# 1972 Toronto municipal election

The 1972 Toronto municipal election was held December 4, 1972, to elect the governments of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the five other boroughs, and the government of Metro Toronto as well.
The election was overshadowed by the 1972 federal election held October 30 and the American elections held November 7, but it resulted in a dramatic change in the city government. Four new mayors were elected, and 17 of 32 Metro seats were held by newcomers. In the City of Toronto, control of city council was won by the reform faction and reform leader David Crombie was elected mayor.
As in the 1969 election many of the central debates were over proposed megaprojects. The Spadina Expressway had been halted in 1971, but some wanted it built. The debate over the Scarborough Expressway was also one of the central issues in the east end.
An IBM 370-155 was used by the Star to process the results.

## Toronto
### Mayoral election

Incumbent mayor William Dennison chose not to turn for reelection. The three main candidates vying to replace him were city councillors David Rotenberg, David Crombie, and Tony O'Donohue. O'Donohue and Rotenberg were veteran councillors. Rotenberg had been on council ten years and had served as Deputy Mayor. He also won the endorsement of the Toronto Star. Crombie had been elected to city council only three years earlier, previously serving as a professor at Ryerson Polytechnic Institute. He was a moderate member of the reform faction on council, willing to compromise with the Old Guard. A fourth notable candidate was Toronto Sun columnist Paul Rimstead, who ran a semi-serious campaign based on law and order policies.
Crombie dominated the affluent midtown and North Toronto wards, and also carried the east end of the city. O'Donohue won the heavily ethnic, working class wards of the west end.

#### Results

    David Crombie - 82,754
    Tony O'Donohue - 58,362
    David Rotenberg - 35,213
    Paul Rimstead - 7,934
    Don Andrews - 1,960
    Jacquie Henderson - 1,598
    Nelson Clarke - 1,549

## City council

Two aldermen were elected per Ward. The alderman with the most votes was declared Senior Alderman and sat on both Toronto City Council and Metro Council.
The council elected in 1969 was split into two factions. The dominant group, commonly referred to as the 'Old Guard,' were 12 councillors who generally sided with developers and supported plans for urban renewal and new expressways. The opposition faction was made up of seven members who supported the reform movement. The reformers won a clear victory. Only four Old Guard aldermen were reelected: William Boytchuk, Joseph Piccininni, Fred Beavis, and Thomas Clifford. The reform faction won five new seats, giving them an overall majority on council.

### Ward 1 (Swansea and Bloor West Village)

    Elizabeth Eayrs (reform) - 10,312
    William Boytchuk (incumbent) - 9,229
    Ben Grys (incumbent) - 4,618
    Carl Glutsczak - 3,416
    Slough Bolton - 2,377
    Ed Homonylo - 1,046
    Yvette Tessier - 627
    Andrejs Murniecks - 370

### Ward 2 (Parkdale and Brockton)

    Archie Chisholm (incumbent, reform) - 5,156
    Ed Negridge - 3,222
    Ken Dear - 2,938
    Dave May - 2,316
    Robert Grossi - 1,992
    Anne Fritz - 1,693
    Helen Johnson - 1,319
    Michael Hookway - 1,202
    Stanley Steban - 839
    John Stifel - 602
    Jack Prins - 203

### Ward 3 (Davenport and Corso Italia)

    Michael Goldrick (reform) - 4,967
    Joseph Piccininni (incumbent) - 4,439
    Hugh Bruce (incumbent) - 3,800
    Joe Garisto - 2,213
    Tim Burke - 978

### Ward 4 (Trinity-Bellwoods and Little Italy)

    Art Eggleton (incumbent) - 3,034
    George Ben - 3,023
    Margot Andras (reform) - 2,439
    Frank Lacka - 1,587
    Harold Menzies - 1,593
    John Conforzi - 1,563
    Mary Fraser - 1,054
    Richard Follert - 319
    Robert Fairley - 207
    Darrell Furlotte - 163

### Ward 5 (The Annex and Yorkville)

    Ying Hope (incumbent, reform) - 12,872
    Colin Vaughan (reform) - 11,585
    Erna Kauffman - 2,685
    David Astle - 1,469
    David Boyd - 933
    Manfred Schulzke - 698
    Melania Gural - 561
    Wilson Greig - 437

### Ward 6 (Financial District, Toronto - University of Toronto)

    William Archer (incumbent) - 7,395
    Dan Heap (reform) - 7,153
    June Marks (incumbent) - 6,396
    Horace Brown (incumbent) - 2,928
    Arthur Downes - 2,127

### Ward 7 (Regent Park and Riverdale)

    Karl Jaffary (incumbent, reform) - 10,572
    John Sewell (incumbent, reform) - 9,952
    Richard Kirkup - 4,969
    Samuel Rotenberg - 3,212
    Karl Van Harten - 448
    Charles Rolfe - 422

