John Filion (/ˈfɪliən/ FIL-ee-ən; born 1950) is a former Toronto city councillor represented Ward 18 Willowdale.[1] Although he had planned to retire in 2018, after the legislation from Premier Doug Ford which expanded ward boundaries, he decided to run for re-election because he believes it makes it "virtually impossible for a community activist, known within one area, to get elected".[2] He announced on June 10, 2022, that he would not be running in the October 2022 Toronto municipal election, retiring after 40 years in municipal politics. He was considered a "rare suburban progressive" on Toronto council.[3]
John Filion | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Filion in 2008 | |
| Toronto City Councillor for Ward 18 (Willowdale) | |
| In office December 1, 2018 – November 15, 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Ward Created |
| Succeeded by | Lily Cheng |
| Toronto City Councillor for Ward 23 | |
| In office December 1, 2000 – November 30, 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Ward Created |
| Succeeded by | wards redistributed |
| Toronto City Councillor for Ward 10 (North York Centre) | |
| In office January 1, 1998 – December 1, 2000 Serving with Norm Gardner | |
| Preceded by | Ward Created |
| Succeeded by | wards redistributed |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1950 (age 73–74) Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Domestic partner | Anna Maria Tremonti |
| Occupation | Journalist |
Education
editFilion attended York University and he graduated with a degree in history. He became a journalist specializing in education issues. He was the founding editor of the Canadian World Almanac.
Early political career
editHe first entered politics as a trustee on the North York Board of Education to which he was elected in 1981. From 1987 to 1990 he served as chair of the school board. He was elected to North York's city council in 1990 replacing retiring councillor Jim McGuffin. He moved to Toronto city council with the creation of the new city in 1997. He received a great deal of attention for his role as chair of the city's Board of Health. He used this position to push for a smoking ban in Toronto bars and restaurants and to force restaurants to post records of their health inspections. As a member of the police services board he was a sharp critic of chief Julian Fantino and also publicly accused members of the police force of monitoring his activities.
Mayor Rob Ford stripped of powers
editIn 2013, after admissions by Mayor Rob Ford that he had purchased and smoked crack cocaine while in office, made homophobic and racist remarks and possibly drove while intoxicated, Filion put forward an emergency motion which transferred much of the mayor's budget and emergency powers to the Deputy Mayor. A further motion put forward by Filion also removed his ability to set key matters on the legislative agenda, and removed his right to fill vacancies on the civic appointments committee.[4]
Chair of Toronto Board of Health
editAs chair of the Toronto Board of Health, Filion created the DineSafe eatery inspection and notification system which increased compliance with food safety regulations in Toronto restaurants from 42% to 90% and reduced cases of food-borne illnesses in Toronto by 30% in its first 8 years.[5] He also championed the restaurant smoking ban.[6]
Toronto Parking Authority land purchase
editExecutives from the Toronto Parking Authority and Giorgio Mammoliti pushed for a deal that would have had the city overpay by approximately $2.6 million for a piece of land in Mammoliti's ward, according to a report to Toronto City Council by law firm Torys LLP. The deal was days from being completed when it fell through largely due to pressure from Filion. Filion repeatedly questioned the cost of the purchase. He also accused Toronto Parking Authority executives of withholding information. According to the report Filion told the TPA's vice president of real estate, Maria Casista, "I'm calling the cops".[7] Toronto's auditor general and the Ontario Provincial Police are currently (2018) investigating the land deal.[8]
A La Cart
editFilion spearheaded Toronto's A La Cart program, an attempt to introduce variety into Toronto's street food scene.[9] The program was terminated two years into its three-year pilot program.[10] Some participants in the program complained they were left bankrupt from the experience.[11] Meddling city bureaucracy and expensive, city-specified food carts that malfunctioned were some of the reasons cited for the failure of Filion's program.[10][11] Councillor Filion wouldn't apologize for the failure but did admit to it being a humbling experience. He suggested he would do it differently if given the chance.[10]
Target of violence
