Toronto's voters have tossed five incumbent councillors aside in the 2010 Toronto civic election, including veteran Sandra Bussin, who was trounced by Mary-Margaret McMahon.
In Bussin's Beaches-East York ward, several other candidates dropped out to give Mary-Margaret McMahon, the new councillor, a clearer shot at the controversy-plagued incumbent.
McMahon ended up capturing about 65 per cent of the vote -- a number she never expected.
"We just heard over and over again that people wanted changes," she said.
Bussin was stoic.
"The electorate has spoken and I accept that," she said. "It's the end of an era, and I will move on and wish Ms. McMahon all the best."
Bussin said she thought she ran a "wonderful campaign," but ran into some very negative opposition.
"I honestly didn't feel that negative campaigns win, but obviously they have an impact," she said.
Bussin, who had been seeking a fifth term on council, said she stands by the Tuggs deal, which was a sole-sourced contract to renew the lease of the Boardwalk Cafe that operates near Ashbridges Bay. Ford had targeted that deal earlier in the campaign, and McMahon had done the same.
Other veterans defeated include: Suzan Hall in Ward 1, Etobicoke North; Bill Saundercook, Ward 13, Parkdale-High Park; Cliff Jenkins, Ward 25, Don Valley West; and Adrian Heaps, Ward 35, Scarborough Southwest.
Peter Milczyn, Ward 5, Etobicoke-Lakeshore, retained his seat on council, beating Justin Di Ciano by about 109 votes. That race was called early Tuesday morning.
Winners in these upset races:
- Ward 1: Vincent Crisanti
- Ward 13: Sarah Doucette
- Ward 25: Jaye Robinson
- Ward 32: Mary-Margaret McMahon
- Ward 35: Michelle Berardinetti
New councillors in wards where no incumbents were running:
- Ward 2: Doug Ford
- Ward 10: James Pasternak
- Ward 15: Josh Colle
- Ward 18: Ana Bailao
- Ward 19: Mike Layton
- Ward 22: Josh Matlow
- Ward 27: Kristyn Wong-Tam
- Ward 29: Mary Fragedakis
- Ward 36: Gary Crawford
One of the more recognizable of the names in the list of newcomers: mayor-elect Rob Ford's brother Doug is going to city hall as a councillor. Doug Ford ran in Ward 2, Etobicoke North -- his brother's old seat, and swept 58.4 per cent of the vote.
In Ward 19 (Trinity-Spadina), Mike Layton has been elected to city council. He will be following in the footsteps of his father Jack, the federal NDP leader, who started his political career as a Toronto city councillor. Layton replaces Joe Pantalone, a three-decade council veteran who went down to defeat in the mayoral race. The area has a provincial NDP MPP, Rosario Marchese, and a federal NDP MP -- Olivia Chow, Layton's wife.
While Mike Layton does not see eye-to-eye with the new mayor-elect on many issues, the first-time councilor said he would approach Ford with other ideas.
"I think that (Ford) may have to rethink some of the stuff that he said during the election. And I'm open to chatting with him about some other ideas, about the direction the city should go in," Layton said.
In Jack Layton's Toronto Danforth federal riding, Mary Fragedakis won the vote in Ward 29, besting former councillor and mayoral candidate Jane Pitfield. The ward had been represented by veteran Case Ootes, a conservative. Fragedakis had Layton's support.
In Ward 18, Davenport, the voters have decided to send Ana Bailao to city hall. She defeated Kevin Beaulieu, the executive assistant of former councillor Adam Giambrone, who didn't run again. The TTC chair had been a mayoral candidate, but quit after 10 days when a sex scandal engulfed him in controversy. Bailao had previously run against Giambrone and lost.
Former mayoral candidate Giorgio Mammoliti was returned to city council in Ward 7, York West. He dropped out to the mayoralty race earlier this year and endorsed Ford.
One person who handily won re-election was Adam Vaughan, who represents downtown Ward 20, Trinity-Spadina.
He and Ford have sparred in the past -- to the point where Ford challenged him to join the mayoral race.
"There are some issues where we differ, but there is some common ground," Vaughan said, noting he could support Ford on back-to-the-basics issues such as clean streets and removing graffiti.
There are 44 seats on Toronto's city council. One of Rob Ford's campaign promises is to cut the size of city council down to 22 seats.
