2003 Toronto municipal election explained

Election Name:2003 Toronto mayoral election
Country:Toronto
Type:Mayoral
Party Colour:no
Party Name:no
Previous Election:2000 Toronto municipal election
Previous Year:2000
Next Election:Toronto municipal election, 2006
Next Year:2006
Turnout:38.3% ( 2.2 pp)
Color1:ffaf6f
Candidate1:David Miller
Popular Vote1:299,385
Percentage1:43.3%
Color2:6f9eff
Candidate2:John Tory
Popular Vote2:263,189
Percentage2:38.0%
Color4:e86363
Popular Vote4:63,751
Percentage4:9.2%
Color5:fff76f
Popular Vote5:36,021
Percentage5:5.2%
Mayor
Before Election:Mel Lastman
After Election:David Miller

The 2003 Toronto municipal election was held on 10 November 2003, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to elect the Mayor of Toronto, 44 city councillors, and school board trustees.

David Miller was elected mayor (Results of 2003 Toronto election).

Most municipalities in the Province of Ontario held elections on this date. See also 2003 Ontario municipal elections.

Mayoral election

Incumbent Toronto mayor Mel Lastman chose not to run for re-election. A large number of candidates ran for the position of mayor, but five main candidates emerged.

The campaign began with Barbara Hall far in the lead. She had wide name recognition and attracted moderate support from across Toronto. She also had close links with the newly elected Liberal government of Dalton McGuinty. John Nunziata was in a distant second, polling around 9% at the best, due to his past experience as a federal MP. John Tory and David Miller were closely tied for an even more distant third.

Around September, Hall began to lose support when it became apparent that she lacked a campaign message, sticking mainly to her "love for Toronto" and arguing that she could get a "new deal" with the provincial Liberals. Miller was attacked by all candidates for musing about tolls on roads leading into Toronto, but he dropped the proposal before it could do much harm. Miller's next message about banning the island airport bridge distinguished himself from the other candidates and he eventually vaulted into first place, to the surprise of many. Tory's support also began to grow steadily as Hall's eroded and he moved into a close second. At one point, Hall, Tory, and Miller each polled similar numbers, making it a three-way contest.As Hall's support dropped, the race had become essentially a two-way contest between Tory and Miller. As the race narrowed to a close, the two front-runners ran a respectful campaign without many negative partisan attacks. Tory was applauded when he appeared at Miller's rally to congratulate the latter's victory.

John Nunziata, long not considered a contender, dropped a bombshell on the media when it he announced that members of a rival camp offered him $150,000 and the Deputy Mayor's position to drop out of the race. Nunziata refused to release specifics, although the media speculated that it was Tory's campaign, which was subsequently cleared by the police investigation. Tory in fact received a boost in the polls for his promise to drop out of the election if any wrong-doing had been discovered, while Nunziata was accused of mischief and smearing his opponent with unsubstantiated claim. As the campaign continued, Nunziata's reputation also suffered when he was alleged to have bullied councillors who withdrew their support from him. He was also dogged by his "flip-flopping" on controversial positions that he had taken as a federal MP, such as denying his private member's bill to ban abortion.Nunziata garnered only 5% of the vote and analysts believed that he had also damaged his credibility and future political prospects.

Despite this being his first election as a candidate, John Tory was credited with running a respectable campaign which provided wide recognition. He later became leader of the Ontario PC Party (2004–09), and in a return to municipal politics became Mayor of Toronto in 2014.

Although it was known from the start that Tom Jakobek did not stand a chance of winning, he still continued in the election.

On 17 July 2006, The Toronto Star reported that there were more than 300,000 people on the voting list who may – or may not – have been legally allowed to vote. Since Miller beat Tory by only 36,000 votes, with the results it would only take a small portion of the unconfirmed list to affect an election outcome. Toronto Star article