editEarly on April 4, 2019, bullets were fired into Filion's car and home, several weeks after an armed man attempted to force his way into Filion's home. Filion stated, "I suspect I have been targeted and that this is related to my work as a city councillor."[12]
Personal life
editHe is the partner of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation journalist Anna Maria Tremonti.[13]
Election results (Toronto City Council)
edit| 2018 Toronto election, Ward 18 - Willowdale | ||
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| (x)John Filion | 8,104 | 31.06% |
| Lily Cheng | 5,149 | 19.74% |
| Sonny Cho | 3,130 | 12.00% |
| David Mousavi | 1,596 | 6.12% |
| Danny DeSantis | 1,486 | 5.70% |
| Norman Gardner | 1,476 | 5.67% |
| Sam Moini | 1,289 | 4.94% |
| Saman Tabasi Nejad | 1,189 | 4.56% |
| Winston Park | 593 | 2.27% |
| Gerald Mak | 545 | 2.09% |
| David Epstein | 538 | 2.96% |
| Albert Kim | 291 | 1.12% |
| Farah Aslani | 187 | 0.72% |
| Andrew Herbst | 162 | 0.62% |
| Hamid Shakeri | 122 | 0.47% |
| Chung Jin Park | 101 | 0.39% |
| Sam Mathi | 66 | 0.25% |
| Marvin Honickman | 61 | 0.23% |
| 2014 Toronto election, Ward 23[14] | ||
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| (x)John Filion | 14,128 | 55.49% |
| David Mousavi | 7,951 | 31.23% |
| Kun-Won Park | 2,049 | 8.05% |
| Chris Penny | 593 | 2.33% |
| Scott Werle | 380 | 1.49% |
| Carmen Kedzior | 358 | 1.41% |
| Total | 25,459 | 100.00% |
| 2010 Toronto election, Ward 23[15] | ||
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| (x)John Filion | 13,666 | 65.9 |
| Dusan Kralik | 2,456 | 11.8 |
| Peter Clarke | 2,129 | 10.2 |
| John Whyte | 1,445 | 7.0 |
| Charles Sutherland | 1,055 | 5.1 |
| Total | 20,751 | 100 |
Unofficial results as of October 26, 2010 03:55 am
| 2006 Toronto election, Ward 23[16] | ||
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| (x)John Filion | 8,853 | 57.4 |
| Andrew Miller | 5,235 | 34.0 |
| Cornel Chifor | 557 | 3.6 |
| Mohammed Choudhary | 394 | 2.6 |
| Ignacio Manlangit | 373 | 2.4 |
| 2003 Toronto election, Ward 23 | ||
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| (x)John Filion | 13,836 | 83.34 |
| Ignacio Manlangit | 2,757 | 16.66 |
| 2000 Toronto election, Ward 23 | ||
| Candidate | Votes | |
|---|---|---|
| (x)John Filion | 10,213 | |
| Ron Summers | 5,395 | |
| Youval Zilberberg | 813 | |
| 1997 Toronto election, Ward 10 North York Centre (2 elected) | ||
| Candidate | Votes | |
|---|---|---|
| John Filion | 17,533 | |
| Norman Gardner | 15,135 | |
| Ron Summers | 11,212 | |
References
edit- ^ "John Filion". John Filion. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
- ^ Rider, David (6 September 2018). "John Filion shelves retirement plan, seeks re-election to Toronto city council | The Star". thestar.com. Toronto Star. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
- ^ "'The last four years have been the worst': John Filion joins the exodus from Toronto city council". The Toronto Star. 10 June 2022.
- ^ Mendleson, Rachel; Edwards, Peter (18 November 2013). "Rob Ford stripped of power as mayor by Toronto council". thestar.com. Toronto Star. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
- ^ Cribb, Robert (17 April 2009). "DineSafe cuts rate of sickness | The Star". thestar.com. Toronto Star. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
- ^ David, Rider (20 June 2018). "John Filion not seeking re-election to Toronto council | The Star". thestar.com. Toronto Star. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
- ^ Lancaster, John; Smee, Michael (2 May 2018). "Mammoliti, TPA execs 'actively' pushed land deal with inflated $12M price tag, secret report says". CBC. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
- ^ Dubinsky, Zach; Lancaster, John (25 January 2018). "OPP probing 'possible criminal activity' in aborted $12M City of Toronto land deal | CBC News". CBC. CBC. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
- ^ Chung, Matthew (April 21, 2007). "Cuisine a la cart". thestar.com. Retrieved 2016-07-24.
- ^ a b c "City's recipe for a disaster". Archived from the original on 2014-08-09. Retrieved 2016-07-24.
- ^ a b Rider, David (September 17, 2010). "Why Toronto's street food program is in shambles". thestar.com. Retrieved 2016-07-24.
- ^ "Bullets fired at home of Toronto councillor John Filion and CBC host Anna Maria Tremonti". CBC News. April 4, 2019. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
- ^ Acknowledgements in Filion's book The Only Average Guy: Inside the Uncommon World of Rob Ford. Random House of Canada, 2015. ISBN 9780345816016.
- ^ "2014 General Election Results for City Ward 23 - Willowdale". Archived from the original on 2016-03-26. Retrieved 2016-09-19.
- ^ City of Toronto elections page Archived 2010-10-26 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ City Clerk's Official Declaration 2006 Archived 2011-06-07 at the Wayback Machine