1997 Toronto municipal election

The 1997 Toronto municipal election was the first election held for offices in the amalgamated "megacity" of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The elections were administered by the old City of Toronto and its five suburbs within Metropolitan Toronto. The vote was held November 10, 1997, electing the mayor and 56 councillors in 28 wards who took office on January 1, 1998, the day of the amalgamation. The election resulted in a showdown between two incumbent mayors of cities being dissolved into the megacity: Barbara Hall, the one-term mayor of the old city of Toronto, and Mel Lastman, who had been mayor of the suburban city North York for 25 years. Both candidates were independent, but Hall was a prior member of the left-of-centre New Democratic Party and Lastman of the right-of-centre Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. Lastman was additionally well-known as pitchman for his family-owned Bad Boy furniture and appliance stores. == Mayor == The mayoral race saw incumbents from the two largest former cities run to be mayor, the left-leaning Barbara Hall and the right-leaning Mel Lastman. Lastman won the election by a narrow margin, around 40,000 votes. == Council == The election followed a plurality-at-large voting system where electors could vote for two candidates. Each of the 28 wards elected two councillors. Ward 1 – East York Michael Prue – 22440 Case Ootes – 8608 Jane Pitfield – 6926 Michael Tziretas – 6349 Elizabeth Rowley – 5707 Bob Dale – 4709 George Vasilopoulos – 4275 Paul Fernandes – 3156 Paul Robinson – 2885 Hortencia Fotopoulos – 663 Edward Wigglesworth – 368 Ward 2 – Lakeshore Queensway Irene Jones – 9387 Blake Kinahan – 7788 Peter Milczyn – 7127 Jeff Knoll – 6877 Connie Micallef – 5179 Diethar Lein – 4396 David Smith – 2286 Joe Connell – 713 George Kash – 409 Ward 3 – Kingsway Humber Gloria Lindsay Luby – 13123 Mario Giansante – 12767 Dennis Flynn – 10092 Rob Ford – 9366 Adam Slobodian – 797 Ben Cachola – 753 Ward 4 – Markland Centennial Doug Holyday – 15430 Dick O'Brien – 10410 Agnes Ugolini Potts – 9650 Brian Flynn – 6809 Steve Deighton – 3974 Helen Bodanis – 799 Mark Stanisz – 507 Daphne Gabriel – 413 Alexander P. Masur – 279 Ward 5 – Rexdale Thistletown Elizabeth Brown – 6546 Bruce Sinclair – 6482 Vincent Crisanti – 3540 John Kiru – 3203 Marco Luciani – 2847 Carmela Sasso – 2244 Brian Ineson – 2135 Nicolo Fortunato – 1925 Peter Kell – 1240 Anthony Caputo – 1133 Patrick McCool – 1045 Rosemarie Mulhall – 413 Ward 6 – North York Humber Judy Sgro – 14334 George Mammoliti – 10226 Gina Serverino – 6875 Tony Marzilli – 5205 Bob Churchhill – 5012 Michael Marson – 722 Ward 7 – Black Creek Anna Stella is a longtime community activist in the Black Creek area of Toronto. She applied to replace Anthony Perruzza as North York's fifth ward councillor in 1990, after Perruzza was elected to the provincial legislature and council decided to nominate an interim replacement rather than hold a by-election. She was turned down in favour of Claudio Polsinelli. Stella was later elected to the Metro Toronto Separate School Board in the 1994 municipal election, easily defeating four other candidates in Ward Twelve. She supported greater parental involvement in school affairs and a zero-tolerance policy toward violence, although she opposed Scarborough's policy of expulsion. In the 1997 election, she was endorsed by Art Eggleton and Annamarie Castrilli. Jeanelle Julien was a first-time candidate. Ward 8 – North York Spadina Henry Braverman was a first-time candidate. Nickeisha Hudson was a student trustee in 1997, and was awarded a Harry Jerome Award for leadership. She