2003 Toronto municipal election

Mayoral election

• Barbara Hall is the former mayor of pre-amalgamation Toronto and an independent who was formerly a member of the New Democratic Party and who had the support of many of the city's Liberals. She campaigned on a moderate policy of outreach to minorities and her connections to the provincial Liberal government which would enable a "new deal" for Toronto.
• John Nunziata, a former Member of Parliament for the Liberal Party of Canada, was expelled from the party because of his opposition to his party's continuation of the GST, something that the party had promised to abolish as part of its election platform. He ran a right-wing campaign for mayor of Toronto, advocating stiff penalties against the homeless and a strong focus on law and order.
• John Tory, who had just resigned as President and CEO of Rogers Cable. A supporter of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, he had served as Principal Secretary to Premier Bill Davis, and campaign co-chair of Mel Lastman's 1998 and 2000 mayoral runs. Tory ran a centre-right campaign promising to hire more police, fine panhandlers, and incinerate Toronto's garbage. He also promised rigorous fiscal discipline at city hall.
• David Miller, the most left wing of the major candidates, is closely associated with unions and the New Democratic Party. He had long served as a city councillor. His main cause was halting the expansion of the Toronto Island Airport.
• Tom Jakobek, the former Budget Chief, gathered much media attention at the start and participated in various debates with the other candidates. He was quickly distanced from the front-runner race when the vote neared, as his campaign was hampered by recent municipal mismanagement, and admissions that he had lied about accepting gifts from lobbyists.

