Municipal elections were held on 13 November 2006 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 2006 Ontario municipal elections). In the mayoral race, incumbent mayor David Miller was re-elected with 57% of the popular vote.

There were 38 candidates running for Mayor of Toronto and 238 candidates running for 44 city councillor positions. This was, at the time, the largest number of candidates to run in a Toronto municipal election. In contrast to the previous election (which had two acclamations), no candidates were unopposed.

Provincial legislation passed in May 2006 extended municipal council terms in Ontario from the previous three years to four. The council elected in 2006 thus served until 2010.Ontario 2006 Municipal Elections Guide , Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

Election notes Local activist David Meslin created City Idol — an initiative and contest to encourage local citizens who were otherwise alienated from politics to seek office in this election. The contest ultimately selected four candidates to assist in their quests for city council seats. The contest ran from February to June 2006. On 27 September 2006, former councillor Chris Korwin-Kuczynski filed papers to run in his old riding of Ward 14. However, the next day he withdrew his nomination. This allowed him to retain a fundraising surplus of $21,742 left over from his last campaign. If he had not (at least temporarily) run in this election, the money would have flowed into the city coffers.Korwin-Kuczynski runs for the money, not the seat, The Globe and Mail, 7 October 2006. As of the close of nominations (29 September 2006), the majority of local media coverage was focused around three mayoralty candidates – current Mayor David Miller, outgoing Ward 26 Councillor Jane Pitfield and former Liberal Party of Canada President Stephen LeDrew. Several incidents occurred during Ward 8 advanced polling on the weekend of 4–5 November 2006, leading to candidates Peter Li Preti and Anthony Perruzza accusing each other of dirty campaigning and the breaking of numerous election and criminal laws. Although no criminal charges were laid by police, the City of Toronto has (in a completely unprecedented move) hired off-duty police officers at a cost of approximately $23,200 to guard each of the ward's 40 voting locations on election day to assure voters will remain safe and free from harassment.Police to watch York West polls, Toronto Star, 8 November 2006.

Potential issues

Gun-related crime and violence Garbage and waste disposal Streetcar right-of-way on St. Clair Avenue TTC governance and management Toronto City Centre Airport expansion, and battle with the Toronto Port Authority Budget shortfall and taxes Waterfront revitalization Housing and homelessness Councillor and mayoral pay raises Scarborough subway expansion Future of the elevated section of the Gardiner Expressway Aggressive Panhandlers The Guardian Angels The City of Toronto Act

Opinion polls Polling FirmPolling DatesLinkDavid MillerJane PitfieldStephen LeDrewOtherUndecidedMOE +/−Decima Research 3–5 November 2006 55%20%2%??3.5% (19/20)Ipsos-Reid 2–5 November 2006 70% *29% *1% *—18%3.5% (19/20)Léger Marketing 27–31 October 2006 44%22%2%5%17%4.4% (19/20)Decima Research 20–26 October 2006 30%6%0%??4.9% (19/20)Strategic Counsel 26–30 September 2006 65% *32% *——38.6%4.4% (19/20)Ipsos-Reid 21–26 September 2006 55% *40% *——43%3.5% (19/20)Environics10 April 2006 – 1 May 2006 54%20%—3%22%4.5% (19/20)Ipsos-Reid?–6 January 2006 50%——44%6%? ? statistic not stated/unknown * percentage of decided voters only — option not available/given at time of polling

Results Official Results

Mayor

+ 2006 Toronto municipal election, Mayor of Toronto Candidate Total votes % of total votes David Miller 332,969 56.97 Jane Pitfield 188,932 32.32 Stephen LeDrew 8,078 1.38 Michael Alexander 5,247 0.90 Jaime Castillo 5,215 0.89 Douglas Campbell 4,183 0.72 Hazel Jackson 3,333 0.57 Lee Romanov 3,108 0.53 Shaun Bruce 2,820 0.48 Monowar Hossain 2,726 0.47 Joseph Young 2,264 0.39 Kevin Clarke 2,081 0.36 Joel Rubinovich 1,642 0.28 Scott Yee 1,538 0.26 Rodney Muir 1,458 0.25 Nicholas Brooks 1,397 0.24 John Porter 1,348 0.23 Diana-De Maxted 1,311 0.22 David Dicks 1,283 0.22 Duri Naimji 1,240 0.21 Bob Smith 1,105 0.19 Mark Korolnek 1,079 0.18 Glenn Coles 1,019 0.17 Peter Styrsky 945 0.16 Mitch L. Gold 880 0.15 Ryan Goldhar 787 0.13 Mehmet Ali Yagiz 753 0.13 Ratan Wadhwa 696 0.12 Adam Sit 663 0.11 Paul Sheldon 624 0.11 Dave DuMoulin 601 0.10 Gerald Derome 578 0.10 Thomas Shipley 574 0.10 Soumen Deb 517 0.09 David Schiebel 498 0.09 David Vallance 486 0.08 John Weingust 312 0.05 Mark State 194 0.03 Total valid votes 584,484 100.00

