Italian-Canadians at Toronto City Hall

Returning are Pantalone, Mammoliti, Giambrone, Nunziata, Altobello, Li Preti, Di Giorgio, Del Grande and Augimeri

The recent municipal elections saw Italian-Canadian candidates Joe Pantalone, Giorgio Mammoliti, Gerry Altobello, Maria Augimeri, Peter Li Preti, Frances Nunziata and Frank Di Giorgio holding on to their ridings as Toronto councillors. Newcomer Adam Giambrone, at 26, is the youngest member of City Hall.

Joe Pantalone

Joe Pantalone, one of Toronto's most appreciated City Councillors and likely Deputy Mayor in the new David Miller administration, is clearly very satisfied with the vote. "Miller's victory, like those of other progressive councillors, is an opportunity," he says, "to leave the litigious past behind and look ahead." According to Pantalone, "we must reach unity within the council in order to do what needs to be done for the good of Toronto." Pantalone remarked, "Miller has a clear vision of the future of this city and he deserves everybody's support. We must concentrate on the message, not the messenger." He lists the main problems of Toronto and asserts that they can be solved, "provided that we are united in pressuring the other levels of government."

Giorgio Mammoliti

This election left a bittersweet aftertaste in Giorgio Mammoliti's mouth. He got acclaimed in his Ward due to nobody challenging him, "but I feel very sorry about John Tory's defeat." Mammoliti was a supporter of Tory, "and his defeat will create many problems for the City of Toronto." According to Mammoliti, in fact, "Miller will concentrate on downtown Toronto, and there will be little attention to the suburbs."
The councillor is anyway very satisfied with the support displayed by his electors and by Italian-Canadians in particular. "I can proudly say that a majority of the votes in my Ward went to John Tory, and for this I'm grateful to my supporters."

Gerry Altobello

Gerry Altobello is happy but not surprised of winning. "I never worried about losing my seat," he says, "although it surprised me that two colleagues, Sharine Shaw and Ron Moser, were defeated." Altobello thinks they were victims of the desire for change that surfaced during the last Provincial election.
However, Altobello predicts sweeping changes in how the City will be run by David Miller. "There is no question about it, he's a very different man from Lastman. Mayor Mel," says Altobello, "tried to promote the city by catering to the interests of the entrepreneurs. I think that Miller will act more aggressively on social policies."
Will taxes increase? "I think so," replies Altobello.

Adam Giambrone

"I'm satisfied and emotional, this is the beginning of a great adventure alongside Miller."
Adam Giambrone, 26 years of age, got elected in Ward 18 - Davenport with 5,651 votes, amounting to 51 percent. Out of the other six candidates, Ana Bailao was the only one who contended him the seat with her 40 percent of the votes.
"We live in a city where concrete problems exist," declares Giambrone. "Now's the time to roll up our sleeves and get to work." This is the second time Giambrone runs in Davenport: in 2000 he obtained 35 percent of the votes.
"We must tackle the city's concrete needs," he concludes; "from the unresolved problem of garbage collection to crime to public transport."

Maria Augimeri

"I wish to continue with the work I began three years ago, mostly concerning two projects: improvement of roads and construction of a library. In regards to the former issue, an important crossroads will be built at Wilson & Keele.
"The project has been approved, I've been working on it for the last two years and I hope it will soon be completed. The library will be a 7,000-square-foot building at Sheppard & Jane."
What do you think of Miller's victory? "At long last a progressive voice at City Hall. He's a breath of fresh air that will allow us to see the future in brighter colours."
What else? "We need to reform electoral laws and moralize city politics, because some councillors allow far too many dirty deals to get through. The city must be given tools for fighting those."

Frances Nunziata

Frances Nunziata won a crushing victory in Ward 11 (York South-Weston). The candidate steamrolled Rosemarie Mulhall, her lone opponent, by 9,544 votes (78 percent) to 2,688.
Nunziata has been living in York since 1963. Her political career began in York 1985 as city councillor (for two mandates), then as mayor of York, before the amalgamation of Toronto.
Since then, Nunziata continued her career in Toronto City Council. For the past two mandates she worked in several committees, including the Assessment and Tax Policy Task Force, the Metro Human Services, and the Mayor's Special Committee on Crime.

Frank Di Giorgio

No problem for Frank Di Giorgio. Returns for Ward 12 (York South-Weston) speak loud and clear: Di Giorgio raked in 7,127 votes (67 percent), clearly outperforming opponent Joe Renda who only got 3,474 votes (33 percent).
Di Giorgio began his political career in 1985, as city councillor for North York.
In 2000 he was elected to Toronto's City Council. During his years in politics, Di Giorgio sat on numerous Council committees, including Transport, Public Works, and Policies and Finance.
In his previous mandate as Toronto city councillor he was a member of the Tourism and School committees. He holds a degree in Mathematics from McMaster University.

Peter Li Preti

"This has been the hardest and dirtiest electoral battle I had to fight in 20 years of politics," declared a tired but satisfied Peter Li Preti, 51 years of age, 18 years as a city councillor, after winning Ward 8 (York West) over Anthony Perruzza.
"It was really difficult," said Li Preti. "My opponent worked more on staining my reputation than on presenting a credible alternative political programme. Unfortunately, he succeeded." Li Preti is referring to the controversy raised by a Toronto Star report that mentioned alleged wrongdoings by Li Preti's staff finalized to duping disabled seniors into signing proxies. Perruzza asked the police to step in, but the police decided not to launch any investigation.
"In the final week," continues Li Preti, "we've lost maybe a thousand votes. But the most hurtful allegations were those against my staff, all people with strong ties with the Ward, appreciated and esteemed within the community." A shift seems likely, considering that this year Li Preti obtained 52.53 percent of the votes, while in 2000 he got 56.5 percent.
"Anyway, I'm very happy," insists Li Preti. "Most of the voters realized my opponent's strategy and reacted." After the campaign, now the more delicate phase opens: active policymaking. "In these years," concludes Li Preti. "I proposed 120 projects; 119 of them have been or are being completed. Now, the most important and stimulating battle begins: bringing the subway here."

Mike Del Grande

Twenty years co-president of Silver Springs Community Association, school trustee, original member of the Kids Town advisory committee, secretary-treasurer of St. Aidan Church, Knights of Columbus, past Block Parent, Neighbourhood Watch and Boy Scout volunteer, Mike Del Grande has also served on Scarborough's federal task force on Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. "Change is required at City Hall," says Del Grande. "As a longtime resident of the ward with my wife and three children, and a firm believer in family values, I bring a proven track record fo public service to my community."

Publication Date: 2003-11-23
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=3391