1980 Toronto municipal election explained
| Election Name: | 1980 Toronto mayoral election |
| Country: | Toronto |
| Type: | Mayoral |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Party Name: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1978 Toronto municipal election |
| Previous Year: | 1978 |
| Election Date: | November 10, 1980 |
| Next Election: | 1982 Toronto municipal election |
| Next Year: | 1982 |
| Candidate2: | John Sewell |
| Popular Vote2: | 86,152 |
| Percentage2: | 46.9% |
| Color2: | 5ee8aa |
| Candidate1: | Art Eggleton |
| Popular Vote1: | 87,919 |
| Percentage1: | 47.8% |
| Image1: | Arthur Eggleton Defense Minister of Canada (cropped).jpg |
| Color1: | e86363 |
| Mayor of Toronto |
| Before Election: | John Sewell |
| After Election: | Art Eggleton |
| Turnout: | 44.9%[1] |
The 1980 Toronto municipal election was held on November 10, 1980 in Metropolitan Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Mayors, controllers, city councillors and school board trustees were elected in the municipalities of Toronto, York, East York, North York, Etobicoke and Scarborough.
Art Eggleton narrowly defeated incumbent John Sewell to become Mayor of Toronto, and Mel Lastman was re-elected as Mayor of North York.
Toronto
Mayoral race
In the 1978 election reform candidate John Sewell had won against two more conservative candidates. In 1980 election the right united around Art Eggleton, and he narrowly defeated Sewell.
Eggleton carried eight of the city's eleven wards, dominating in the west end, and prevailing in North Toronto and the east end by narrower margins. While Sewell increased his vote in every ward, he only carried three wards in the heart of the city: midtown's ward 5 (which included the city's Annex district), the downtown core (ward 6) and ward 7, which he had previously represented as an alderman.[2]
- Results
Art Eggleton - 87,919
John Sewell - 86,152
Anne McBride - 3,429
Bob Bush - 2,141
Fred Dunn - 1,100
Armand Siksna - 867
Ronald Rodgers - 846
Chris Faiers - 590
Andrejs Murnieks - 571City council
City council saw a handful of major upsets and was considered to have been moved to the right by the election as in addition to losing the mayoralty reformers lost their majority on council. The most notable upset was in the downtown Ward 6. Incumbent Allan Sparrow had stepped aside to allow George Hislop to run, in the belief that the large gay community in the ward deserved a representative on council. Hislop was one of the leading gay rights activists in the city, and his campaign was vigorously opposed by figures such as evangelist Ken Campbell. In a surprise upset Hislop lost to little known local dentist Gordon Chong.
Elsewhere the left won important victories. Tom Wardle Jr., who had been involved in several controversies including an assault conviction, was defeated by former councillor Dorothy Thomas. After four failed attempts Joe Pantalone won a seat on council by capturing the one vacated by Eggleton.
Top two from each ward elected to Toronto City Council. Top one from each ward also wins a seat on Metro Toronto council.
- Ward 1 (Swansea and Bloor West Village)
William Boytchuk (incumbent) - 9,415
David White (incumbent) - 8,345
Bill Roberts - 5,785
Brynne Teal - 4,267
Nick Gulycz - 1,143
Yvette Tessier - 742
Michael Horner - 636
- Ward 2 (Parkdale and Brockton)
Tony Ruprecht (incumbent) - 9,447
Ben Grys - 4,923
Susan Atkinson - 4,907
Elaine Ziemba - 4,137
Elaine Taylor - 684
John Lauter - 620
- Ward 3 (Davenport and Corso Italia)
Joseph Piccininni (incumbent) - 7,509
Richard Gilbert (incumbent) - 7,363
