#munipoli Matters SIDEPLATE - The state of municipal elections in the 905
Here's an update on the local government contests, specifically mayors but some councillors, across the Greater Toronto Area
Welcome to another issue of #munipoil Matters, where you can find the latest updates on what’s happening in the often underreported area of municipal elections, politics and governance happening in the local councils spread across Canada and beyond.
Municipal candidates are all now certified, so finally, the official campaign of 2022 has gotten underway.
I did a summation back in June of the state of the local races, such as around the Greater Toronto Area, some of the mid-sized to large cities across Ontario, and a smattering of other municipal races that are interesting for various reasons.
Here’s the updated municipal scene in the 905 / Greater Toronto Area.
TORONTO
Let’s face it, nobody really expects Mayor John Tory to NOT be securing himself a third term in office. There are some 30 other candidates running alongside Tory for his job but there isn’t one that looks like a serious threat to the incumbent mayor.
The most interesting challengers are urbanist Gil Penalosa, Stephen Punwasi, a frequent social media commentator on various housing and economic policies, and a woman named Chloe Brown.
It’s probably at the Council races where things are more interesting. Ward 3 incumbent Mark Grimes faces several contenders to his throne, including returning 2018 candidate Amber Morley. Tory’s Budget Chief Gary Crawford is facing seven other candidates, such as activist Kevin Rupasinghe.
Though Tory is likely to secure his third term, the mayor nevertheless will face a slew of new councillors as seven wards have no incumbent, either because they’re not running again or were elected to the provincial legislature.
In Willowdale (Ward 18), incumbent John Filion’s departure has left four candidates running to replace him: Elham Shahban, former federal Conservative candidate Daniel Lee and two people Filion endorsed in 2018 when there were two wards for Willowdale before he jumped back in that race: Lily Cheng and Markus O’Brien Fehr.
Other open wards with no incumbents include Davenport, Spadina-Fort York, Toronto Centre and University Rosedale. Deputy Mayor Denzil Minnan-Wong has also retired, leaving Don Valley East an uncontested race as well.
Ward 1 (Etobicoke North) has 16 contenders running as Michael Ford was one of those former councillors elected Queen’s Park.
HALTON REGION
Burlington: Mayor Marianne Meed Ward faces four other contenders for reelection, but none of them pose a serious challenge and I expect Meed Ward, a former Ward 2 Councillor, to cruise to an easy victory.
Perennial candidate Anne Marsden, who has also run for Regional Chair in the past, is the only noticeable name challenger the mayor, with Jim Kerr, Steven Rieck and William Tuck rounding out the mayoral field.
On Burlington City Council, all six incumbents are running again and they all have challengers so no one is getting acclaimed.
Oakville: Mayor Rob Burton is indeed running for a fifth term, once again facing restaurateur Julia Hanna. Photographer Jack Kukolic is also running. In 2018, Burton won reelection with 49% to Hanna’s 42%.
In Ward 7, the local councillor position is wide open as incumbent Jasvinder Sandhu is opting out after serving one term. Nine candidates are in the running.
Halton Hills: Mayor Rick Bonnette is leaving office after almost two decades, leaving Councillors Bryan Lewis and Ann Lawlor to contest for the seat. Other candidates include businessmen Ken Paige and Norm Paulsen, as well as 2018 mayoral candidate Robert Gottardi.
Halton Regional Chair: After rumours circulated that he was going to retire, incumbent Gary Carr has opted to run for reelection. Unlike in the past when he was acclaimed, Carr would have to campaign, as he faces former Burlington PC MPP Jane McKenna and Halton school board trustee and board Chair Andrea Grebenc to keep his job.
Milton: What was to be a quiet race for Mayor Gord Krantz is now a contest as Ward 4 Regional Councillor Zeeshan Hamid is challenging the 41 year long incumbent. First elected in 2010, Hamid has previously served as town councillor before becoming Regional Councillor. Other mayoral candidates are Saba Ishaq and Rajiv Dhawan.
Hamid, who has a background in the tech sector, has also served as a director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Halton and Hamilton, and currently serves on the boards of Halton Healthcare, Halton Community Housing Corporation and Conservation Halton.
There are 10 candidates running for Local Councillor in Ward 4, as incumbent Sameera Ali is running for Regional Councillor as Hamid is vacating that role for his mayoral run. In Ward 3, Regional incumbent Mike Cluett is being challenged by Town Councillor Rick Di Lorenzo.
Regional Councillors Colin Best (Ward 1) and Rick Malboeuf (Ward 2) were acclaimed to another term as no challengers filed in those wards.
