At a special meeting held Tuesday, city council voted for a new city councillor to fill a vacant seat in Ward 33 Don Valley East until the next municipal election in October.
The new councillor is Jonathan Tsao, the director of strategic relations and communications for Children’s Mental Health Ontario. Tsao is also a director on the board of the Yee Honog Centre for Geriatric Care and a former public servant with the provincial government.
He will take a six month leave from his full-time job to act as city councillor.
Tsao told CP24 he was very pleased with the results and couldn’t wait to get to work.
“What’s most important though is that the voices of the residents of Ward 33 continue to be heard and I’m looking forward to doing that,” he said.
The ward was left with a vacant seat after the resignation of Shelley Carroll. Carroll resigned from her position in April in order to pursue a provincial seat with the Ontario Liberal Party. Council decided to fill the seat by appointment instead of holding a by-election.
A total of 18 candidates applied to fill the role. Each one was able to speak to the council for up to five minutes.
Seven of the 18 candidates lived in Ward 33.
Toronto Mayor John Tory released a statement Tuesday congratulating Tsao on his appointment.
“I’m confident his work with Toronto's Chinese community, his education, including a degree from the London School of Economics, and his experience in consultation and engagement has prepared him to address residents' needs until the next election,” Toronto Mayor John Tory said in a statement after the vote. “I believe Mr. Tsao is passionate about public service, Ward 33 and all of Toronto.”
Tsao will hold the position of city councilor until the end of November, although there are no scheduled council meetings after July.
He has already indicated he will not register to run in the municipal election, saying he will return to his full-time job after his term as councillor is complete.