Results

2003 Toronto municipal election, Mayor of Toronto
CandidateTotal votes% of total votes
David Miller299,38543.26
John Tory263,18938.03
Barbara Hall63,7519.21
John Nunziata36,0215.20
Tom Jakobek5,2770.76
2,1970.32
Ahmad Shehab2,0840.30
Jaime Castillo1,6160.23
Luis Silva1,3050.19
Don Andrews1,2200.18
Timothy McAuliffe8210.12
Kevin Mark Clarke8040.12
John Hartnett8030.12
Gary Benner8020.12
Albert Howell7170.10
John Jahshan7030.10
Michael Brausewetter6720.10
David Lichacz6590.10
Ram Narula6450.09
Elias Makhoul6440.09
Daniel Poremski6270.09
Ronald Graham6190.09
Fen Peters5980.09
Duri Naimji5690.08
Scott Yee5510.08
Monowar Hossain5370.08
Axcel Cocon4980.07
Ben Kerr4330.06
Aleksandar Glisic4200.06
Mitch L. Gold4120.06
Hashmat Safi3830.06
Simon Shaw3760.05
Patricia O'Beirne3580.05
Abel van Wyk3320.05
Benjamin Mbaegbu2880.04
Gerald Derome2780.04
Paul Lewin2710.04
Rabindra Prashad2710.04
Hardy Dhir1990.03
Kendal Csak1930.03
Mehmet Yagiz1930.03
Richard Weston1330.02
Ratan Wadhwa1210.02
Barry Pletch1100.02
Totals692,085100%

Information on minor candidates

City council

Most incumbent city councillors were re-elected. A prominent exception was Anne Johnston, the longest-serving member of city council. She lost her seat in Ward 16, apparently because of her approval of a controversial residential tower development in an adjoining ward. The council elections saw one of the highest rates of turnover in recent history. While only four incumbents lost their seats, many long standing councillors decided not to run for re-election. Of the 44 city councillors, 14 are newcomers. The election saw the council become more leftist, which should aid mayor Miller.

Ward 1 – Etobicoke North

CandidateVotes%
(incumbent) Suzan Hall3,46230.85
2,58022.99
Ranjeet Chahal 1,73715.47
Hazoor Elahi 1,0169.05
Anthony Caputo 9488.44
Michelle Munroe 8577.63
Ikram Freed4914.37
Chitranjan Gill 920.81
Singh Khipple 390.34

Ward 2 – Etobicoke North

CandidateVotes%
10,60179.39
Mohamed Dahir 2,15516.13
Abdi Jama 5964.46

Ward 3 – Etobicoke Centre

CandidateVotes%
12,20770.80
Ross Vaughan 2,56514.87
Maurice Ferraro 1,3367.74
Amber Saeed 1,1336.57

Ward 4 – Etobicoke Centre

CandidateVotes%
9,23748.67
6,98736.82
Stephen Thiele 2,49113.12
John Sumka 2611.37

Ward 5 – Etobicoke-Lakeshore

CandidateVotes%
12,72971.43
Stan Grabowski 5,08928.56

Ward 6 – Etobicoke-Lakeshore

CandidateVotes%
5,33428.56
Berardo Mascioli 3,98224.18
Jerry Smith 3,43720.87
Diane Cleary 1,1807.16
Mark Selkirk 1,0796.55
Gregory Wowchuk 8935.42
George Kash 2081.26
Frederick Azman 1741.05
David Searle 940.57
Robin Vinden 830.50

Ward 9 – York Centre

CandidateVotes%
7,898 74.18
Anna Oppedisano 1061 9.96
Richard Baldachino 779 7.31
Annmarie Robb 487 4.57
Domenic D'Abruzzo 422 4.28

Ward 11 – York South-Weston

CandidateVotes%
9,819 77.98
Rosemarie Mulhall 2,772 22.01

Ward 12 – York South-Weston

CandidateVotes%
7,414 67.18
Joe Renda 3,621 32.81

Ward 13 – Parkdale-High Park

CandidateVotes%
7,909 39.73
Stan Kumorek 6,802 34.17
Carol Jamieson 2,929 14.71
Margo Duncan 1,455 7.31
Henry Calderon 461 2.31
Caryl Manning 347 1.74

Ward 14 – Parkdale-High Park

CandidateVotes%
7,441 52.51
Ed Zielinski 3,453 24.37
Walter Jarsky 847 5.97
Neil Webster 782 5.51
Steven Aspiotis 705 4.97
David Smaller 635 4.48
Mark Chmielewski 210 1.48
Ed Veri 95 0.67

Ward 15 – Eglinton-Lawrence

Ward 16 – Eglinton-Lawrence

CandidateVotes%
8,108 42.92
5,787 30.63
Albert Pantaleo 3,172 16.79
Michael Johnson 1,188 6.28
Alexander Hoffman 634 3.35

Ward 17 – Davenport

CandidateVotes%
5,127 44.99
4,336 38.05
David Senater 940 8.24
Romolo Cimaroli 530 4.65
Nicolo Fortunato 461 4.04

Ward 18 – Davenport

CandidateVotes%
5,797 51.52
4,537 40.32
Hortencia Fotopoulos 386 3.43
Nha Le 234 2.08
Cynamin Maxwell 155 1.37
Ana Salaverry-Chuquihuara 141 1.25