PEEL REGION
Mississauga: There’s no real possibility of seeing Mayor Bonnie Crombie ousted from office. It’s pretty clear, even with seven candidates running against her and minus any real criticisms, Crombie will secure a third term.
The real show to watch is on Mississauga City Council, where three wards are left open as incumbents are retiring or not seeking another term. In Ward 2, where former councillor Karen Ras left in January and was replaced by placeholder Pat Mullin.
Some notable names running are former Ontario Liberal candidate Alvin Tedjo, 2014 council candidate and ratepayers association president Sue Shanly and a woman named Silvia Gualtieri, who happens to be Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown’s mother-in-law.
In Ward 9, there are 11 candidates looking to take over for retiring incumbent Pat Saito. Saito endorsed Martin Reid, but school trustee Nokha Dakroub, former MPP Bob Delaney, former NDP candidate Nicholas Rabba and former mayoral candidate Scott Chapman are also running. One fascinating name in that Ward 9 mix who entered last minute is Peter McCallion, the son of former Mississauga mayor Hazel McCallion.
Over in Ward 11, where George Carlson is not reoffering, there are six candidates running, and most observers see former Conservative MP Brad Butt having the best chance of getting elected.
Brampton: Where to even begin with the political situation in Canada’s ninth largest city? After starting a campaign to become Conservative leader earlier this year, Mayor Patrick Brown spent several months crisscrossing the country before the party kicked him out of the leadership race for alleged financial improprieties. Brown returned to Brampton to register to run for Mayor again.
This caused two candidates who were running for mayor to jump into the Wards 2&6 city councillor’s race, which is an open ward as incumbent Doug Whilans is not running again. Wards 3&4 Councillor Jeff Bowman is also retiring, leaving another open contest. Wards 7&8 is also left open by former councillor Charmaine Williams’ election to Queen’s Park.
One contender stands out amongst those running against Brown: Nikki Kaur, the former whistleblower who exposed a number of controversies at city hall under Brown’s leadership. Kaur’s campaign is being run by Nick Kouvalis, a well known Conservative political operator who previously ran campaigns for Rob and Doug Ford.
It’s also ironic that some of Brown’s current political backers have prior NDP backgrounds, such as Wards 1&5 Councillor Rowena Santos and Wards 3&4 Regional Council candidate Andria Barrett.
Caledon: This town of 66,000 residents will see a clear race between two well known Council members facing each other for the role being vacated by retiring Mayor Allan Thompson.
Councillor Jennifer Innis will face Councillor Annette Groves. Innis is seen as more the ‘pro-development’ candidate while Groves has advocated for more ‘smart growth’ for this growing rural community.
Ward boundary changes also reduced the size of Caledon’s council, so incumbents Johanna Downey and Ian Sinclair aren’t running again.
For the two regional council seats, current Town Councillor Christina Early is contesting Wards 1/2/3 while Wards 4/5/6 have current Catholic School Board trustee Frank DiCosola and former Brampton municipal candidate Mario Russo running, along with Anthony Caputo and Bhondhi Manjit Saini.
YORK REGION
Vaughan: With Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua not seeking a fourth term, the election here has opened up to a contest of seven, with former Ontario Liberal leader Steven Del Duca being the most recognizable name on that list.
Del Duca looks to replicate what Brown did in Brampton, but he’s also facing a seasoned municipal council member Sandra Yeung Racco, who has been on Council since 2003, for the mayor’s role. Coincidentally Yeung Racco’s husband, Mario Racco, is a former Liberal MPP for Thornhill now seeking a York Region council seat in Vaughan.
Six candidates will vie for Vaughan’s Ward 4 which was held by Yeung Racco, but in Ward 5 former Tory MPP Gila Martow will attempt to defeat incumbent Alan Shefman.
Richmond Hill: Mayor David West will be looking to earn his own four year mandate after winning a January by-election to complete the unexpired term of former mayor Dave Barrow who left for medical reasons.
West faces three other challengers, the most prominent being Regional Councillor Carmine Perelli, who happens to be suing the city he wants to lead for more than $3 million in damages against the former city manager, current senior city staff, most of his council colleagues as well as the City of Richmond Hill over alleged misfeasance in public office, bad faith and abuse of power.
Perrelli alleged he was “mischaracterized” as a “violent bully and criminal” and “physically threatened city staff” through (former city manager Mary-Anne) Dempster’s communications with staff and council members. The only people Perelli doesn’t appear to be suing are Ward 1 Councillor Greg Beros and Ward 2 Councillor Tom Muench.