### Ward 8 (Riverdale)

    Fred Beavis (incumbent) - 7,253
    Thomas Clifford (incumbent) - 6,794
    Dallard Runge (reform) - 5,724
    Ellie Kirzner - 595
    Christopher Greenland - 542

### Ward 9 (The Beaches)

    Reid Scott (reform, incumbent) - 10,432
    Dorothy Thomas (reform) - 5,643
    Joe McNulty - 4,479
    Jim Purdie - 4,199
    Tom Wardle Jr. - 4,004
    John Oliver - 2,100
    Don Ray - 797
    George Leslie - 318
    John Square - 115

### Ward 10 (Rosedale and North Toronto)

    William Kilbourn (incumbent, reform) - 20,099
    Paul Pickett (incumbent) - 14,023
    Juanne Hemsol (reform) - 9,578
    Margaret Bryce - 2,641
    Art Keay - 1,449

### Ward 11 (Forest Hill and North Toronto)

    Anne Johnston (reform) - 14,325
    David Smith - 11,297
    Larry Grossman - 9,127
    Jim Mills - 8,035
    William McKay - 1,399
    Morris Kestin - 1,334
    Alan Morrison - 1,329
    Richard Sommers - 818
    Sydney Zaidi - 605
    Alan Manington - 551
    John Houseman - 435
    John Ross Taylor - 323

## East York
### Mayor

* Willis Blair - 15,196 (57%)
* Royden Brigham - 11,458 (43%)
(Source: Toronto Star, pg 12, December 5, 1972)

## Etobicoke
### Mayor

* Dennis Flynn - 28,126 (54.9%)
* David Lacey - 21,634 (42.2%)
* Reg Sammons - 1,484 (2.9%)
(582 out of 610 polls)

### Etobicoke Board of Control (4 elected)

* Bill Stockwell - 29,259
* Bruce Sinclair - 27,762
* E. H. Farrow - 22,616
* (incumbent)John Allen - 21,312
* (incumbent)John Carroll - 19,868
* Hugh MacGregor Griggs 16,705
* MacDonald 15,015
(582 out of 610 polls)
(Source: "How the voting went throughout Etobicoke", Toronto Star, pg 13, December 5, 1972)

## North York
### Mayor

* Mel Lastman - 48,328
* Paul Hunt - 36,380
* Andrew Fram - 2,536
* Rik Peletz - 1,264
(1033 out of 1075 polls)
Lastman is elected mayor for the first time and serves until 1997.

### North York Board of Control (4 elected)

* Paul Godfrey - 60,421
* John Williams - 33,843
* Alex McGivern - 30,713
* Barbara Greene - 28,852
* Syd Moscoe - 23,129
* Joseph Gould - 20,075
* Ruby Richman - 17,861
* Joseph Morra - 14,596
* Sam Sherman - 10,784
* Malcolm Cairnduff - 6,291
* Ronald Premier - 4,329
Source:
Paul Godfrey was appointed to the Board of Control by North York Council in 1970, following the death of Controller John Booth. He was returned to the Board of Control in 1972, his first time being elected to the body. In 1973, he resigned to become Metro Chairman. Barbara Greene is elected in an upset victory after running to protest a by-law which made it illegal for unrelated roommates to share a house or apartment if the neighbourhood was zoned for single family dwellings. She is not only the first woman ever elected to North York's Board of Control but she and her roommate, Kate Hayhurst who ran for alderman and Betty Sutherland who was also elected as an alderman in 1972 are the first three women ever elected to North York council

## Scarborough
### Mayor

* Paul Cosgrove - 33,488 (63.2%)
* (incumbent)Robert W. White - 14,086 (28.6%)
* Francis O'Donnell - 5,423 (10.2%)
(735 of 855 polls)

### Board of Control (4 elected)

* (incumbent)Gus Harris 34,030
* (incumbent)Ken Morrish 31,949
* (incumbent)Brian Harrison 28,324
* (incumbent)Karl Mallette 24,053
* John Wimbs 20,222
* Tom Rowland 14,705
* John Nowotny 7,714
* William T. Phipps 6,594
(735 of 855 polls)

### Borough Council

* Ward 7 Ed Fulton

## York
### Mayor

* (incumbent)Phillip White (acclaimed)
(Source: Toronto Star, page 12, December 5, 1972)

### Board of Control (2 elected)

* (incumbent)Douglas Saunders - 15,899
* (incumbent)James Trimbee - 14,054
* Rose Gallic - 5,163
(Source: Toronto Star, page 12, December 5, 1972; "The Star's suggestions for Monday's elections", Toronto Star, December 2, 1972, page 20)