# Alejandra Bravo (politician)

Alejandra Bravo (born 1971) is a Canadian politician who was elected to represent Ward 9 Davenport on Toronto City Council in the 2022 municipal election. She currently serves as Chair of the City of Toronto's Economic & Community Development Committee.

## Early life and education

Bravo was born in Chile in 1971. She lived in Santiago until 1973, when the 1973 Chilean coup d'état forced her family to Canada.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Latin American studies from the University of Toronto, before attending the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education to earn a Master of Arts in Adult Education and Community Development.

## Career

Prior to her election to council, Bravo worked as manager of leadership and learning for the Maytree Foundation, and as director of leadership and training at the Broadbent Institute.

## Political career
### Early campaigns

Bravo has run in the former Ward 17 Davenport in the 2003 Toronto municipal election, the 2006 Toronto municipal election and the 2014 Toronto municipal election, finishing in second place all three times behind Cesar Palacio. She did not run in the 2010 Toronto municipal election, instead endorsing Jonah Schein as a challenger to Palacio.
She ran as a New Democratic Party candidate in Davenport in the 2021 Canadian federal election, losing to Julie Dzerowicz by a 76-vote margin so narrow that it was verified in a judicial recount.

### 2022 Toronto election

Ward 9 Councillor Ana Bailão announced that she would not be seeking re-election after serving on council for 12 years, leaving the seat in Davenport open for the 2022 election. Bravo joined the race on July 5, 2022, and ran on a platform which included ending exclusionary zoning, building affordable housing, providing stronger tenant protections, improving transit and building more cycling infrastructure. She received endorsements from the Toronto Star, the city's largest newspaper and Progress Toronto, a left-wing advocacy group.
Following the election on October 24, Bravo won the ward with over 70 percent of the vote. She took office on November 15, 2022.

### Toronto City Councillor

In November 2022, Bravo was appointed to sit on several committees including General Government Committee, Budget Committee, Board of Health, and the Toronto Preservation Board. She was elected as Vice Chair of the Board of Health.
After the 2023 mayoral by-election won by Mayor Olivia Chow, Bravo was appointed by Chow to serve as Chair of the Economic & Community Development Committee, one of the four standing committees of Toronto City Council. During the post by-election appointment shuffle, she was also appointed Vice Chair of Striking Committee, Chair of the Toronto Francophone Affairs Advisory Committee, as a member of Executive Committee and the Toronto Arts Council, and remained the Vice Chair of the Board of Health.

## Electoral history

2022 Toronto municipal election, Ward 9 Davenport :
| Candidate | Votes | Vote share |
| Alejandra Bravo | 17,009 | 70.72 |
| Grant Gonzales | 3,192 | 13.27 |
| Shaker Jamal | 1,414 | 5.88 |
| Allie Spencer | 882 | 3.67 |
| Steven Leca | 675 | 2.81 |
| Simon Fogel | 381 | 1.58 |
| Jacob Maydansky | 207 | 0.86 |
| Mosea Houghron | 151 | 0.63 |
| Lazare Shorter | 139 | 0.58 |
| Total | 24,050 | 100% |
| Source: City of Toronto |||
vte2021 Canadian federal election: Davenport :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Julie Dzerowicz | 19,930 | 42.1 | -1.50 | $101,254.58 |
| | New Democratic | Alejandra Bravo | 19,854 | 42.0 | +1.20 | $102,816.01 |
| | Conservative | Jenny Kalimbet | 4,774 | 10.1 | +0.50 | $6,403.32 |
| | People's | Tara Dos Remedios | 1,499 | 3.2 | +2.30 | $3,001.04 |
| | Green | Adrian Currie | 1,087 | 2.3 | -2.20 | $14,660.32 |
| | Independent | Troy Young | 86 | 0.2 | | none listed |
| | Independent | Chai Kalevar | 77 | 0.2 | | none listed |
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | 47,307 | – | – | $109,525.37 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 429 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 47,736 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 77,306 |
| Source: Elections Canada |||||||
2014 Toronto municipal election, Ward 17 Davenport :
| Candidate Name | Number of votes | % of votes |
| Cesar Palacio | 8,293 | 46.24 |
| Alejandra Bravo | 7,840 | 43.71 |
| Saeed Selvam | 1,404 | 7.83 |
| George Stevens | 398 | 2.22 |
| Total | 17,935 | 100 |
2006 Toronto municipal election, Ward 17 Davenport :
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| Cesar Palacio (incumbent) | 4827 | 42.3 |
| Alejandra Bravo | 4546 | 39.8 |
| Fred Dominelli | 1491 | 13.1 |
| Cinzia Scalabrini | 211 | 1.9 |
| David Faria | 206 | 1.8 |
| Gustavo Valdez | 77 | 0.7 |
| Wilson Basantes Espinoza | 50 | 0.4 |
2003 Toronto municipal election, Ward 17 Davenport :
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| Cesar Palacio | 5,127 | 44.99 |
| Alejandra Bravo | 4,336 | 38.05 |
| David Senater | 940 | 8.24 |
| Romolo Cimaroli | 530 | 4.65 |
| Nicolo Fortunato | 461 | 4.04 |