Muench is facing his own reelection against four challengers, but he was arrested by TTC constables back in June for an alleged altercation with an intoxicated woman on the subway, as well as being embroiled in other strange altercations.
Ward 5 Councillor Karen Cilevitz is running against nine other challengers. Perhaps her vulnerabilities are more evident because she pleaded guilty to fraud under $5,000, charges which were then withdrawn. That didn’t stop flyers going around her area demanding her resignation.
Markham: From months of no one registering to run for the city’s top job, Markham is actually getting something that may be competitive. Incumbent Frank Scarpitti will face Deputy Mayor Don Hamilton.
Hamilton was elected in a 2009 by-election in Markham’s Ward 3 (Unionville) and won reelection in 2010 and 2014. In 2018, he won election as Regional Councillor, winning the most votes amongst other regional candidates which allowed him to become Deputy Mayor.
East Gwillimbury: Mayor Virginia Hackson will once again face her 2018 opponent Franco Colavecchia, whom she defeated with 78% of the vote four years ago. But this time they will be joined by another familiar name locally: former mayor Jamie Young.
Young first served as a councillor from 1994 to 2000, then as mayor and regional councillor from 2000 to 2010 and again councillor from 2014 to 2018. He was only 19 when elected as a councillor and 25 when he became mayor.
Georgina: Mayor Margaret Quirk is running for reelection but Ward 4 Councillor Frank Sebo is challenging her. Sebo is serving his second term on council, having first been elected in 2014. Other candidates running: Jeffrey Cathcart, Boris Godzinevsk, Ralph Hirmann and George Sheffield.
Whitchurch-Stouffville: First term Mayor Iain Lovatt will once again face former mayor Justin Altmann, who lost to Lovatt in 2018. They are joined by former Ward 2 councillor Mark Carroll, Anand Daté and Sher Ahmad.
Altmann is a colourful character to say the least. He was found to have breached the code of conduct when he boycotted the town’s New Year’s Eve fireworks celebrations when he was mayor, as well as accusing staff of breaking into his office.
He also set up one of those ‘mind maps’ outlining his enemies in his office (I’m not kidding). There was also a story about Altmann having a duplicate mayor’s chain of office made in addition to the town’s actual chain, at a cost of $2,000 to local taxpayers.
DURHAM REGION
Ajax: Mayor Shaun Collier will be seeking a second term as he faces three challengers for his job: 2018 candidate Arthur Augustine, Collin Hubble and Garry Reader.
Brock Township: Mayor John Grant, who served on local and regional council and was mayor from 2014-2018, was appointed to the role in 2021 after previous incumbent Debbie Bath-Hadden passed away.
Grant is not seeking reelection but standing for election for mayor are Ward 3 Councillor Walter Schummer, IT professional Ryan Williams and Regional Councillor Ted Smith.
Clarington: Mayor Adrian Foster is seeking his fourth term but is being challenged by Wards 1 & 2 Regional Councillor Joe Neal, veteran police officer and former regional chair candidate Tom Dingwall and Mirko Pejic.
Also interesting in Wards 1&2, current Ward 1 Local Councillor Janice Jones and Wards 3&4 Regional Councillor Granville Anderson are contesting for that seat. Former regional councillor Willie Woo registered and was acclaimed to the Wards 3&4 Regional seat.
Former Clarington mayor Jim Abernethy appears to be on the ballot again; he will be running for Ward 4 against current incumbent Margaret Zwart.
Durham Regional Chair: John Henry, a former Oshawa mayor, was elected in the Chair’s position in 2018, is running again. Other candidates include Laurie Blaind Mackie, Peter Neal and Kurdil-Telt Patch.
Oshawa: Mayor Dan Carter will be seeking his second term, facing Joe Ingino and Sara Lear.
Pickering: With incumbent Mayor Dave Ryan not seeking another term after almost 20 years in office, Regional Councillor Kevin Ashe looks to be the frontrunner. One of Ashe’s opponents, Janice Frampton, looks to be running on a ‘responsible growth’ platform. A third candidate, Brad Nazar, works for Metrolinx and previously for Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy.
Whitby: Mayor Don Mitchell is bowing out from running for a third term so Regional Councillor Elizabeth Roy, West Ward Councillor Deidre Newman and Evan Griffiths are running for the mayor’s job.
Next up, municipal election updates from Ontario’s other big cities and towns which have interesting electoral situations happening.
Cover photo from Amber Morley’s Twitter
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