was a first-time candidate. In 1999, she was a youth events coordinator in Hamilton. Dzeko is a businessman in Toronto. He was a first-time candidate. Ward 9 – North York Centre South Joanne Flint – 16447 Milton Berger – 12370 Dick Chapman – 8484 Stuart Ian Weinstein – 3740 Ward 10 – North York Centre John Filion – 17533 Norman Gardner – 15135 Ron Summers – 11212 Ward 11 – Don Parkway Gordon Chong – 11961 Denzil Minnan-Wong – 11001 Don Yuill – 10450 Kim Scott – 4742 Allen Scott – 4369 Janaki Bala-Krishan – 2901 Neil Milson – 684 Christopher M. Beale – 653 Dixon Rhamadeen – 380 Ward 12 – Seneca Heights Joan King – 18471 David Shiner – 18319 Raffi Assadourian – 5151 Joel Ginsberg – 3345 Bernadette Michael – 2938 Ward 13 – Scarborough Bluffs Brian Ashton – 15528 Gerry Altobello – 12605 Fred Johnston – 11265 Gaye Dale – 6491 Karin Eaton – 4670 Ed Green – 931 Ward 14 – Scarborough Wexford Norm Kelly – 13740 Mike Tzekas – 12318 Aris Babikian – 3644 Gerry Leonard – 2366 George Pornaras – 2024 Ward 15 – Scarborough City Centre Brad Duguid – 15686 Lorenzo Berardinetti – 14179 Paul Mushinski – 9141 Betty Hackett – 4579 Russell Worrick – 3882 Ron Hartung – 743 Ward 16 – Scarborough Highland Creek Frank Faubert – 15062 Ron Moeser – 13955 David Soknacki – 12183 Chris Braney – 7142 Ward 17 – Scarborough Agincourt Sherene Shaw – 10634 Doug Mahood – 9861 Wayne Cook – 5631 Jeff Mark – 4909 Doug Hum – 4645 Ward 18 – Scarborough Malvern Raymond Cho – 11190 Bas Balkissoon – 10745 Edith Montgomery – 10659 Jim Mackey – 2621 Terry Singh – 1812 Sinna Chelliah – 1165 Jasmine Singh – 871 Arlanna Lewis – 666 George B. Singh – 339 Ward 19 – High Park Connie Dejak is a longtime administrator at Runnymede Chronic Care Hospital. As of 2006, she is the hospital's president and chief executive officer. When a reviewing committee appointed by the Mike Harris provincial government decided to close Runnymede in 1997, she organized the hospital's successful challenge against the decision. Dejak is also a community activist, and has served on a police liaison committee for her neighbourhood. She and David Miller were endorsed by the Toronto Star newspaper in the 1997 campaign. She later sought an appointment to the Toronto Police Serves Board in 1999, but was passed over in favour of Alan Heisey. In the 2003 mayoral contest, she supported John Nunziata. Dejak is a member of the Liberal Party, and there are reports that she considered running for the party in a 2006 provincial by-election in Parkdale—High Park. Ed Hooven has a PhD in Sociology, and is currently an assistant professor at York University. His formal biographical sketch indicates that his past works have focused on European integration, the post-war Japanese economy and North American free trade agreements. His current work focused on the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and "judicial activism". He has contributed a chapter to "Canada and the New Economic Order", entitled "The New World Order: In a New Millennium". Hooven has called for governments to distinguish between the "deserving" and "undeserving" when determining policies on social assistance. He has written against multiculturalism and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as leading to "creeping moral relativism", and has also criticized the powers of the Canadian judiciary. He has accused feminists of seeking to destroy the nuclear family. Hooven has been active with the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, and was research director for the Republican candidate for governor in the 1998 New Hampshire state elections. He is a member of Republicans Abroad Canada. He also plays guitar