Edward Gardner - 1,246
Mark Llewellyn - 689
- Ward 4 (Trinity-Bellwoods and Little Italy)
Tony O'Donohue (incumbent) - 5,005
Joe Pantalone - 3,898
Tony Ianno - 3,362
Bill Moniz - 2,898
Barbara Hurd - 2,279
Nick Figliano - 704
Anthony Russo - 206
- Ward 5 (The Annex and Yorkville)
- Ward 6 (Financial District, Toronto - University of Toronto)
Gordon Chong - 9,522
Dan Heap (incumbent) - 9,341
George Hislop - 7,348
Rose Smith - 2,959
Fred Chappell - 1,339
Darryl Randall - 659
Gary Weagle - 505
- Ward 7 (Regent Park and Riverdale)
Gordon Cressy (incumbent) - 12,579
David Reville - 9,066
Frank Dwyer - 3,748
Thelma Forsyth - 2,632
- Ward 8 (Riverdale)
Fred Beavis (incumbent) - 9,172
Thomas Clifford (incumbent) - 7,941
Jeanne McGuire - 1,433
James McMillan - 1,264
John Coutts - 550
- Ward 9 (The Beaches)
Pat Sheppard (incumbent) - 10,236
Dorothy Thomas - 7,886
John Oliver - 6,102
Bob Yaccato - 5,321
Tom Wardle Jr. (incumbent) - 3,206
Winona Gallop - 915
- Ward 10 (Rosedale and North Toronto)
June Rowlands (incumbent) - 17,551
Andrew Paton (incumbent) - 15,201
Patricia Bolton - 2,678
Craig Roberts - 2,367
- Ward 11 (Forest Hill and North Toronto)
Anne Johnston (incumbent) - 15,168
Michael Gee (incumbent) - 13,410
Kay Gardner - 6,700
Susan Diamond - 1,447Results are taken from the November 11, 1980 Toronto Star and might not exactly match final tallies.
By-elections
Ward 2 Alderman Tony Ruprecht resigned to contest the 1981 provincial election. Ben Grys was appointed Metro Councillor on April 9. A by-election was held on May 25, 1981:
Chris Korwin-Kuczynski - 4,074
Irene Atkinson - 3,496
Susan Atkinson - 3,425
Bill McGinnis
Timmy Talpa
Henry Orgasinksi
Martin Amber
Ward 6 Alderman Dan Heap resigned having won a Federal by-election for Spadina on 17 August 1981. A by-election was held on October 19, 1981:
John Sewell - 7,278
Gus Young - 1,741
John Curtin - 628
Stanley Anderson - 599
Jay Saint - 181
Jaroslawa Baczkowska - 166
Martin Amber - 130
Jimmy Talpa - 34
Gary Weagle - 45
East York
Alan Redway won his third term in office as mayor. All the incumbent councillors were re-elected. The only newcomer to council was Mike Wyatt in ward two.[3]
† denotes incumbent from previous council
Mayor
Council
Two to be elected from each ward
- Ward 1:
- †Dave Johnson - 5,530
- †Cy Reader - 4,994
- Edward Shaw - 1,403
- Ward 2:
- †Norm Crone - 3,703
- Mike Wyatt - 2,230
- George Vasilopoulos - 2,079
- Joe Tropiano - 1,674
- Ward 3:
- †Gordon Crann - Acclaimed
- †Ken Paige - Acclaimed
- Ward 4:
- †Peter Oyler - 3,947
- †Herbert McGroarty - 3,001
- Edna Beange - 2,752
Board of education
Two to be elected from each ward
- Ward 1
- †Gord Brown - 4,453
- †Ruth Goldhar - 3,135
- Bruce Porter - 1,856
- Ward 2:
- †James Palmer - 2,901
- †Kenneth Maxted - 2,441
- Fred Jackson - 1,088
- Chad Dakin - 900
- Ward 3:
- †Margaret Hazelton - 2,645
- †William Phillips - 2,603
- Len Self - 1,929
- Ward 4:
- Michael Globe - Acclaimed
- Steven Overgard - Acclaimed
Hydro Commission
Two to be elected
- †Jack Christie - 13,780
- Frank Johnson - 10,036
- †Al Morgan - 7,569
Etobicoke
Mayor
(762 out of 833 polls)
(Source: Globe and Mail, 11 Nov 1980, pg 12)
Board of Control
Four to be elected
- †Winfield (Bill) Stockwell - 45,580
- †Bruce Sinclair - 35,074
- Dick O'Brien - 29,916
- David Lacey - 28,750
- †Nora Pownall - 27,211
- Bob Wigmore - 13,032
- Roz McKenna - 12,270
- Greta McNabney - 9,095
(762 out of 833 polls)
(Source: Globe and Mail, 11 Nov 1980, pg 12)
North York
Mayor
(1257 of 1379 polls)
Board of Control
(1257 of 1379 polls)
City Council
Mario Gentile was re-elected as Ward 2 councillor.
