Municipal elections were held on October 25, 2010 to elect a mayor and 44 city councillors in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In addition, school trustees were elected to the Toronto District School Board, Toronto Catholic District School Board, Conseil scolaire de district du Centre-Sud-Ouest and Conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre-Sud. The election was held in conjunction with those held in other municipalities in the province of Ontario (see 2010 Ontario municipal elections). Candidate registration opened on January 4, 2010 and ended on September 10. Advance polls were open October 5, 6, 7, 8 and 12, 13, 16 and 17.
There were a number of open seats as two sitting councillors, Rob Ford and Joe Pantalone, ran for mayor, while incumbents Case Ootes, Kyle Rae, Adam Giambrone, Michael Walker, Mike Feldman, Brian Ashton, and Howard Moscoe did not seek re-election. This was the first election to take place in Toronto since the enactment of a new fund raising by-law whereby unions and corporations could not donate to candidates. The nomination period for the 2010 municipal election opened on Monday, January 4, 2010 and closed on Friday, September 10, 2010.
In the 2010 election, a record number of women was elected to council, with 15 female councillors comprising exactly one third of all council members."Porter: Female breakthrough on Toronto city council". Toronto Star, October 27, 2010.
With this election, voting day moved to the fourth Monday of October from the second Monday of November which had been election day since 1978.
Mayor
The mayor's seat was open for the first time since the 2003 Toronto election, due to the announcement by incumbent mayor David Miller that he would not seek a third term in office. At the end of the campaign there were three major candidates who were included by the media in public opinion polls and mayoral debates: winner Rob Ford, Joe Pantalone, and George Smitherman.David Rider "Ford surges into second place in mayoral poll" Toronto Star Fri Apr 16 2010Marcus Gee "Toronto's mayoral candidates face off for the first time" The Globe and Mail. Mar. 29, 2010 Four other candidates, Rocco Rossi, Sarah Thomson, Adam Giambrone and Giorgio Mammoliti, were considered major candidates when they launched their campaigns but later dropped out of the campaign.
City council City councillors were elected to represent Toronto's 44 wards at Toronto City Council. There were a number of open seats, as sitting councillors Joe Pantalone and Rob Ford chose to run for mayor, while long-serving incumbents Case Ootes, Kyle Rae, Adam Giambrone, Mike Feldman, Michael Walker, Brian Ashton and Howard Moscoe announced their retirements.
Five incumbent councillors were defeated, in wards 1, 13, 25, 32, and 35:. Vincent Crisanti beat Suzan Hall, Sarah Doucette beat Bill Saundercook, Jaye Robinson beat Cliff Jenkins, Mary-Margaret McMahon beat Sandra Bussin, and Michelle Berardinetti beat Adrian Heaps respectively.
School boards School trustees were elected to the Toronto District School Board, Toronto Catholic District School Board, Conseil scolaire de district du Centre-Sud-Ouest and Conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre-Sud.
Participation initiatives Continuing a tradition established by City Idol in 2006, grassroots activist groups established a number of initiatives to encourage greater interest and participation in municipal politics.
One notable initiative in 2010 was Better Ballots, an advocacy group which sponsored a debate concerning municipal voting reform on June 1. Preparations for that debate included an online ballot to name two of the "minor" mayoral candidates to the debate panel, in addition to the six "major" ones. The winners of the online vote were Rocco Achampong and Keith Cole."Better Ballots hosts mayor's debate" . insidetoronto.com, June 3, 2010. When Giorgio Mammoliti withdrew from the mayoral race on July 5, he singled out Achampong as a candidate who "needs to be heard", and asked the media to give Achampong his former space in the debates."Mammoliti quits mayoral race", Toronto Star, July 5, 2010
Another initiative was So You Think You Can Council, an event hosted by comedian Maggie Cassella which featured Ward 27's council candidates answering questions about Toronto's municipal government in a game show format."So You Think You Can Council?". Toronto Star, June 10, 2010.
Satire The campaign was also noted for the creation of two mock campaigns which posted satirical comments on the election through social networking platforms. Murray4Mayor was spearheaded by National Post cartoonist Steve Murray,"Steve Murray Hates Toronto, and Wants to Be Your Mayor". Torontoist, October 1, 2010. while The Rebel Mayor, which was eventually revealed as the creation of journalist Shawn Micallef, was written in the persona of 19th century Toronto mayor William Lyon Mackenzie.. Toronto Life, May 20, 2010.
Ward 9 York Centre and TDSB Ward 4 election irregularities On March 29, 2011, a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice invalidated the election results for Ward 9 and TDSB Ward 4 because of "several “irregularities” in the voters list". The civil lawsuit was brought forward by Gus Cusimano. He lost by 89 votes and was the runner-up. There were missing signatures of electoral officers on 426 of 1,143 forms that allowed election-day changes to the voter list.
Initially the city's legal staff said they would be appealing the decision but on May 13 it was announced that the city would not launch an appeal. City Clerk, Uli Watkiss said in a statement, "The decision to proceed with a by-election and resolve this matter as quickly as possible is in the best interest of the public, the individuals directly affected, and the workings of Council." The mayor's office supported the decision. Rob Ford's press secretary Adrienne Batra said, "Obviously the mayor supported (Cusimano) during the general election and once the by-election gets under way he will be fully supporting him again."
