# 1985 Toronto municipal election

The 1985 Toronto municipal election was held to elect members of municipal councils, school boards, and hydro commissions in the six municipalities that made up Metropolitan Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The election was held on November 12, 1985.

## Toronto
### Mayor

The mayoral election saw progressive North Toronto councillor Anne Johnston challenge incumbent Art Eggleton. Eggleton won reelection by a significant margin, with Johnston not even winning her former ward.

#### Results

    Art Eggleton - 92,994
    Anne Johnston - 59,817
    Ann Ladas - 1,473
    Gaston Schwab - 1,228
    Aaron Abraham - 1,077
    John J. Benz - 583
    Skip Evans - 557
    Fred Dunn - 513
    Gary Watson - 433
    Ben Kerr - 422
    Ronald Rodgers - 341
    Andrejs Murnieks - 266
    Warren J. Van Evera - 223
    Gary Weagle - 202

### City and Metro council

The election system was changed in Toronto for the 1985 election. Previously two councillors had been elected from each ward, with the one who received the most votes also getting a spot on Metro Toronto council in addition to their city council seat. Under the new system, one person would be directly elected as a Metro councillor while the other would be elected as a city alderman. Although the Metro councillor would still sit on the city council, the change was accompanied with other structural changes to boost the power of the city aldermen, who had often seen their power and authority diminished by the perception that they were "junior" to the Metro councillors.
Most pairs of incumbent councillors reached tacit agreements with one running for city council and the other for Metro. The one battle between two incumbents was in Ward 5 where in a surprise upset junior councillor Ron Kanter defeated the long serving Ying Hope. Two other long serving councillors were defeated. Joe Piccininni who had represented the Corso d'Italia for 25 years lost to 28-year-old Betty Disero. In the east end NDPers Dorothy Thomas lost in a surprise upset to conservative Paul Christie.

#### Metro

    Derwyn Shea (incumbent) - 10,429
    Diana Fancher - 2,675
    Robert Szajkowski - 1,270

#### City

    William Boytchuk (incumbent) - 8,491
    David White - 6,049
    Len Bugeja - 1,030

#### Metro

    Ben Grys (incumbent) - 7,189
    Susan Shaw - 4,223

#### City

    Chris Korwin-Kuczynski (incumbent) - 8,617
    Owen Leach - 1,638
    Hubert P. Antoic - 777
    Jimmy Talpa - 353

#### Metro

    Richard Gilbert (incumbent) - 6,745
    John Martin - 2,722

#### City

    Betty Disero - 5,096
    Joseph Piccininni (incumbent) - 3,835
    Judy De Sousa - 1,871
    Nick Attarano - 282

#### Metro

    Joe Pantalone (incumbent) - 6,519
    Joe Pimentel - 2,429
    Antonio Nunziata - 666
    Hiwon Pak - 336

#### City

    Tony O'Donohue (incumbent) - 5,617
    David English - 2,755
    Vince Nigro - 2,637

#### Metro

    Ron Kanter (incumbent) - 9,788
    Ying Hope (incumbent) - 5,849

#### City

    Nadine Nowlan - 7,018
    David Scott - 4,387
    Lawson Oates - 2,509

#### Metro

    Jack Layton (incumbent) - 9,037
    Pearl Loo - 1,972
    Edward Jackson - 1,824
    Lex Dunkelman - 1,183
    Citizen Amber - 414

#### City

    Dale Martin (incumbent) - 6,791
    Peter Maloney - 4,923
    Jerry Borins - 1,902
    Steve BFG Johnson - 1,059

#### Metro

    Joanne Campbell (incumbent) - 9,293
    James P. Atkins - 1,490
    Jack McLeavey - 775

#### City

    Barbara Hall - 6,379
    Bill Mole - 2,807
    Mike Armstrong - 2,232
    Christopher Goulios - 613

#### Metro

    Fred Beavis (incumbent) - 7,637
    Richard Tyssen - 3,604
    Sam Baichoo - 494

#### City

    Thomas Clifford (incumbent) - 7,068
    Sheila Cram - 4,035
    Michael Tegtmeyer - 339

#### Metro

    Tom Jakobek (incumbent) - 12,827
    Patterson Higgins - 2,775
    Jeremy Agar - 747

#### City

    Paul Christie - 8,985
    Dorothy Thomas (incumbent) - 7,042

#### Metro

    June Rowlands (incumbent) - acclaimed

#### City

    Michael Walker (incumbent) - acclaimed

#### Metro

    Kay Gardner - 8,369
    Belinda Morin - 7,905
    March Tigh - 2,614

#### City

    Michael Gee (incumbent) - 15,345
    Christopher Nelson - 2,810
Results are taken from the November 13, 1985 Toronto Star and might not exactly match final tallies.

