20 reaction

Vandalized businesses should be compensated: Layton
NDP leader says G20 summit was mishandled
Kris Scheuer
(Written June 28 for Town Crier.)

Jack Layton paid a visit to the Town Crier offices to offer his views on compensation for G20 protest damage. Photo by Victor Aguilar/Town Crier.

The morning after the G20 Summit wrapped up in Toronto, Federal NDP leader Jack Layton called on the Harper government to compensate businesses that were vandalized by violent protesters.
Layton was speaking to reporters at an editorial board this morning at Town Crier’s offices.
He said the G20 meeting was not well planned in terms of the Toronto location.
“Of course when you invite the global leaders, you are also going to essentially be inviting the Black Bloc to show up. It’s too bad Mr. (Stephen) Harper didn’t listen to the mayor and the city officials who said why don’t we put the meetings in an area that’s easier to secure for example the CNE, which has lots of open space around it and no businesses around it.”
Layton, along with his wife and MP Olivia Chow asked the federal government to compensate businesses if there was property damage.

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.