Ward 19 – Trinity-Spadina

CandidateVotes%
10,372 75.30
Jeff Brown 3,070 22.28
Philip Vettese 332 2.41

Ward 20 – Trinity-Spadina

CandidateVotes%
13,867 79.27
Sandra Anstey 2,254 12.88
Brian Wicks 608 3.47
Roberto Verdecchia 484 2.76
Dean Jepson 279 1.59

Ward 21 – St. Paul's

CandidateVotes%
10,875 65.63
George Milne 3,809 22.98
Howard Levine 1,089 6.57
Maya Tarom 522 3.15
Gregory Moskos 167 1.00
Tony Corpuz 107 0.64

Ward 22 – St. Paul's

CandidateVotes%
17,473 83.32
Erika Marquardt 3497 16.67

Ward 23 – Willowdale

CandidateVotes%
13,836 83.34
Ignacio Manlangit 2,757 16.66

Ward 25 – Don Valley West

CandidateVotes%
4,859 26.04
4,779 25.61
Tim Flynn 2,240 12.00
Barbara Krieger 1,858 9.96
Jon Williams 1,648 8.83
William Rauenbusch 1,575 8.44
Stewart Weinstein 1,283 6.87
Nancy Loewen 420 2.25

Ward 26 – Don Valley West

CandidateVotes%
13,602 86.63
Muhammad Alam 1,366 8.70
Orhan Aybars 733 4.67

Ward 27 – Toronto Centre

CandidateVotes%
1323466.3
305815.3
Michael Lorenzo 15177.6
Michael Demone 12116.0
Arius Irani 6893.5
Hade Mamade 2821.3

Ward 28 – Toronto Centre

CandidateVotes%
782646.7
Pierre Klein 464627.7
Gregory Lang 13588.1
Mike Armstrong 7674.6
Wendy Forrest 7234.3
Anwarul Kabir 5823.5
Alamgir Muhammad 4322.6
Paul Bordonaro 2601.6
Jean-Claude Mbuyi 1701.0

Ward 29 – Broadview-Greenwood

CandidateVotes%
9,352 62.2
John Papadakis 5,207 34.6
Nick Radia 480 3.1

Ward 30 – Broadview-Greenwood

CandidateVotes%
6,46039.5
Chris Phibbs 4,27126.1
Maureen Gilroy 3,16119.3
Suzanne McCormick 8325.1
Bruce Brackett 7224.4
Greg Bonser 5103.1
Sean Lough 2371.4
Jim Brookman 1791.1

Ward 31 – Beaches-East York

CandidateVotes%
8,894 53.9
6,640 40.2
Nasir Duza 556 3.4
Bob Smith 414 2.5

Ward 32 – Beaches-East York

CandidateVotes%
1224563.4
Chris Yaccato 508226.3
Alan Burke 5272.7
Colleen Mills 5272.7
Donna Braniff 5142.7
Jeffrey Dorman 2241.2
Robert Livingston 1830.6

Ward 33 – Don Valley East

CandidateVotes%
4,744 36.6
3,923 30.2
Aris Babikian 1,757 13.5
Wayne Habib 1,164 9.0
Jim Conlon 675 5.2
Allan Ginsberg 287 2.2
Asad Alam 232 1.8
Ari Maounis 191 1.5

Ward 34 – Don Valley East

CandidateVotes%
9,783 70.9
George Maxwell 2,197 15.9
Gary Walsh 1,120 9.1
Khan Niazi 700 5.1

Ward 35 – Scarborough Southwest

CandidateVotes%
5,41045.6
3,38828.6
Worrick Russell 1,65113.9
Peter Harris 550 4.6
Barry Nicholson 3262.7
Kalonji Muteba 2792.3
Jason Carey 2712.3

Ward 36 – Scarborough Southwest

CandidateVotes%
11683 78.0
Robert Scott 3,286 22.0

Ward 37 – Scarborough Centre

CandidateVotes%
7,68049.6
Helen Zoubaniotis 4,12426.7
Laura-Maria Nikolareizi 1,1567.4
Andrew Schulz 1,081 7.0
Greg Crompton 553 3.6
David Finnamore 4703.0
Georges Legault 430 2.8

Ward 38 – Scarborough Centre

CandidateVotes%
6,267 46.4
Virginia Jones 2,568 19.0
Tom Palantzas 1,678 12.4
Becky Hackett 1,316 9.8
Willie Reodica 1,243 9.2
Michael Binetti 423 3.1