### Changes

Ward 7 Metro Councillor Joanne Campbell resigned on September 8, 1987 to accept an appointment to chair the provincial Social Assistance Review Board. Ward 5 Metro Councillor Ron Kanter also resigned when he won a seat in the 1987 Provincial Election. By-elections were held in both wards on October 29, 1987.

#### Ward 5 Metro

    Ying Hope - 3,506
    Meg Griffiths - 2,948
    Ila Bossons - 1,390
    Ben Kerr - 91

#### Ward 7 Metro

    Roger Hollander - 3,701
    Jeff Evenson - 3,479
    Bill Mole - 392
    Christina Fenluk - 256
    Ian McIntyre - 220
    Geoff Pimbett - 189
    Don Andrews - 104
    Martin Amber - 46
    Trudy Remmes - 21
Ward 10 Metro Councillor June Rowlands resigned April 6, 1988 upon appointment as Chairman of the Metropolitan Toronto Police Commission; on April 18 Alexandra McCallum was appointed as replacement.

## East York

Mayor Johnson commented that the election campaign was the quietest, least active he had ever run. He won handily, even though he spent several days in hospital with back pains. On Council, the incumbents in wards one and four were re-elected. Ward two elected newcomers Bill Buckingham and George Vasilopolous while ward three elected Bob Dale and Steve Mastoras.
† - denotes incumbent status from previous council

### Mayor

* †Dave Johnson - 17,996
* Michael Wyatt - 3,070
* David Quirk - 1,041

### Councillor

Two councillors were elected to each ward.

#### Ward 1

* †Cy Reader - 3,312
* †Bob Willis - 3,035
* Marg Pilger - 1,511

#### Ward 2

* Bill Buckingham - 3,155
* George Vasilopolous - 2,718
* Alan Cobb - 2,569
* Michael Prue - 2,187

#### Ward 3

* Bob Dale - 2,380
* Steve Mastoras - 1,403
* Carol Deschamps - 1,280
* Susan Kopsas - 1,015
* Les White - 726
* Ian Gray - 502
* John Papadakis - 426
* Eric Padmore - 286

#### Ward 4

* †Peter Oyler - 4,419
* †J. Edna Beange - 3,127
* Jenner Jean-Marie - 3,066
* Jeff Wyatt - 1,085

### Trustee
#### Ward 1 (2 to be elected)

* Ruth Goldhar - 2,596
* Gail Nyberg - 2,333
* Dennis Colby - 1,727

#### Ward 2 (2 to be elected)

* Connie Culbertson - Acclaimed
* Ken Maxted - Acclaimed

#### Ward 3 (2 to be elected)

* Margaret Hazelton - 2,241
* Len Self - 1,898
* Lynda Bolognini - 1,576

#### Ward 4 (3 to be elected)

* Robert J. Murray - 3,277
* Elca Rennick - 3,266
* Margaret Millar - 2,582

### Hydro Commission

(2 to be elected)
* Stan Wadlow - 12,667
* Frank Johnson - 10,732
* April Medland - 6,023

## Etobicoke
### Mayor

* (incumbent)Bruce Sinclair - 40,739
* Winfield (Bill) Stockwell - 23,060
* Terry Howes - 1,724
* Dave Gavel - 1,714
* Roland Ollivier - 1,003
Sinclair was appointed mayor in August 1984 to replace Dennis Flynn when he was elected Metro Chairman.

### Board of Control

Votes :
| Dick O'Brien (incumbent) | 34,248 |
| Lois Griffin | 33,175 |
| Leonard Braithwaite (incumbent) | 33,085 |
| Morley Kells | 29,817 |
| Chris Stockwell (incumbent) | 29,629 |
| Doug Holyday | 28,982 |
| James Shawera | 5,473 |
| Total | 6,982 |
On September 4, 1984, Etobicoke City Council appointed Controller Bruce Sinclair to replace Flynn as mayor and appointed Lois Griffin to fill the Controller position vacated by Sinclair.

## North York

Mel Lastman was re-elected mayor of the City and served until 1997. Maria Augimeri was elected to Ward 5, Peter Li Preti was elected to Ward 3 and Mario Gentile was re-elected as Ward 2 councillor. Esther Shiner was re-elected to Board of Control, but died in office in 1987. Norm Gardner lost his seat on the Board of Control.