in the Mississauga Big Band Ensemble. Walter Melnyk was a teacher in Peel, and later worked in sales. He was a member of the Metro Toronto Separate School Board from 1980 to 1988. He was first elected in the 1980 municipal election, defeating incumbent trustee Edward Boehler in the city's first ward. During this campaign, he called for better services for graduating elementary students entering the public school system. In 1984, he brought forward a motion to provide medical services for students afflicted by poor environmental conditions in Toronto's Junction Triangle. Melnyk also promoted mandatory physical education programs. In January 1988, he brought forward a motion criticizing existing practices on the Separate School Board, suggesting that the board consider breaking itself up into regional bodies. He argued that the board was dominated by a secretive "old guard", who often reduced other trustees to the role of passive spectators. The board rejected his motion. Melnyk also called for non-Catholics to be allowed into Catholic schools. He was defeated by Barbara Poplowski in the 1988 municipal election; a newspaper article from the campaign lists him as thirty-nine years old. After the election, he was appointed as a school representative on the Toronto Board of Health. He campaigned for a seat on the Toronto City Council in 1991, promising to introduce a taxpayers' bill of rights. He narrowly lost to New Democratic Party incumbent Rob Maxwell in the eleventh ward. Melnyk was later banned from running in the 1994 municipal election, after failing to file a financial statement for his 1991 campaign. He worked as the campaign manager for city council candidate Alex Chumak, but was forced to leave this campaign amid controversy. Chumak informed the media that Melnyk had offered a rival candidate a position on the Toronto Board of Health in return for leaving the race; Melnyk said that he did nothing wrong. Melnyk ran for a position on the new city council in 1997, and was defeated. He tried to return to the Separate School Board (now renamed as the Toronto Catholic District School Board) in 2000, but lost to Barbara Poplowski for a second time. Ward 20 – Trinity Niagara Joe Pantalone – 11031 Mario Silva – 10252 Martin Silva – 8329 Joe Magalhaes – 4035 Ward 21 – Davenport Betty Disero – 10747 Dennis Fotinos – 7587 Rob Maxwell – 6858 John Doherty – 5096 Tony Letra – 4788 Dale Ritch – 1111 Jennifer Bauer – 1049 Ward 22 – North Toronto Anne Johnston – 17123 Michael Walker – 16449 Kay Gardner – 15275 Linda Sparling – 8235 David N. Coleman – 1525 John Ringer – 665 Ward 23 – Midtown John Adams – 12010 Ila Bossons – 11553 Howard Joy – 10651 Brian Mayes – 8659 Howard Levine – 6167 David Vallance – 2112 Blair Gray – 622 Philip Charles – 427 Ward 24 – Downtown Olivia Chow – 20453 Kyle Rae – 16149 Al Carbone – 5186 Paul Hogan – 2319 Rosie Schwartz – 2001 Doug Lowry – 1615 Charlene Cottle – 864 Roberto Verdecchia – 787 Carmin Priolo – 398 Ward 25 – Don River Jack Layton – 15045 Pam McConnell – 8359 Peter Tabuns – 8141 Soo Wong – 7212 Spiros Papathanasakis – 6590 Terry Brackett – 1546 Mike Armstrong – 1429 Wendy Forrest – 947 Larry Tabin – 939 Ward 26 – East Toronto Tom Jakobek – 14945 Sandra Bussin – 13323 Paul Christie – 12883 Steve Ellis – 11649 Bruce Bryce – 643 Ward 27 – York Humber Frances Nunziata – 14354 Bill Saundercook – 6295 Michael McDonald – 5245 Randy Leach – 4837 Carl Miller – 4684 Stan Kumorek – 1535 Natalie Wall – 661 Arthur Saverino – 540 Paul Jewett – 268 Ward 28 – York Eglinton Joe Mihevc – 7548 Rob Davis – 6660 Caroline DiGiovanni – 5989 Tony Rizzo – 5538 Joan Roberts – 4077 Chai Kalevar – 912 == References ==