Sean Marshall

Tag: Ward 23

  • Mapping the council races in Ward 22 – Scarborough-Agincourt and Ward 23 – Scarborough North

    I continue the mapping of Toronto’s 25 council races by taking a look at two Scarborough wards.

    Ward 22, Scarborough-Agincourt, was a battle between two right-leaning incumbent councillors, Norm Kelly and Jim Karygiannis. Ward 23, Scarborough North, was one of only two wards that didn’t have a councillor running for re-election.

    Ward 22

    Ward 22, Scarborough North, pit 77-year old council veteran Norm Kelly against 63-year old council rookie Jim Karygiannis. They share similar politics (both are centre-right councillors, and both are former Liberal MPs), but have different styles. Ward 22 is bounded by Victoria Park on the west, Midland Avenue on the east, Highway 401 on the south, and Steeles Avenue on the north.

    Norm Kelly was first elected to municipal politics in 1974 as an alderman on Scarborough council and a Liberal MP between 1980 and 1984. He returned to Scarborough council in 1994 and has served on Toronto City Council since the 1997 amalgamation, and was a reliable ally on council for mayors Mel Lastman and Rob Ford.

    Under Mayor Ford, Kelly was named deputy mayor in August 2013, only a few months before council stripped Ford of most of his powers as his personal scandals deepened. Kelly assumed most of the mayor’s responsibilities and served admirably.

    Despite his personal popularity and his right-leaning credentials, Kelly was left outside new mayor John Tory’s inner circle. Instead, Kelly, who became better known as “@norm” spend his time boosting his social media presence, getting into Twitter spats on behalf of rapper Drake, and pitching merchandise. His millennial-baiting “6 Dad” act was cute for a short time, but became increasingly irritating, especially as his hip social media presence contrasted with his conservative politics and his denial of climate change.

    Jim Karygiannis was a Liberal MP from 1988 to 2014, and had a reputation as a socially conservative Liberal. Despite being a sitting MP, he chose to resign and run for city council, perhaps feeling out of place in a more socially progressive caucus. Karygiannis’ first term on council was unremarkable, but he is known as a community-oriented councillor, responsive to local needs (though I very much disagreed with his response to the death of a young boy in his ward after he was struck by a car on a residential street earlier this year).

    Kelly was disadvantaged by the fact that part of his old ward, Ward 40, was not included in the new Ward 22 (the area south of Highway 401 and north of Ellesmere Road), while the entirety of Ward 39, Karygiannis’ turf, was part of the new ward. On the east side, the boundary shifted slightly eastward, from the GO rail corridor to Midland Avenue.

    In the end, Karygiannis won with 46.8 percent of the vote to Kelly’s 37.0 percent. Karygiannis placed first in all but three polls in former Ward 39, and also 9 polls on Kelly’s old turf. The “6 Dad” finally got his long-overdue retirement.

    2018 Election - W22
    Poll-level map for Ward 22

    Ward 23

    Ward 23 was one of only two council races that didn’t have a councillor seeking re-election (the other was Ward 19). Chin Lee, who represented the area for many years, resigned early this year to run for provincial office as a Liberal, and was replaced by an appointed councillor. Though Lee lost, he did not seek a return to municipal politics, unlike his colleague Shelley Carroll.

    The new Ward 23, located north of Highway 401 between Midland Avenue and Neilson Road, encompassed almost the entirety of former Ward 41 and the western third of former Ward 42, previously represented by Neethan Shan.

    Among those running in Ward 23 were Cynthia Lai, past president of the Toronto Real Estate Board; Maggie Chi, who worked as a constituency assistant in Councillor Lee’s office; Felicia Samuel, who ran for the New Democrats in the 2018 provincial election. Lai had run in the 2014 election against Chin Lee, placing second with 23.0 percent of the vote.

    In 2018, Lai won, getting 27.0 percent of the vote in a crowded field of eleven candidates. Chi placed second, with 20.0 percent of the vote. Samuel came in third. Lai and Chi did best in the northwestern part of the ward, where a large segment of the population identifies as Chinese-Canadian. Samuel did well in former Ward 42, especially in Malvern. Maggie Chi placed first in only three polls, but she was the second-place candidate in most polls that picked Cynthia Lai.

    I was expecting to see Felicia Samuel do better because of her impressive run for provincial office in the same area. That was a bit of a disappointment.

