#munipoli Matters - ISSUE 40 - The Mammo comes around, again...
Welcome to another issue of #munipoli Matters, where we discuss all about municipal elections and the often unreported area of local government across Canada and beyond.
An “old hand” around Toronto City Council is seeking a political resurrection, some updates from Southwestern Ontario and the movement to give permanent residents a vote for local elections sustains an unfortunate setback.
Let us get right into it!
The Mammo come around, again…
Former Toronto city councillor Giorgio Mammoliti has announced that he would be seeking the mayoralty of Wasaga Beach, a picturesque town some 2 hours and 150 km away from Ontario’s capital city.
“Mammo” has had a rather colourful political career. He represented York West for years on North York and Toronto City Council, but he also served as an NDP MPP under Bob Rae’s Ontario government, former mayor David Miller’s point man on housing, all the way to being a self-proclaimed “Hand of the King” to the late Rob Ford during that tumultuous mayoralty.
He also ran for Mayor himself in Canada’s biggest city. The 2010 campaign was filled with outside the box proposals, such as:
A floating casino
A municipal lottery
A red light district for prostitution
Road tolls
Banning cars on the Gardiner Expressway and turning the thoroughfare into a garden
Budget cuts targeting $40 million in annual arts grants.
He dropped out of the race about seven months later in July 2010, switching back to running for reelection to council. Mammoliti remained until 2018 when he lost in the revised Ward of Humber River-Black Creek to fellow incumbent Anthony Perruzza when the council cuts Doug Ford implemented forced both to run against each other, cuts which Mammo ironically supported.
Did I mention that in between the North York politician thought about running as a PC candidate for Doug Ford in Brampton Centre in 2018?
Wasaga Beach is worlds away from Toronto or Brampton but Mammoliti, who said he purchased property in the town back in 2011 and called the town home for four years, has been promoting himself as the ‘Wasaga Beach Advocate’ on Facebook, discussing all the local issues and problems in the town.
Having now registered for the mayoral election, Mammoliti changed his Facebook page from ‘advocating’ to a campaigning one. Whatever he’s been advocating for, the Town of Wasaga Beach seems concerned enough that a “Truth Corner” was set up in an attempt to dispel misinformation.
Mayor Nina Bifolchi, who is seeking reelection, has even started using “The Truth (Still) Matters” as a campaign slogan. Besides her and Mammo, the other candidates running for Wasaga Beach Mayor are Leslie Farkas and former mayor Brian Smith. Farkas, a local business owner, has made past statements that have come to the attention of the ‘Truth Corner’ as well.
Actually, a former Toronto councillor finding a second lease on their political life outside of the Big Smoke, in a small town no less, isn’t an anomaly as Mammoliti wouldn’t be the first to go this route.
Former Toronto councillor Betty Disero, who served from 1985 to 2003, moved to Niagara on the Lake in 2009 and became that town’s Mayor in 2018 after serving one term on their council.
London Councillor steps down, former MPP steps up
Ward 11 City Councillor Stephen Turner has announced he will not be running for a third term this fall. “Eight years is a long time and I’ve tried to give everything I’ve had,” Turner told CTV News. “We need to have a council that reflects our community.”
He was first elected in 2014 when he defeated incumbent Denise Brown, and subsequently won reelection in 2018. Turner made the announcement at a campaign event for Skylar Franke, one of the candidates who registered to run in Ward 11. Another candidate, Jeremy McCall, is also registered to run there.
Turner is the fourth incumbent on London City Council to not run again. Councillors Mo Salih, Jesse Helmer and Mayor Ed Holder, have also announced they are stepping aside.
Meanwhile, the mayor’s race got a fourth candidate entering the contest: Khalid Ramal, a former Liberal MPP. Ramal, who represented London-Fanshawe from 2003 to 2011, said his priorities will be focused on jobs and affordability.
Is a seismic shift coming to the Garden City?
Another retirement announcement by a councillor in BC’s capital city makes it the fifth opening on Victoria City Council. Councillor Charlayne Thornton-Joe was first elected in 2002 but said she would not be re-offering this fall.