Information on minor candidates Michael Alexander was 42 years old, worked as a filmmaker, and described himself as an eschatologist."Unusual candidates vie for mayor's chair, CityNews, 13 October 2006. His political hero was Pierre Trudeau.Mayoral candidates: City of Toronto, Toronto Star, online document. Retrieved 4 December 2006. He promoted "city autonomy with a central bank, laws guided by eschatological principles from Scriptures, and a constitution based on the U. N. Declaration of Human Rights.""Toronto Mayoral Race", Toronto Star, 9 November 2006, G1. Jaime Castillo was born in Peru, had studied mechanical engineering at Humber College, and had worked in construction and real estate. He first ran for Mayor of Toronto in 2003 as part of a pro-multiculturalism slate, calling for an increase in property taxes to support programs for immigrants.Brian Borzykowski and James Cowan, "They would be king", National Post, 4 October 2003, TO11; Kirk Villmarin, "North Toronto mayors debate a joke" , SceneandHeard.ca, Vol. 6, Issue 6. He received 1,616 votes for an eighth-place finish. Castillo promoted multicultural issues again in 2006, also calling for improved tourism services and an environmental program to produce bio-gas and fertilizers from garbage. Hazel Jackson previously campaigned for Mayor of Toronto in 1997 and 2000. Formerly homeless, she was a resident of Toronto's "Tent City" for a period.Homeless set up tent city on contaminated Toronto port lands, CBC News, 27 November 2000, 19:13. Jackson was a 45-year-old student at George Brown College in the 2000 election and called for more popular involvement in politics, saying "If everyone had access to a hand-held computer that plugged into the Net, we could have instant votes on major issues."Darren Yourk, "What $100 gets you these days", National Post, 4 November 2000, E4. She worked at the Parkdale Activity & Recreation Centre in 2006, and promoted green rooftops, windmills and "more community gardens".Hazel Jackson: Myspace entry. Retrieved 5 December 2006; "Toronto Mayoral Race", Toronto Star, 9 November 2006, G1. Lee Romano was a successful businesswoman in Toronto. She created the Consumer's Guide to Insurance Inc. in 1996, providing telephone callers with advice on car insurance rates.Neil Dunlop, "The telephone is new media too", Canadian Underwriter, 11 October 1997, Vol. 64, No. 10, p. 75. She later moved her service online.Lee Romanov, "New rate due to age may not take effect mid-term", Toronto Star, 9 September 2006, G6. Since 2005, she had written a column in the Toronto Star's "Wheels" section under the name Lee Romanov. Romano made a successful $9,000 bid at a "Mayor for a Day" charity event in 2002, and won the right to oversee activities at Toronto's city hall for 11 June of the same year (this did not confer any official responsibilities). She held a gala "inauguration" ball in May, with the proceeds also going to charity.Bruce DeMara, "24-hour mayor plans to have a ball", Toronto Star, 5 May 2002, A8; Philip Quinn, "If I were mayor for a day ...", National Post, 15 November 2002, AL2; Sharon Dunn, "Mayor for a day is pretty savvy", National Post, 3 June 2002, AL2. She did not actively campaign for mayor in 2006. Shaun Bruce was a 22-year-old fourth-year media studies student at the University of Guelph-Humber. He decided to run for mayor after a class discussion on low voter turnout among youth, and following suggestions that a student candidate would bring more young voters to the polls. Many of his classmates worked on his campaign. Bruce wanted to introduce discounted public-transportation fees for students, improve community safety, and introduce an online directory of affordable student housing.Vanessa Lu, "Mayor of Toronto at 22?", Toronto Star, 5 October 2006, A20; Adrienne Robertson, "Candidate drives zamboni: Young politicos, Part 1", National Post, 28 October 2006, TO12; "Toronto Mayoral Race", Toronto Star, 9 November 2006, G1. Monowar Hossain previously campaigned for the Toronto District School Board in 2000 and for Mayor of Toronto in 2003. He moved to Canada from India in 1983 due to what he describes as "political issues". He trained as a lawyer, later worked as a security officer, and was studying to be an investment adviser in 2003. Hossain's first mayoral campaign was highlighted by a promise to provide food and housing for Toronto's unemployed to bring them into the workforce.Brian Borzykowski and James Cowan, "They would be king", National Post, 4 October 2003, TO11; "Who's got what it takes", Toronto Star, 6 November 2003, G3. In 2006, he described himself as the "Dealienation Advocate" and said that he would rescue people from "traps" like psychologists and laboratory experimentation."Toronto mayoral race", Toronto Star, 9 November 2006, G1. Joel Rubinovich was born in Montreal, attended and taught at McGill University, and moved to Toronto in 1968. He was a Life Member of the Ontario Institute of Chartered Accountants, and joined the Board of Directors of Lung Cancer Canada in 2002.Director's Profile , Lung Cancer Canada. Retrieved 10 December 2006. He favoured lower taxes and police foot patrols, opposed the St. Clair Right-of-Way, and called for a reconstitution of the Toronto Transit Commission.Joel Rubinovich, "Who says who's serious in race?", National Post, 9 November 2006, A11. He was 73 years old in 2006."Political rebirth just needs your vote", Toronto Star, 13 November 2006, A1.