Tory taps allies for council, source says

Progressives Cressy, Fletcher, meanwhile, given roles on important agency boards

John Tory is tapping veteran city council allies for key posts in his second term as Toronto mayor, the Star has learned.

A source familiar with the mayor’s choices for the new cut-down council, to be made public today, acknowledged they include many of the suburban allies who supported Tory in his first term, but noted key roles for a couple of downtown progressives.

Tory will recommend Councillor Jaye Robinson (Ward 15 Don Valley West), who supported him on the Gardiner Expressway and Vision Zero as public works chair last term, become TTC chair. Tory will name, as chairs of coun- cil’s four main “standing” committees: Ana Bailao (Ward 9 Davenport) for planning and housing; Michael Thompson (Ward 21 Scarborough Centre) for economic and community development; James Pasternak (Ward 6 York Centre) for infrastructure and environment; and Paul Ainslie (Ward 24 Scarborough-Guildwood) for general government and licensing.

Of them, only Bailao was not a committee chair last term, but she held a prominent role as council’s housing advocate. Thompson and Ainslie head commit- tees that include elements of their old ones, several of which were merged after Premier Doug Ford forced the cut from 44 to 25 councillors. Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong will return as “statutory” deputy mayor, empowered to act as mayor in Tory’s absence.

Tory will bestow ceremonial title on three other deputy mayors — Bailao representing the city core with a focus on housing; Thompson representing east Toronto with a focus on jobs; and

Stephen Holyday (Ward 2 Etobicoke Centre) returning as deputy mayor, with a focus on modernization and governance. Councillor Gary Crawford (Ward 20 Scarborough Southwest) remains budget chief. He’ll grapple with news that revenues from the land transfer tax, which has helped keep Toronto’s budget afloat for years, have slowed.

Tory has pledged to keep property tax hikes at or below inflation, amid calls for bigger increases to help pay for improved city services.

Crawford, Robinson and the four standing committee chairs will join Tory on his executive committee along with Councillor Frances Nunziata (Ward 5 York-South Weston), who is city council speaker. Like last term, none of the standing committee chairs are from the downtown core.

Tory will, however, recommend council name downtown progressive Joe Cressy (Ward 10-Spadina Fort York) as his designate on the board of Waterfront Toronto, the city-provincial-federal agency overseeing a massive redevelopment of the east downtown Port Lands.

A year ago, in a year-end interview, Tory told the Star that if elected for a second term he would listen more to progressive councillors from the city’s core. There is in fact no significant shift from that term to this term in terms of top posts. The source said the mayor worked hard to ensure all four main committees got representatives from all four community councils.