Mammoliti and Kelly ousted from council
WINNERS
Ulli Watkiss (city clerk): The veteran senior City of Toronto official had the unenviable task of making sure a fair election was held despite the last-minute bombshell announcement by Premier Doug Ford that the number of wards would be cut from 47 to 25. It wasn’t until Sept. 19 that the courts ruled that it would be 25-ward election, with the poll date just four weeks away. Despite the overwhelming time pressure, Toronto was able to hold the election Monday. Kristyn Wong-Tam (Ward 13, Toronto Centre): The incumbent beat former mayoral candidate George Smitherman and Lucy Troisi, who was appointed by council in 2017 to replace the late Pam McConnell. First elected in 2010, Wong-Tam has spearheaded projects ranging from plans to manage downtown east development and intensification of Toronto’s core, to garnering support on city council for the LGBTQ community. John Filion ( Ward 18, Willowdale): The veteran politician won even though he was set to leave politics after more than three decades. He changed his mind when Premier Doug Ford’s government slashed the size of council. One of the 16 candidates he beat was Lily Cheng, whom he supported until he jumped back into the campaign. Former councillor Norman Gardner also ran. Josh Matlow (Ward 12, Toronto—St. Paul’s): In a showdown between two popular incumbents, Matlow defeated Joe Mihevc.
Matlow had promised, in a detailed platform, to push for doubling the number of city-run youth spaces to address the roots of violence, implementing a senior’s strategy and creating new green spaces. LOSERS Norm Kelly ( Ward 22, Scarborough—Agincourt): Dubbed the “6 Dad,” he lost to fellow incumbent Jim Karygiannis, 63. Kelly, 77, arguably Toronto’s most famous councillor outside the GTA — his popular social media account @norm on Twitter has almost 750,000 followers — has been on city council since 2000.
Kelly had vowed to push for an online revival of Neighbourhood Watch, a group for residents to work to prevent crime. Giorgio Mammoliti (Ward 7, Humber River—Black Creek): The controversial Mammoliti lost to fellow incumbent Anthony Perruzza. Mammoliti was first elected as city councillor in 1995, preamalgamation.
He was accused of dehumanizing some residents by referring to criminals living in social housing as “cockroaches.” Linda Jeffrey (Mayor, Brampton): The incumbent lost to Patrick Brown, the high-profile former Progressive Conservative leader who didn’t sign up for the race until the last day after the Ford government abruptly cancelled the election for Peel Region chair. Jeffrey brought in outside auditors to help clean up Brampton’s finances. Justin Altmann (Mayor, Whitchurch- Stouffville): The controversial mayor finished third behind winner Iain LovattandKeith Actonafter a tumultuous term in which he had a CSI-style photo chart of more than 30 local people, including staff, on his office washroom walls. His fellow elected officials stripped him of six months pay and tried to limit him from speaking to staff. Neethan Shan (Ward 25, Scarborough—Rouge Park): Shan, an incumbent, lost to Jennifer McKelvie. Shan was elected to the old ward of Scarborough—Rouge River in February 2017 in a byelection.