- Cary Fox was an insurance agent, who called for a crackdown on vandalism and accused Howard Moscoe of seeking the media spotlight too often.[4]
- Gus Cusimano was a perennial candidate for municipal office in North York. He sought election to the North York City Council in the 1974, 1976, 1978 and 1980 elections, losing each time. Cusimano was eighteen years old during his first campaign.[5] He is an insurance agent, and accused Moscoe of seeking the media spotlight too often in the 1980.[4] A 1987 newspaper article identifies him as president of City-Wide Insurance Ltd., Willowdale.[6] As of 2006, he is president of Petek Insurance.[7]
Scarborough
In Scarborough, Gus Harris retained his role as Mayor Scarborough. All Board of Control members were re-elected except Frank Faubert. All incumbent aldermen were returned to office.[8] Faubert was returned to office in a by-election as alderman for Ward 5 when Alan Robinson was elected to provincial office in the 1981 Ontario election.[9]
Mayor
(incumbent)Gus Harris - 47,440
John Wimbs - 30,718
Frank Visconti - 4,687(1103 out of 1110 polls)
Board of Control
(incumbent)Brian Harrison - 48,933
Ken Morrish - 41,169
(incumbent)Carol Ruddell - 40,637
(incumbent)Joyce Trimmer - 40,564
(incumbent)Frank Faubert - 40,386
Bob Watson - 22,124
John MacMillan - 16,782(1103 out of 1110 polls)
Borough Aldermen
- Ward 1
Bill Belfontaine (incumbent)
- Ward 2
Barry Christensen
- Ward 3
David Dinkworth
- Ward 4
Jack Goodlad (acclaimed)
- Ward 5
Alan Robinson (incumbent), Frank Faubert after May 25, 1981
- Ward 6
Florence Cruikshank
- Ward 7
Ed Fulton (incumbent)
- Ward 8
Shirley Eidt (incumbent)
- Ward 9
Doug Colling (incumbent)
- Ward 10
Maureen Prinsloo (incumbent)
- Ward 11
Ron Watson
- Ward 12
Joe Dekort (incumbent)York
In the borough of York, Gayle Christie was re-elected for a second term as Mayor defeating Alan Tonks by a wide margin.
The five aldermen who ran again were re-elected. Tony Mandarano and James Trimbee were the only new members of York Council.[3] [10]
Mayor
(incumbent)Gayle Christie 21,470
Alan Tonks 13,674
Board of Control (2 elected)
(incumbent)Fergy Brown 19,489
Philip White 17,165
Harriet Wolman 12,834
Council
- Ward 1
Ben Nobleman 1,870
Michael Colle 1,108
Jay Bell 529
Dan Goldberg 329
A.E. Stollard 213
- Ward 2
Tony Mandarano 2,199
Gord Garland 1,045
- Ward 3
Ron Bradd 2,108
Tony Rizzo 1,448
- Ward 4
Patrick Canavan 1,426
Gary D'Onofrio 1,074
- Ward 5
Chris Tonks (acclaimed)
- Ward 6
James Trimbee 3,506
Robert MacPherson 2,014
- Ward 7
John Nunziata 4,547
Marvin Gordon 743
Frank Ruffolo 621
Vince DeNardo 158Notes and References
- Page A7. (1991, Nov 21). Toronto Star (1971-2009)
- John Sewell, How We Changed Toronto: The Inside Story of Twelve Creative, Tumultuous Years in Civic Life Toronto: Lorimer, 2015
- News: Civic Elections '80 . The Toronto Star . November 11, 1980 . A12-A13.
- Marina Strauss, "Hopefuls want end to chaos in North York", Globe and Mail, 30 October 1980, P4.
- "The candidates", Toronto Star, 28 November 1974, A20.
- George Brett, "Sorting out your insurance options", Toronto Star, 3 February 1987, G8.
- http://www.davesansom.ca/testimonials/ Dave Sansom, Candidate for Regional Councillor (Whitby)
- News: Scarboro returns old faces . The Globe and Mail . November 11, 1980 . 13.
- News: Faubert wins Scarborough seat . Alden . Baker . The Globe and Mail . May 26, 1981 . 4.
- News: 'I'm no fluke' says re-elected Christie . The Toronto Star . November 11, 1980 . A14.