Results

Information on minor candidates

• Luis A. da Silva is a banker, and was 33 years old in 2003. He was elected to the Metro Toronto Separate School Board in 1994, winning in the old City of Toronto's fourth division. He lost his bid for re-election in 1997, and was again defeated in 2000. Silva later served on the Mayor's Task Force on Drugs, and described himself in campaign literature as "The man with the plan". He supported subway expansion, and argued that the federal government had no right to collect the Goods and Services Tax in Toronto. He called for the number of city councillors to be cut in half, and said that he would require candidates for public office to pass a test on the workings of municipal government. He also supported the creation of an "Order of Toronto" to honour prominent citizens. Less seriously, he called for the Toronto Maple Leafs to retire Frank Mahovlich's jersey. Silva acknowledged that he could not win, and aimed for a fifth-place finish. He received a Master's Degree in Public Administration from the University of Western Ontario after the election, writing on the new City of Toronto Act passed by the provincial government of Dalton McGuinty.
• Timothy McAullife was a 28-year-old freelance writer. He supported skateboarding at the Eaton Centre and wanted to eliminate Toronto Transit Commission transfers.
• John Hartnett was a 28-year-old student and bartender, and a third-generation Canadian. He said that he wanted to represent the "XYZ generation", and bring more young voters to the polls.
• Gary Benner was a 51-year-old retired civil engineer. He complained that rival candidate John Nunziata was in contravention of municipal campaign laws after he put advertisements in the Toronto subway system. Benner later accused all four major candidates of being in technical contravention of the elections laws, by virtue of having signs displayed in their campaign office windows. He indicated that he would ban election signs if he became mayor. He supported the construction of 60 kilometres of new subway lines over 20 years, and opposed expansion of the Toronto Island airport.
• John Jahshan is originally from Kitchener, and was 35 years old in 2003. He was general manager of the Sports Centre Cafe in the 1990s, and later operated the Bliss Niteclub & Lounge. He pledged support for after-school programs and inexpensive day-care, and claimed the five major candidates were afraid to debate him. Twenty of his supporters picketed the first major-candidates' debate with signs depicting the frontrunners as chickens. Jahshan went into hiding three days before the election, and was later arrested on charges of misappropriating funds intended for a wheelchair elevator at Driftwood Public School in the Jane and Finch area. In 2004 Jahshan plead guilty to fraud and was sentenced to 6 months in jail. After his release from jail he left Ontario and has faced new accusations in the Maritimes and later Alberta.
• Michael Brausewetter is a truck driver and former security guard, who once spent sixteen months in a coma after a car accident. A former homeless person, he recommended turning Princess Margaret Hospital into a homeless shelter. He also proposed moving the Toronto Island airport to the Leslie Street Spit. He is running for a council seat in the 2006 municipal election.
• David Lichacz has a degree from York University. He was 34 years old in 2003, and worked as a city greenskeeper. His campaign focused on public transit and accountability, and he indicated that he would cut the mayor's stipend if elected. As of 2006, he is a supervisor at Dentonia.
• Ram Narula was a 67-year-old retired teacher, who moved to Canada from India. He said could cure "arthritis, allergies, high blood pressure, stress, weight problems, prostrate and many others naturally", and would cause "perfect health" to radiate from city hall. He also indicated that he would reduce tuition fees by 75%, and solve homelessness within three months.
• Elias Makhoul was born in southern Lebanon, and moved to Canada at age 21. He runs a falafel restaurant in downtown Toronto called Mystic Muffin, and was known for giving interviews about his candidacy while serving customers. He argued that each of Toronto's subway stops should be turned into a cultural pavilion representing a different nation, to highlight the city's multicultural nature. He was 37 years old in 2003.
• Daniel Poremski was a 19-year-old psychology student at York University, and was the youngest candidate in the contest. He entered the mayoral race to find out more about municipal government. A newspaper quotes him as saying of his candidacy, "I want to learn more about the city and see what the people in Toronto ask of their politicians. It seemed like an interesting thing to do." He wanted to introduce environmentally friendly garbage incineration.
• Ronald Graham was listed as an Elvis impersonator and interior designer. He pledged to clean up garbage and pollution in the Beaches area of Toronto, and institute a zero-tolerance policy on racism and anti-Semitism.
• Fen Peters was born in Trinidad. He was a 58-year-old communications publicist with Bell Canada, and favoured the creation of local community councils.
• Aleksandar Glisic was born and raised in Yugoslavia, where he earned a Mechanical Engineering degree. He came to Canada in 1967, worked ten years for Ontario Hydro as a mechanical engineer, and spent another decade as a taxi driver. In 1982, he became the first resident of Ontario to sue for wrongful dismissal under the Discriminatory Business Practices Act, arguing that he was dismissed from Ontario Hydro without due cause. He supported Barbara Hall in mayoral elections before 2003, and says that he chose to run for office after being told that he could not work on her campaign. A colourful figure, he described himself as "Aleksandar the Great", "a sexy 66-year-old teenager" and "an Iceberg Man with a full-blooded loving heart for all people in Mega T.O., especially for the underdogs". His slogans included "Vote Aleksandar the Ex-Terminator for Mayor" and "sex shall save Serbia".
• Hashmat Safi was a 29-year-old medical doctor, originally from Afghanistan. He sought improve public transit and government accessibility. Late in the campaign, he announced that he would support Barbara Hall.
• Simon Shaw was a 31-year-old computer hardware specialist, with a degree in Computer Science from the University of Western Ontario. His primary issue was targeting child sexual predators, and advocating life sentences for people who commit crimes against women and children. He also promoted a subway stop and casino on Toronto Centre Island, and championed campaign finance reform. He applied for an appointment to Toronto City Council's 30th ward in 2003, following the election of Olivia Chow to the House of Commons of Canada. The position was filled by a vote of other councillors. Shaw did not receive any votes.
• Patricia O'Beirne was the candidate of the Communist League. She supported a thirty-hour work week, the withdrawal of Canadian troops from Afghanistan, and an end of the deportation of immigrants and refugees. A member of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees in Toronto, she was formerly a member of Lodge 205 of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union at Domtar in Montreal, Quebec. She has written for The Militant, the Communist League's newspaper.
• Abel van Wyk was born in the Netherlands, moved to Canada in 1957, and was an employee of Metro Works for 24 years. He is a frequent candidate for public office, having campaigned for Mayor of Scarborough in 1985, 1988, 1991 and 1994, and for Mayor of Toronto in 2000 and 2003. He supported an Ellesmere Road extension during the mid-1980s. His primary campaign issue in every election he has contested has been his plan for a waterfront causeway, a highway across Lake Ontario linking Highway 427 in Etobicoke to Highway 401 in Scarborough. Van Wyk argues that this link will save the city money and reduce pollution by 50%. He also called for a ban on donations to municipal candidates and a reduction in the work week during the 1988 campaign. In 1991, he said that affordable housing should be constructed through the private sector. He was 80 years old in 2003. He considered running for mayor in 2006, but ultimately declined.
• Benjamin Mbaegbu was a 35-year-old paralegal and former correctional officer. He previously ran for Toronto's 31st council seat in a 2001 by-election. In early 2003, he unsuccessfully sought one million dollars in compensation from the Solicitor General of Canada concerning the termination of his employment at Kingston Penitentiary in 1998. During the campaign, he said that he could bring a major sporting event to the city in four years.
• Paul Lewin is a criminal lawyer who had previously campaigned for the Marijuana Party of Canada in the 2000 federal election. He argued in that election that cannabis-related charges were contributing to Canada's over-burdened court system, and said that officials "do not believe this mild intoxicant is a high priority". He supported Canada's decision to legalize medicinal marijuana in 2001, but added that the changes did not go far enough. His campaign slogan in 2003 was "Free 416", referring to Toronto's area code.
• Rabindra Prashad is an artist, chef, and community organizer. He was born in Guyana, and moved to Toronto from Quebec at age 24. He addressed the crowd in French at one all-candidates meeting, saying that his years in Quebec had shown him the value of that province to the country. He also called for an east–west thoroughfare for bikes on Queen Street. He was 35 years old during the election.
• Hardial Dhir was a 65-year-old architect with a degree from the University of Toronto. He is the founder of the Bloor/Indian Grove Ratepayers and Tenants Association, and builds temples and synagogues in his private life. He previously ran for Mayor of Toronto in 1978, and for North York City Council in 1985. In 2003, he called for property taxes to halved by forcing the provincial government to pay education taxes, and supported the introduction of Neighbourhood Watch "street captains" to prevent crime.
• Kendal Csak was a 30-year-old motivational speaker, and the owner of CG Consulting. He supported a minimal wage increase and energy conservation in the business sector.
• Richard Weston favoured mandatory composting, improved recycling programs, and alternative energy sources such as windmills. He also called for webcams in the mayor's office and mandatory blackouts on the last Wednesday of each month.
• Last-place candidate Barry Pletch was a 33-year-old operations manager, and the arts editor for the Etobicoke Guardian. He sought a clean-up campaign for Toronto's streets. His campaign slogan was "Better Ethics and Economic Responsibility", shortened to BEER.