### Mayor

* x-Mel Lastman 86,925
* Barbara Greene 29,240
* Nick Iamonaco 5,286

### Board of Control

vte1985 Toronto municipal election: North York Board of Control (four members elected) :
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| (x)Esther Shiner | 67,345 | 19.47 |
| (x)Robert Yuill | 53,709 | 15.53 |
| Norman Gardner | 51,137 | 14.78 |
| Howard Moscoe | 42,303 | 12.23 |
| Mike Foster | 35,838 | 10.36 |
| Frank Esposito | 21,365 | 6.18 |
| Bruce Davidson | 18,926 | 5.47 |
| Sonnee Cohen | 12,822 | 3.71 |
| Bernadette Michael | 12,764 | 3.69 |
| Angelo Natale | 12,416 | 3.59 |
| Cora Urbel | 7,791 | 2.25 |
| Arthur Zins | 4,961 | 1.43 |
| Ayube Ally | 4,571 | 1.32 |
| Total valid votes | 345,948 | 100.00 |
* Cora Urbel (born Cora Kevany) was a well-known community activist in North York, serving as leader of the North York Concerned Citizens Committee in 1984. She called for an investigation into the approval of the city's Rampart Development Project, and criticized road reforms that she believed would cause increased traffic in residential areas. She was endorsed by John Sewell in 1985 as one of North York's most prominent reformers, and was expected to be a strong candidate. Her poor showing was a surprise to most observers. Urbel served as president of the Don Mills Residents' Association after the election, and promoted "open space" community development. She campaigned for North York City Council's tenth ward in 1988, and lost to Don Yuill in a fairly close contest. She was fifty-nine years old during this campaign, and strongly opposed the extension of Leslie St. past Eglinton Avenue and the decision to widen Don Mills Rd. and Victoria Park Ave. Urbel supported a series of austerity measures in the early 1990s. She called for education spending cuts in 1991, and spoke against a proposed 1% Metro Toronto tax hike in 1994. She died on March 28, 1999. A road in Toronto was named after her the following year.
* Arthur Zins was a self-employed businessman and former public utility administrator, who argued that North York needed his public administration skills. He campaigned for a position on the North York Hydro Board in 1980, and finished last in a field of nineteen candidates.
* Ayube Ally owned a manufacturing plant, and recommended improved facilities for senior citizens.

### City Council

Ward 1
* x-Mario Sergio acclaimed
Ward 2
* Mario Gentile acclaimed
Ward 3
* x-Peter Li Preti 5,123
* Ben Bellantone 2,391
* Stanley White 608
* Stan Samuel 503
* Sally Ann Kernan 448
* Harry Dhir 330
Ward 4
* x-Frank Di Giorgio 2,293
* Barb Shiner 2,070
* Maria Rizzo 1,924
* Rob Rosenthal 663
* Courtney Doldron 282
* Joel Goldfarb 118
Ward 5
* Maria Augimeri 3.033
* Don Yuill 2,340
* Norm Kelly 1,529
* Joseph Gambano 1,481
* Carlo Pascazi 647
* Stanley Gordon 357
Ward 6
* x-Milton Berger 5,529
* Erwin Rosenberg 2,033
Ward 7
* x-Irving W. Chapley 5,409
* Eric Cohen 3,349
* John Butcher 541
Ward 8
* Bev Salmon 4,918
* Andy Borins 2,845
* Betty Reid 956
Ward 9
* x-Ron Summers 6,663
* Bob Hebdon 2,708
* Paul Iafrate 633
Ward 10
* Marie Labatte 5,185
* Peter Weed 2,399
Ward 11
* x-Jim McGuffin 5,974
* Jason Pearson 1,376
* Peter Clarke 668
* Philip Hohl 393
Ward 12
* x-Barry Burton 3,788
* Colin Williams 1,825
* Richard Kirkup 1,238
* Peter Nastagamou 331
Ward 13
* Joan King 5,290
* Allan Ginsberg 1,323
* Brian Patterson 1,211
* Jeff Smith 563
Ward 14
* Paul Sutherland 3,987
* Jack Hauseman 3,137
* Elwood Helmkay 480

