Toronto City Councillor
Ward 25 Don Valley West

 Council Highlights are provided as a service to residents of Ward 25.  The following summarizes selected items of the Special City Council meeting of December 2, 2009 – held to consider only certain administrative matters with respect to Election Administration in the City of Toronto.

1. Election Campaign Finance By-laws (EX37.2)

This past week Council adopted a new by-law to prohibit all corporate and trade union contributions to candidates seeking election to Toronto City Council in all future municipal elections.   

As many of you know, I believe very strongly in this initiative and have been working to see it implemented since I was first elected in 2003.  That year, Councillor Michael Walker and I proposed a series of campaign finance reform measures which sought to provide greater clarity and accountability to the rules governing municipal elections.  While a number of our proposals were subsequently adopted, either by Toronto City Council or the Provincial Government, the ban on corporate and union donations was by far the most significant. With this by-law finally in place, we now have a new set of municipal campaign finance rules based on accessibility, probity and transparency.  In my view, this represents a giant step forward for the preservation and enhancement of local democracy in the City of Toronto.

One major objective of the ban is to reduce the potential for “undue influence” by some organizations which have a business (or other) relationship with the City and which can benefit from certain Council decisions.  Council will make better decisions if elected representatives are freed from the consideration of past, present or future election contributions from such organizations. 

Candidates, especially incumbents, have traditionally found campaign fundraising from corporations and unions much easier than fundraising from individual voters.  Under the new rules, candidates will have to seek campaign funds primarily from the same people whose interests they are supposed to represent at City Council.  Those Councillors who have depended upon campaign donations from corporations and unions will immediately start to consider how to replace those donations with contributions from individuals.

While this may make the job of fundraising more difficult for some incumbents, I believe it will also make the job of representing their constituents that much easier.  Politicians will be better for it – but the people of Toronto will be the real beneficiaries. 

The results of the Council vote were as follows:

Members of Council who voted in favour of banning corporate and union donations:  Paul Ainslie, Brian Ashton, Sandra Bussin, Shelley Carroll, Raymond Cho, Janet Davis, Glenn De Baeremaeker, John Filion, Paula Fletcher, Rob Ford, Adam Giambrone, Adrian Heaps, Doug Holyday, Cliff Jenkins, Chin Lee, Pam McConnell, Joe Mihevc, Peter Milczyn, David Miller, Ron Moeser, Frances Nunziata, Cesar Palacio, Joe Pantalone, Gord Perks, Bill Saundercook, Karen Stintz, Michael Thompson, Adam Vaughan, Michael Walker (29).

Members of Council who voted against banning corporate and union donations:  Maria Augimeri, Mike Del Grande, Frank Di Giorgio, Suzan Hall, Norm Kelly, Gloria Lindsay Luby, Giorgio Mammoliti, Denzil Minnan-Wong, Howard Moscoe, Case Ootes, John Parker, Anthony Perruzza (12).