Ward 39 – Scarborough-Agincourt

CandidateVotes%
6,29951.7
5,898 48.4

Ward 40 – Scarborough-Agincourt

CandidateVotes%
(incumbent) Norm Kelly10,57075.4
Patrick McBrearty2,47017.6
Winston Ramjeet9837.0

Ward 41 – Scarborough-Rouge River

CandidateVotes%
10,05474.6
Sonny Yeung 3,415 25.4

Ward 42 – Scarborough-Rouge River

CandidateVotes%
8,30270.0
Paulette Senior3,31427.9
Akeem Fasasi2452.1

Ward 43 – Scarborough East

CandidateVotes%
9,79082.4
Glenn Kitchen 2,097 17.6

Ward 44 – Scarborough East

CandidateVotes%
7,818 45.7
7,522 44.0
William Sheehan 939 5.5
Donald Blair 839 4.9

External links

Notes and References

  1. Joe Fiorito, "This mayoral longshot finds a grateful audience", Toronto Star, 3 November 2003, B3.
  2. James Cowan, "Mayoraltymarathon metaphor", National Post, 15 March 2003, TO3.
  3. Luis Silva, "The province giveth, the province taketh away", Toronto Star, 28 December 2005, A17.
  4. Bryan Borzykowski and James Cowan, "The Class of 44", National Post, 4 October 2003, TO1; Brian Borzykowski and James Cowan. "They would be king", National Post, 4 October 2003, TO11.
  5. 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.
  6. Brian Borzykowski and James Cowan, "They would be king", National Post, 4 October 2003, TO11.
  7. "No-hopers' niche", Toronto Star, 11 August 2003, E2.
  8. James Cowan, "Nunziata at sea in debates", National Post, 16 August 2003, TO4.
  9. James Cowan, "Hall gets bad review at film fest: Latecomer takes over box", National Post, 13 September 2003, TO4. Benner criticized David Miller for describing himself as the only candidate who opposed the expansion, writing "I will presume that you were unaware of my position on the Island Airport issue when you created your radio ads." Cowan agreed that this was a safe assumption, given Benner's profile in the contest.
  10. "Who's got what it takes", Toronto Star, 6 November 2003, G3.
  11. "Wednesday's Canada News Briefs", Associated Press, 17 June 1998; "Fair or fowl?", Toronto Star, 13 October 2003, B2; Vanessa Lu, "Verbal jabs in first TV debate", 20 October 2003, A1.
  12. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfyBrVu7G-0&list=UU5YAs3VZri4Sq_uYB-j9M3A Jeff Gray, "Mayoral candidate faces charges of fraud", Toronto Star, 21 November 2003, A9; Bill Dunphy, "Mayoral candidate flees with cash for handicapped", Hamilton Spectator, 22 November 2003, A10; Bill Dunphy, "Tying up a few loose ends on the news front", Hamilton Spectator, 3 December 2003, A14.
  13. Bryan Borzykowski and James Cowan, "They would be king", National Post, 4 October 2003, TO11.
  14. "Who's got what it takes?", Toronto Star, 6 November 2003, G3.
  15. Bryan Borzykowski and James Cowan, "The Class of 44", National Post, 4 October 2003, TO1.
  16. Bryan Borzykowski and James Cowan, "Class of 44", National Post, 4 October 2003, TO01; 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, G03.
  17. Jack Lakey, "Park's fountain has lost its flow", Toronto Star, 6 July 2006, R01.
  18. Joe Fiorito, "Crouch or lie prostrate for straps", Toronto Star, 4 November 2003, B4.
  19. Joe Fiorito, "Running for mayor, one pita at a time", Toronto Star, 21 March 2003, B2.
  20. Joe Fiorito, "A tuna pita to go, with extra ideas", Toronto Star, 17 September 2003, B2.
  21. Katherine Harding, "In front, on fringe, 45 vying to become mayor", The Globe and Mail, 27 September 2003, A20.
  22. Bryan Borzykowski and James Cowan, "The class of 44", National Post, 4 October 2003, TO1.
  23. Thomas Claridge, "Judge clears way for employees suit against Hydro", The Globe and Mail, 7 December 1982, P5.
  24. Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall, "The mayoral candidate without a phone", The Globe and Mail, 25 October 2003, M4; Brian Borzykowski and James Cowan, "They would be king", National Post, 4 October 2003, TO11; sexy alexy, Official Campaign Website. Retrieved 20 November 2006.
  25. http://www.barbarahall.com/mediareleases/Default.asp?articleID=422 "Barbara Hall receives ethnic endorsement"