On May 16, Maria Augimeri announced that she would be appealing the decision herself. She said the by-election would cost $525,000.The cost of the ward 9 by-election is estimated at $175,000. The court decision also affected a school trustee election and that election would cost $350,000 since it spans two wards. She said, "The clerk’s advice not to appeal does harm to taxpayers as well as to the integrity of our electoral system." On August 4, the city reversed its decision and decided to join the appeal which will be held in September 2011. On December 19, the court ruled in Augimeri's favour. A three judge panel ruled that although 300 ballots were unsigned by electoral officers the people voting were very likely eligible to vote and that this would have no effect on the election. In a related judgement, they also ruled that Cusimano incorrectly voted in the Ward 9 election because he lived in another riding. They decided that no further action was necessary.
Ward 1: Etobicoke North
Ward 1 Candidate Votes %Vincent Crisanti 5,505 40.736% Suzan Hall 4,996 36.969% Omar Farouk 1,573 11.64% Sharad Sharma 883 6.534% Ted Berger 388 2.871% Peter D'Gama 169 1.251% Total13,514 100%
Ted Berger (registered March 23) Vincent Crisanti electedCBA.ca Toronto Votes (registered June 15) Peter D'Gama (registered July 20) Omar Farouk (registered June 8) Suzan Hall (incumbent) (registered January 4) Hall was running for re-election and had been on city council since 2000. Prior to that she was a school trustee."Usual suspects line up for municipal vote", Toronto Sun, January 5, 2010 Sharad Sharma (registered February 5)
Ward 2: Etobicoke North Ward 2 Candidate Votes %Doug Ford 12,660 71.679% Cadigia Ali 2,346 13.283% Luciano Rizzuti 828 4.688% Rajinder Lall 736 4.167% Andrew Saikaley 637 3.607% Jason Pedlar 455 2.576% Total 17,662 100%
The seat was open because incumbent Rob Ford ran for mayor. Cadigia Ali (registered June 4) Ali was the runner-up in this ward in the last election. She is a health professional (Rexdale Community Health Centre) and activist (Etobicoke Conflict Mediation Team). Doug Ford elected(registered August 9) Doug Ford, 45, is Rob Ford's brother and campaign manager. He is president of Deco Labels, a family owned business founded by his father."Rob Ford's brother joins race", Toronto Sun, August 5, 2010 Rajinder Lall (registered July 27); Etobicoke real estate broker Jason Pedlar (registered June 18); mediator with the Financial Services Commission of Ontario Luciano Rizzuti (registered September 10) Andrew Saikaley (registered April 13); transportation consultant
Ward 3: Etobicoke Centre Ward 3 Candidate Votes %Doug Holyday13,521 71.92% Peter Kudryk 2,684 14.277% Ross Vaughan 1,585 8.431% Roger Deschenes 1,010 5.372% Total18,800 100%
Roger Deschenes (registered April 26) Roger Deschenes, a candidate for Ward 3 in the 2010 Toronto elections, has lived his entire life in the city of Toronto. Deschenes was raised in downtown Toronto and has lived in Ward 3 for the past 22 years. Previously self-employed in the food industry, Deschenes also has years of experience in construction. Doug Holyday elected (incumbent) (registered June 30) Holyday has been councillor since 1998. He was Etobicoke City Councillor (1986–1994) and mayor (1994–1997), and Metro Toronto councillor (1994–1997). Peter Kudryk (registered March 22)
Ward 4: Etobicoke Centre Ward 4 Candidate Votes %Gloria Lindsay Luby 9,789 46.902% John Campbell 9,480 45.422% Daniel Bertolini 1,602 7.676% Total 20,871 100%
Daniel Bertolini (registered September 10) John Campbell (registered July 8) Gloria Lindsay Luby elected (incumbent) (registered March 8) Luby was a school trustee before being elected to Etobicoke city council. She was elected to Toronto City Council in 1997 when the Etobicoke was amalgamated into the new city of Toronto.
Ward 5: Etobicoke—Lakeshore Ward 5 Candidate Votes %Peter Milczyn 9,778 41.16% Justin Di Ciano 9,669 40.701% Morley Kells 2,725 11.471% John Chiappetta 1,245 5.241% Rob Therrien 339 1.427% Total23,756 100%
John Chiappetta (registered September 10) Justin Di Ciano (registered July 12) Morley Kells (registered September 8) Kells was an Etobicoke councillor and Controller in the 1970s and then served as Progressive Conservative MPP from 1981 to 1985 and again from 1995 to 2003. He was Minister of the Environment in Frank Miller's short-lived government. Peter Milczyn elected (incumbent) (registered January 14) First elected in 1994 to Etobicoke City Council. Defeated in 1997 in the first post-amalgamation election. Elected to Toronto City Council in 2000. Rob Thierrien (registered September 10)
Ward 6: Etobicoke—Lakeshore Ward 6 Candidate Votes %Mark Grimes 12,228 60.421% Jem Cain 5,847 28.891% Michael Laxer 717 3.543% Wendell Brereton 605 2.989% Cecilia Luu 466 2.303% David Searle 375 1.853% Total 20,238 100%
Wendell Brereton (registered August 4) A pastor who describes himself as a fundamentalist Christian, Brereton was a candidate for mayor but withdrew in July to endorse Rob Ford. Brereton, a former officer with the Ontario Provincial Police, is a social conservative who opposes same-sex marriage. He supports government stimulus spending to combat the recession."Politics, not religion, unite Ford, Brereton", Toronto Sun, August 5, 2010 Jem Cain (registered January 4) Cain was also a candidate in the 2006 municipal election. Mark Grimes elected (incumbent) (registered August 11) A former trader on the Toronto Stock Exchange, Grimes was first elected to Toronto City Council in 2003. Michael Laxer (registered July 2) Laxer is a local used book store owner and community activist and a former candidate for the New Democratic Party at both the federal and provincial level.