### Hydro Commission

(2 elected)
* x-Carl Anderson 30,678
* Jack Bedder 23,414
* Bob Dyer 21,866
* Michael Armstrong 20,062
* Dino D'Amico 17,590
* Phyllis Weinberg 16,165
* Mary Hicks 12,554
* Alan Moses 9,660
* Howard Fletcher 8,261

### School Board Trustees

* Ward 8 Gerri Gershon
* Ward 9 Shelley Stillman
* Ward 10 Rene Gordon
* Ward 12 Kenneth Crowley

## Scarborough
### Mayor

* (incumbent)Gus Harris: 36,216
* Norm Kelly: 24,724
* Brian Harrison: 23,981
* Dekort: 9,228
* Anne C. McBride: 1,911
* Bordonaro: 1,836
* Abel Van Wyk: 382

### Board of Control (4 elected)

* Ken Morrish; 55,636
* (incumbent)Joyce Trimmer; 53,844
* (incumbent)Frank Faubert; 47,724
* Bill Belfontaine; 39,657
* Borisko; 35,495
* Brown; 16,956
* Cotter; 8,617
* Kazia; 4,993

### Public Utilities

* Cavanagh; 45,921
* Beatty; 33,268
* Stewart; 27,686
* Speares; 10,960
* Nurse; 9,445
* Alix; 6,827

### City Councillors

Ward 1 -
* Harvey Barron; 3,100
* Dan Danielson; NDP; 1,985
* White; 1,761
Ward 2 -
* Gerry Altobello; 2,304
* Boyle; 1,662
* May McKenzie; 1,375
* Judd; 574
* Morton; 476
Ward 3 -
* John Wardrope; 3,034
* Dave Robertson; 2,256
* McDermott; 776
* Catre; 769
* Zaidi; 635
Ward 4 -
* Kurt Christensen; 4,195
* Carole Ligold; 2,362
Ward 5
* Marilyn Mushinski; 4,662
* Knight; 1,285
Ward 6
* Florence Cruickshank; acclamation
Ward 7
* Brian Ashton; 6,230
* Lyall; 1,411
Ward 8
* Shirley Eidt; 4,804
* Murray; 1,912
* Chadha; 717
Ward 9
* John Mackie; 6,134
* DeSouza; 2,218
Ward 10
* Maureen Prinsloo; 4,045
* Edmonds; 1,997
Ward 11
* Scott Cavalier; 3,828
* Anderson; 1,398
Ward 12;
* Doug Mahood; 2,232
* Watson, Ron; 1,350
* Dave Pearce; 1,171
* Lam, A; 898
* Bob Watson; 793
* Manning; 433
Ward 13
* Bob Sanders; 1,858
* Nutter; 1,394
* Kenton; 773
* Chana; 767
* Chicky Chappell; 462
* Coyle; 340
Ward 14
* Edith Montgomery; 3,076
* McLennon; 621
* Sharma; 481
* Loughlin, B; 386
* Russell; 338
* Kukade; 158

## York

In York, Alan Tonks was easily re-elected. Michael Colle who was alderman for ward 2 in the previous term tried unsuccessfully to obtain a seat on the Board of Control. New councillors Tony Mandarano in Ward 2 and Bob McLean in Ward 6 won their races. Bill Saundercook was the only winner to unseat a running incumbent in Ward 8.

### Mayor

    (incumbent)Alan Tonks
    Guy D'Onofrio

### Board of Control (2 elected)

    (incumbent)Fergy Brown
    (incumbent)Philip White
    Michael Colle

### Council
#### Ward 1

    Bill Nobleman (Acclaimed)

#### Ward 2

    Tony Mandarano
    Maria de Pasquale

#### Ward 3

    Tony Rizzo (incumbent) won by 570 votes
    Ron Bradd

#### Ward 4

    Nicolo Fortunato (incumbent) won by 220 votes
    Patrick Canavan

#### Ward 5

    Chris Tonks (incumbent)
    Jim Fera

#### Ward 6

    Bob McLean won by 712 votes
    Lindsay Cott

#### Ward 7

    Gary Bloor (incumbent) won by 287 votes
    Richard Taverner

#### Ward 8

    Bill Saundercook 2,317
    Michael Waclawski (incumbent) 2,082

### School Board Trustees

School Board Ward 1
* K. Hen (Acclamation)
School Board Ward 2
* P. Karageorgos
School Board Ward 3
* R. Russell
School Board Ward 4
* N D'urzo
School Board Ward 5
* P Hainer
School Board Ward 6
* J Gribben
School Board Ward 7
* S. Mould
School Board Ward 8
* M McDowell

