Toronto municipal election, 2003
Encyclopedia : T : TO : TOR : Toronto municipal election, 2003
The Toronto municipal election of 2003 was held on November 10, 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 Ontario municipal elections, 2003.
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 four main candidates emerged.
- Barbara Hall is the former mayor of pre-amalgamation Toronto who had the support of many of the city's Liberals. She campaigned on a moderate policy of outreach to minorities and her connections to the provincial Liberal government which would enable a "new deal" for Toronto.
- John Nunziata, a former Member of Parliament for the Liberal Party of Canada, was expelled from the party because of his opposition to his party's continuation of the GST, something that the party had promised to abolish as part of its election platform. He ran a right-wing campaign for mayor of Toronto, advocating stiff penalties against the homeless and a strong focus on law and order.
- John Tory, a noted businessman and supporter of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, Tory ran a centre-right campaign promising to hire more police, fine panhandlers, and incinerate Toronto's garbage. He also promised rigorous fiscal discipline at city hall. Despite a lack of election experience, his respected campaign for mayor endured him to wide recognition and he later became leader of the Ontario PC Party.
- David Miller, the most left wing of the major candidates, is closely associated with unions and the New Democratic Party. He had long served as a city councillor. His main cause was halting the expansion of the Toronto Islands Airport.
- Tom Jakobek, the former Budget Chief, gathered much media attention at the start and was invited to various debate but was quickly distanced from the front-runner race when the vote neared. Jakobek's campaign was hampered by his connection to recent municipal mismanagement, and admissions that he had lied about accepting gifts from people pursuing business with the city.
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. Hall quickly began to lose support when it became apparent that she lacked a campaign message. Such as outside of her "love for Toronto" and her perceived ability to get a "new deal" with the provincial Liberals. Miller's next message about banning the island airport bridge resonated with many voters 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 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 if 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 to at best smearing his opponent with unsubstantiated claim, and at worst mischief. As the campaign continued, Nunziata suffered reputation damage when he was accused of bullying councillors for retracting their support from him. Nunziata 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. Resulting in Nunziata garnered only 5% of the vote and analysts believed that he had also damaged his credibility and future political prospects.
Although it was known from the start that Tom Jakobek did not stand a chance of winning, he still continued in the election. Pundits noted that he regained some credibility because he campaigned for several practical ideas.
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.
| Preceded by: Toronto municipal election, 2000 | List of Toronto municipal elections | Followed by: Toronto municipal election, 2006 |
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.