    2018 Election - W23Poll-level map for Ward 23


    Full Results

    Ward 22 Scarborough-Agincourt
    Candidate Total votes Percentage
    Jude Coutinho 234 0.9
    Jim Karygiannis 12593 46.8
    Norm Kelly 9944 37.0
    Michael Korzeniewski 660 2.5
    Roland Lin 2789 10.4
    Vincent Lee 597 2.2
    Jason Woychesko 90 0.3
    Ward 23 – Scarborough North
    Candidate Total Votes Percentage
    Ashwani Bhardwaj 1259 6.1
    Maggie Chi 4137 20.0
    James Chow 1487 7.2
    Dameon Halstead 391 1.9
    Anthony Internicola 254 1.2
    Sheraz Khan 453 2.2
    Cynthia Lai 5589 27.0
    Mahboob Mian 335 1.6
    Neethan Saba 2808 13.6
    Felicia Samuel 3702 17.9
    Sandeep Srivastava 273 1.3

  • Mapping the 2014 Toronto election: Wards 23 and 24

    2014 Election - WARD 23 MayorPoll results of the mayoral race in Ward 23

    2014 Election - WARD 24 MayorPoll results of the mayoral race in Ward 24

    There’s not a lot to say about the mayoral race in Wards 23 and 24, Willowdale. Ward 23 is Toronto’s most populated ward, with over 88,000 residents; the ward’s population grew by 11.2% in the last 5 years. The condo boom along Yonge Street between Highway 401 and north of Finch Avenue explains most of this growth. Ward 24’s population is more stable, ranging from affluent neighbourhoods near Bayview Village to low-income apartment neighbourhoods in the ward’s eastern side.

    John Tory came in first place in both wards, netting 49.0% of the vote in Ward 23, and 47.6% in Ward 24. Doug Ford came in second place in both wards, Olivia Chow coming in  third, with approximately 20% of the vote in both wards. Ford’s best result was in Poll 050 in Ward 23, a TCHC building. In Ward 24, Ford did the best in the Finch Avenue/Don Mills Road area.

    The council races were at least more interesting, if not disappointing.

    Council races

    2014 Election - WARD 23 CllrPoll results of the council race in Ward 23

    In Ward 23, David Mousavi ran against long-time incumbent John Filion, a centre-left councillor who served on North York City Council before amalgamation. Mousavi ran on Filion’s right, with a platform of low tax increases, road improvements, and the extension of the Sheppard Subway to Downsview, as well as a “fresh start” for the ward.

    John Filion, who was the Chair of the Toronto Board of Health (and champion of the disastrous “A La Cart” food vending program), was the first councillor to back John Tory’s campaign, surprising some election observers who expected that Filion might have backed Olivia Chow.

    Filion and Mousavi found themselves in a nasty race, with both campaigns accusing each other of dirty politics. In the end, though, the incumbent won; Filion took 55.5% of the vote to Mousavi’s 31.2%. David Mousavi won 8 of 64 polls, all along the Yonge Street corridor.

    2014 Election - WARD 24 CllrPoll results of the council race in Ward 24

    Ward 24 was, in my opinion, terribly disappointing, one of the biggest in the 2014 election.

    First-time candidate Dan Fox registered in February, putting together a strong team in a bid to oust David Shiner. Fox, a community activist and federal civil servant, ran to the left of Shiner, a failed Ontario PC candidate. (I got to meet Dan Fox during the campaign, I was supportive of his run, and I hope to see him run again in 2018.)

    Like Filion, Shiner first served on North York City Council; he was first elected in 1991. During Rob Ford’s term as mayor, Shiner voted with the mayor over 80% of the time, and found himself in hot water for two mini-scandals. In 2013, the Toronto Star reported that Shiner was moonlighting as a federal lobbyist for five years, on behalf of a company that dealt with the city. Also in 2013, the CBC revealed that Shiner (along with Giorgio Mammoliti, Toronto’s worst city councillor) was paying exceptionally cheap rents for an apartment in a building owned by the Greenwin-Verdiroc Group, a major city contractor.

    As his custom, Shiner didn’t even bother to campaign until very late; he officially registered as a candidate on September 5.

    Ward 24 was ripe for a change. Fox won the endorsement of the Toronto Star, NOW magazine and others. But like Ward 7, the people of ward 24 stuck with the incumbent, no matter how awful their councillor might be. Fox only won 2 polls, Shiner coasted to victory with 55.2% of the vote to Fox’s 29.1%.