1980 Toronto municipal election
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.[1]
- 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 - 571
City 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
Candidate | Total votes | % of total votes |
---|---|---|
(x)Ying Hope | 9,926 | 37.07 |
Ron Kanter | 6,409 | 23.93 |
Menno Verster | 5,777 | 21.57 |
David Scott | 3,218 | 12.02 |
Jimmy Kabitsis | 912 | 3.41 |
Vincent Corriero | 537 | 2.01 |
Total valid votes | 26,779 | 100.00 |
146 out of 148 polls reporting.
- 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 - 1,447
Results 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.[2]
† denotes incumbent from previous council
Mayor
- †Alan Redway - 19,971
- James Smith - 2,290
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
- †Dennnis Flynn - 35,955
- Morley Kells - 30,110
- Pete McCluskey - 2,275
(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
Board of Control
- (x)Esther Shiner 55,986
- (x)Robert Yuill 44,544
- William Sutherland 36,562
- Norm Gardner 36,402
- (x)Irv Paisley 35,590
- Jane McGivern 29,934
- Frank Esposito 17,643
- Donna Wilson 17,104
- Bernadette Michael 11,604
(1257 of 1379 polls)
City Council
Candidate | Total votes | % of total votes |
---|---|---|
(x)Howard Moscoe | 4,320 | 66.99 |
Cary Fox | 1,247 | 19.34 |
Gus Cusimano | 882 | 13.68 |
Total valid votes | 6,449 | 100.00 |
75 out of 78 polls reporting.
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.[3]
- 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.[4] He is an insurance agent, and accused Moscoe of seeking the media spotlight too often in the 1980.[3] A 1987 newspaper article identifies him as president of City-Wide Insurance Ltd., Willowdale.[5] As of 2006, he is president of Petek Insurance.[6]
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.[7] 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.[8]
Board of Control
- (x)Brian Harrison - 48,933
- Ken Morrish - 41,169
- (x)Carol Ruddell - 40,637
- (x)Joyce Trimmer - 40,564
- (x)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.[2][9]
Mayor
- (x)Gayle Christie 21,470
- Alan Tonks 13,674
Board of Control (2 elected)
- (x)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 158
References
- John Sewell, How We Changed Toronto: The Inside Story of Twelve Creative, Tumultuous Years in Civic Life Toronto: Lorimer, 2015
- "Civic Elections '80". The Toronto Star. November 11, 1980. pp. 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.
- Dave Sansom, Candidate for Regional Councillor (Whitby) Archived 2006-11-24 at Archive.today, accessed 20 October 2006. Cusimano endorsed Sansom's candidacy.
- "Scarboro returns old faces". The Globe and Mail. November 11, 1980. p. 13.
- Baker, Alden (May 26, 1981). "Faubert wins Scarborough seat". The Globe and Mail. p. 4.
- "'I'm no fluke' says re-elected Christie". The Toronto Star. November 11, 1980. p. A14.