  26. Brian Borzykowski and James Cowan, "They will be king", National Post, 4 October 2003, TO11.
  27. Katherine Harding, "In front, on fringe, 45 vying to become mayor", The Globe and Mail, 27 September 2003, A20; Catherine Porter, "It's more fun on the fringe, candidates prove", Toronto Star, 23 October 2003, B3.
  28. James Cowan, "Would-be mayors rock the vote", National Post, 7 April 2003, AL2; James Cowan, "Mayoralty candidates sign off", National Post, 9 August 2003, TO3; Garnet Fraser, "A bid for mayor", Toronto Star, 4 November 2003, C4.
  29. http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/2003/minutes/council/cc030326.pdf Minutes of a Special Meeting of the Council of the City of Toronto
  30. "Who's got what it takes?", Toronto Star, G3.
  31. http://www.themilitant.com/2003/6722/672257.html Patricia O'Beirne, "Machinists at Fleet end long strike in Ontario"
  32. Gay Abbate, "Residents fear road scheme could destroy neighborhood", The Globe and Mail, 27 December 1984, M3; Gay Abbate, "3 Scarborough mayoral challengers say they are second", The Globe and Mail, 6 November 1985, A15.
  33. Damien Cox, "'Inventor' running for mayor", Toronto Star, 19 May 1987, E3; Alan Ferguson, "Maverick chases causeway dream", Toronto Star, 10 November 1994, SD6; Darren Yourk, "What $100 gets you these days", National Post, 4 November 2000, E4; Kevin McGran, "Gridlock: If there's a will, there's a way", Toronto Star, 6 September 2003, H1.
  34. Stan Josey, "Freeze development in Rouge, Scarborough candidate says", Toronto Star, 20 October 1988, A7; Pat Brennan, "Home builders poll candidates on development", Toronto Star, 9 November 1991, E1.
  35. Stephen Wickens, "Come back, Enza, all is forgiven", The Globe and Mail, 19 August 2006, M3.
  36. http://www.pslrb-crtfp.gc.ca/decisions/summaries/31161_e.asp 166-2-31161 (2003 PSSRB 9) B. Mbaegbu v. Treasury Board (Solicitor General Canada – Correctional Service)
  37. Web site: 37th Parliament: Ontario: TRINITY—SPADINA . https://archive.today/20130101061742/http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Sites/LOP/HFER/hfer.asp?Language=E&Search=Cresdetail&Election=9852 . dead . 1 January 2013 . Parliament of Canada . 19 March 2010 .
  38. News: Green, Marijuana parties among fringe groups hoping to enter federal campaign . Idella . Sturino . Canadian Press . 3 November 2000.
  39. News: Buncombe . Andrew . The Independent . 31 July 2001 . 9.
  40. News: A voice of dissent lost in high noon din . https://web.archive.org/web/20110604203616/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/393119991.html?FMT=ABS . dead . 4 June 2011 . James . Royson . Toronto Star . . 3 September 2003 . 17 March 2010 . B5.
  41. News: Province of T.O.: It makes sense . Toronto Star . . Hume . Christopher . B3 . 5 September 2003 . 7 July 2017 . 4 June 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110604203644/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/396147641.html?FMT=ABS . dead . He was 36 years old at the time. See Brian Borzykowski and James Cowan, "They would be king", National Post, 4 October 2003, TO11.
  42. Catherine Porter, "It's more fun on the fringe, candidates prove", Toronto Star, 23 October 2003, B3.
  43. Brian Borzykowski and James Cowan, "They would be king", National Post, 4 October 2003, TO11; Catherine Porter, "It's more fun on the fringe, candidates prove", Toronto Star, 23 October 2003, B3.
  44. Brian Borzykowski and James Cowan, "They would be king", 4 October 2003, TO11.
  45. Aparita Bhandari
  46. Bruce DeMara, "Election primer: Wards and issues", Toronto Star, 8 November 2003, B1.
  47. http://www.roccoworks.com/index.php?p=118 Rocco Piccininno: Sutton Group-Tower Realty Inc., Brokerage
  48. Bruce DeMara, "Election primer", Toronto Star. See also "Is Ward 24's Shiner courting career change?", Toronto Star, 29 September 2003, B3.
  49. http://google.com/search?q=cache:33M0AapURioJ:www.caldecast.org/welcome.html+%22Jhadira+Ramos%22&hl=en&gl=ca&ct=clnk&cd=7 Multicultural web site: 2003 Toronto election