  City council

Ward 1 – Etobicoke North

Ward 2 – Etobicoke North

Ward 3 – Etobicoke Centre

Ward 4 – Etobicoke Centre

Ward 5 – Etobicoke-Lakeshore

Ward 6 – Etobicoke-Lakeshore

Ward 7 – York West

Ward 8 – York West

Ward 9 – York Centre

Ward 10 – York Centre

Ward 11 – York South-Weston

Ward 12 – York South-Weston

Ward 13 – Parkdale-High Park

Ward 14 – Parkdale-High Park

Ward 15 – Eglinton-Lawrence

• Luigi Rizzo was a first-time candidate. His father, Tony Rizzo, was a Member of Provincial Parliament from 1990 to 1995.
• Rocco Piccininno was a first-time candidate. As of 2006, he works with the firm Sutton Group-Tower Realty Inc., Brokerage.
• Howard Mandel was a first-time candidate. A newspaper column from the campaign observed that his name "sounds suspiciously like the incumbent's and appears ahead of him on the ballot".
• Jhadira Ramos was a first-time candidate. Ramos campaigned on a "Multicultural Candidate List", which was headed by mayoral candidate Jamie Castillo.

  Ward 16 – Eglinton-Lawrence

Ward 17 – Davenport

Ward 18 – Davenport

Ward 19 – Trinity-Spadina

Ward 20 – Trinity-Spadina

Ward 21 – St. Paul's

Ward 22 – St. Paul's

Ward 23 – Willowdale

Ward 24 – Willowdale

Ward 25 – Don Valley West

Ward 26 – Don Valley West

Ward 27 – Toronto Centre

Ward 28 – Toronto Centre

Ward 29 – Broadview-Greenwood

Ward 30 – Broadview-Greenwood

Ward 31 – Beaches-East York

Ward 32 – Beaches-East York

Ward 33 – Don Valley East

Ward 34 – Don Valley East

Ward 35 – Scarborough Southwest

Ward 36 – Scarborough Southwest

Ward 37 – Scarborough Centre

Ward 38 – Scarborough Centre

Ward 39 – Scarborough-Agincourt

Ward 40 – Scarborough-Agincourt

Ward 41 – Scarborough-Rouge River

Ward 42 – Scarborough-Rouge River

Ward 43 – Scarborough East

Ward 44 – Scarborough East