Thornton-Joe’s decision means at least four new faces around the council chamber, as Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps and Councillor Sharmarke Dubow earlier announced their retirements.
As for the race for Helps’ successor, Councillors Marianne Alto and Stephen Andrew are in the running. Councillor Ben Isitt says he’s still ‘considering his options,’ while Councillor Geoff Young says he’s “leaning against the idea of running again,” although he hasn’t made a final decision.
Whatever the case may be, there is already a sizable chunk of incumbents opting out of running again with maybe more to join them. Victoria could be seeing a massive change in the makeup of their municipal government come October.
In other news
Gibsons, BC: Mayor Bill Beamish announced he would not be running for a second term. Beamish was first elected in 2018 in his first run for Town Council, having registered to run for councillor before an opening in the mayor’s race changed his mind. He was elected Mayor with 76% of the vote.
A former town administrator, Beamish also served similar roles in Haida Gwaii, Houston (BC) and Sechelt before entering politics.
Kamloops, BC: Since the announcement from incumbent Mayor Ken Christian on not running again, a third member of Council to throw her hat in the ring: first term Councillor Sadie Hunter.
“I really feel like I’m in a position to bring a level of positivity to the discussion and to the discourse. Because there has been some challenges around disagreeing and being disrespectful and I think we need to move through that and rise above it and learn to work together as a team and as a community — to get through some of the tough things that we are facing,” Hunter said.
Fellow Councillors Arjun Singh and Dieter Dudy are also on the ballot, as are local business owners Ray Dhaliwal (a former councillor) and Reid Hamer-Jackson.
Maple Ridge, BC: a former federal Member of Parliament wants to parlay his experience into the mayor’s job, as Dan Ruimy is now running for mayor of Maple Ridge. Ruimy has a background working in various food and beverage companies and then settled in Maple Ridge to open a book cafe.
He was elected as Liberal MP for the Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge riding in 2015. He served one term until he lost his seat in the 2019 election to Conservative Mark Dalton. Ruimy was the first Liberal elected to the Maple Ridge area in more than 50 years.
“I know we can do better. By working with senior levels of government we can bring tens of millions of additional funding into Maple Ridge – for smart and sustainable development, local infrastructure, and to improve traffic, transit and housing,” Ruimy said.
The former MP adds that he can bring a different style of leadership to city hall from his experience on a “feisty” standing committee on Industry, Science and Technology during his time in Ottawa.
Orillia, ON: Councillor Rob Kloostra is no longer running for mayor as of June 17. In the meantime, the field has two other mayoral candidates: 2014 contestant John Edward Maxwell and retired businessman Donald McIsaac.
A chartered accountant, McIsaac spent 20 years of his career in the United States, currently serves as treasurer of the National Aviation Hall of Fame (U.S.). After retiring, he moved with his wife back to Orillia in January this year. McIsaac’s Orillia roots are deep: both his parents are former mayors.
McIsaac, 66, says the city needs a new infrastructure plan that at least looks at the next 10 years, as well as Orillia needing a new hospital.
Over in America…
New York City, NY: The movement to allow non-citizens, or permanent residents are they are referred to Canada, the right to vote in local or municipal elections was dealt a blow recently, as a New York judge overruled the city’s January ordinance to allow non-citizens to vote in civic elections.
NYC became the first major US city to grant widespread municipal voting rights to non-citizens, but the law did not apply to presidential, congressional or state elections.
Proponents said the law gave an electoral voice to many people who have made a home in the city and pay taxes to it but face tough paths to citizenship. Republican opponents said the law violated provisions in the state constitution and state election law that specifically confer voting rights on citizens. The judge sided with the GOP.
More than a dozen communities across the United States allow non-citizens to cast ballots in local elections, including 11 towns in Maryland and two in Vermont. In San Francisco, non-citizens can vote in school board races; New York City allowed the same for three decades until its school board was disbanded in 2002.
States like Alabama, Colorado and Florida have in recent years adopted rules that would preempt any attempts to pass laws like the one in New York City. Arizona and North Dakota already had prohibitions on the books.
In a period of divisiveness and uncertainty in American politics, the battle is just another front on the war over voting rights being enhanced…or curtailed, depending on who you talk to.
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