## Metro Toronto Separate School Trustees

vte1985 Toronto municipal election: Metro Toronto Separate School Board, Ward Fifteen :
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| Anthony Perruzza | 1,999 | 33.80 |
| (x)Tony Nigro | 1,940 | 32.80 |
| Ralph Paonessa | 1,130 | 19.10 |
| A. Renato Lavalle | 846 | 14.30 |
| Total valid votes | 5,915 | 100.00 |
* Antonio (Tony) Nigro served on the Metro Toronto Separate School Board from 1974 to 1985. He was himself a teacher with the North York Board of Education. He tried to return to the Toronto Catholic School Board in the 2000 Toronto municipal election, but was unsuccessful.
* Ralph Paonessa was a first time candidate. He ran for Ward 15 again in 1988, and finished a closer second against Rick Morelli. A 1988 newspaper article indicates that he fifty-two years old, and was co-pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church. He wanted students to receive "a truly Catholic education". Paonessa is now Friar at Saint Lawrence the Martyr Friary in Scarborough, and is active with the National Congress of Italian Canadians.
* A. Renato Lavalle was a forty-three-year-old school principal, who sought to maintain the religious orientation of the Catholic school system.

## Footnotes

* ↑ Page A7. (1991, Nov 21). Toronto Star (1971-2009)
* 1 2 3 "Toronto Aldermen gearing up for first direct Metro election". Toronto Star, July 16, 1985.
* ↑ "Criticism hurting morale of policemen, new chairman says", Globe and Mail April 7, 1988: A17.
* ↑ "Ward 10 alderman's aide picked to fill Rowlands' seat on council ", Globe and Mail April 19, 1988: A22.
* ↑ Turner, Janice (November 13, 1985). "Johnson romps to East York victory in "quietest' campaign of his career". Toronto Star. p. B5.
* 1 2 "Decision '85: The results". Toronto Star. November 13, 1985. pp. B6, B7.
* 1 2 "Sinclair named Etobicoke mayor", Toronto Star (1971-2015); Toronto, Ontario [Toronto, Ontario]05 Sep 1984: A7.
* ↑ Ross Howard, "Probe North York plans, links, group urges Davis", Globe and Mail, 7 November 1984, M1; "Price tag: $70-million plus", Globe and Mail, 27 February 1985, M4.
* ↑ John Sewell, "A promise of sparks in North York race", Globe and Mail, 2 October 1985, A15; John Sewell, "Spirit of compromise for Board of Control", Globe and Mail, 8 November 1985, A13.
* ↑ Lynne Ainsworth, "30-year-old Don Mills to be studied", Toronto Star, 7 October 1986, N11; Janice Turner, "Winds of change in Don Mills", Toronto Star, 11 November 1986, A6; Michael Best, "Angry residents lose bid to block home for seniors", Toronto Star, 13 October 1987, N1; Michael Best, "North York residents turn out to express desire for parkland", Toronto Star, 10 May 1988, N2; Royson James, "Traffic is choking Don Mills roadways, report concludes", Toronto Star, 5 July 1988, A7.
* ↑ Lynne Ainsworth, "Building urban pressures put ward on the defensive", Toronto Star, 27 October 1988, A7.
* ↑ "$72 million hacked off board budget", Toronto Star, 28 March 1991, A6; Royson James, "Labor backs, business boos tax hike", Toronto Star, 10 February 1994, A6.
* ↑ "Cora Urbel: Obituary", Globe and Mail, 31 March 2006; Naming of Private Lane at 111 Barber Greene Road, Toronto City Council, accessed 19 October 2006.
* ↑ Dyanne Rivers, "Traffic an issue in controllers' race", Globe and Mail, 9 November 1985, A16.
* ↑ Dyanne Rivers, "Traffic an issue in controllers' race", Globe and Mail, 6 November 1985, A16.
* ↑ MacLeod, Robert (November 13, 1985). "Tonks wins York in one-man show". The Globe and Mail. p. A21.
* ↑ Julia Turner, "Get rid of portables, separate school hopefuls say", Globe and Mail, 6 November 1980, P5.
* ↑ "The candidates", Toronto Star, 11 November 1988, A14.
* ↑ Province of the Immaculate Concept: Order of Friars Minor Archived 2007-05-17 at archive.today, accessed 18 October 2006; National Association of Italian Canadians, contact information, accessed 18 October 2006.
* ↑ Sterling Taylor, "18 in North York seek separate school boards", 29 October 1985, ES10.