Maria Augimeri (/ˌɔːdʒɪˈmɛəri/ AW-jim-AIR-ee, Italian: [maˈriːa audʒiˈmɛːri]; born c. 1954[1]) is a Canadian politician. From 1985 to 2018, she served as a local politician in Toronto, holding office as a school board trustee, and as a council member in North York, Metropolitan Toronto, and on Toronto City Council. In 2019, Augimeri stood as the New Democratic candidate for the riding of Humber River-Black Creek.
Maria Augimeri | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Augimeri in 2008 | |
| Toronto City Councillor for (Ward 9) York Centre | |
| In office December 1, 2000 – December 1, 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Ward Created |
| Succeeded by | James Pasternak |
| Chair of the Toronto Transit Commission | |
| In office February 19, 2014 – November 30, 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Karen Stintz |
| Succeeded by | Josh Colle |
| Toronto City Councillor for (Ward 7) Black Creek | |
| In office January 1, 1998 – December 1, 2000 | |
| Preceded by | Ward Created |
| Succeeded by | Ward Abolished |
| Metro Toronto City Councillor for Black Creek | |
| In office December 1, 1988 – January 1, 1998 | |
| Preceded by | Ward Created |
| Succeeded by | City Amalgamated |
| North York City Councillor for Ward 5 | |
| In office December 1, 1985 – December 1, 1988 | |
| Succeeded by | Anthony Perruzza |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1954 (age 69–70) Italy |
| Political party | New Democratic Party |
| Spouse | Odoardo Di Santo |
| Residence(s) | Toronto, Ontario |
| Occupation | Social Anthropologist |
| Website | mariaaugimeri |
Background
editBorn in Italy, Augimeri moved to Canada with her family at the age of 2. Before entering politics, she was a Social Anthropologist at York University. She has written three books on the Italian-Canadian community and is also a published poet.
Politics
editShe first entered politics as a school trustee, and was elected to the city council of North York in 1985. She ran for the Ontario New Democratic Party in the 1987 provincial election in the riding of Downsview which her husband, Odoardo Di Santo, held for ten years before losing in the 1985 election. She lost to Liberal Laureano Leone by 174 votes.
Augimeri was elected to the Metro Toronto council in 1988, and remained on that council until the creation of the new city of Toronto in 1997. She was elected councillor to the new city council three times. She was known for promoting environmental awareness and cultural issues.
She was endorsed for re-election by the Toronto Star newspaper in 2003.[2]
The local weekly newspaper Now Magazine also gave her an endorsement in 2000.[3]
On August 10, 2008, a massive propane explosion in Augimeri's ward destroyed a propane distribution facility which caused the evacuation of thousands of residents. Augimeri cut short a summer vacation in Italy and returned to Toronto to assist with the situation. During a press conference, she became involved in a heated discussion with Tony Di Santo, head of the local ratepayer's group. She said, "If people have problems of a partisan nature they should not be using the death of a firefighter... So shut up!" Later she apologized for losing her temper.[4][5][6]
2010 municipal election
editThe 2010 Toronto municipal election was held on October 25. Augimeri won by an 89-vote margin (0.7%) over local businessman Gus Cusimano. Augimeri thanked her supporters the following day on October 26, 2010, when she said, "I know a lot of the community voted for me because they know I'm the one to protect community interests."[7]
Cusimano later announced that he would challenge the results. The matter was heard in court on March 29, 2011.[8] The judge ruled that there were enough irregularities in the 2010 voting that the election should be held again. Initially the city's legal staff said they would be appealing the decision but on May 13 it was announced that the city would not launch an appeal. City Clerk Uli Watkiss said in a statement, "The decision to proceed with a by-election and resolve this matter as quickly as possible is in the best interest of the public, the individuals directly affected, and the workings of Council."[9] The mayor's office supported the decision. Rob Ford's press secretary Adrienne Batra said, "Obviously the mayor supported (Cusimano) during the general election and once the byelection gets under way he will be fully supporting him again."[10]
On May 16, Augimeri announced that she would be appealing the decision herself. Augimeri told media, "The clerk’s advice not to appeal does harm to taxpayers as well as to the integrity of our electoral system."[11] On August 4, the city reversed its decision and decided to join the appeal which was held in September 2011.[12] On December 19, the court ruled in Augimeri's favour. A three judge panel ruled that although 300 ballots were unsigned by electoral officers the people voting were very likely eligible to vote and that this would have no effect on the election. In a related judgement, they also ruled that Cusimano incorrectly voted in the Ward 9 election because he lived in another riding. They decided that no further action was necessary.[13]
Augimeri was appointed Chair of the Toronto Transit Commission in February 2014 upon the resignation of Karen Stintz to run for Mayor of Toronto in the 2014 Toronto election winning appointment over Josh Colle, Stintz's preferred successor.[14]
2014 municipal election
editIn the 2014 election, Augimeri again faced Cusimano, though defeated him by a larger margin (42.74% to 28.37%).
2018 Municipal Election
editFollowing the election of Augimeri's former council colleague Doug Ford as Premier of Ontario, Ford's Progressive Conservative government passed legislation that reduced the number of seats on Toronto City Council from 47 to 25 immediately before the city's scheduled election. The legislation, referred to as the Better Local Government Act, merged wards being contested by Augimeri and another council colleague, James Pasternak. Augimeri lost to Pasternak by over 2000 votes, blaming the reduction in council seats for her loss and noting that she would have won in her old ward.[15]
Augimeri served as the chairperson of the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) Board of Directors until February 2019. In July 2019, Augimeri was replaced on the TRCA by a citizen appointee.
2019 Federal Election
editIn the October 21, 2019 Federal Election, Maria Augimeri was unable to unseat the long time Liberal incumbent in the Humber River-Black Creek riding, Judy Sgro. Ms. Sgro won with 22,983 votes, Ms. Augimeri with the NDP was a distant second at 7,126.
Election results
editFederal
edit| 2019 Canadian federal election: Humber River—Black Creek | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Judy Sgro | 23,187 | 61.1 | -5.81 | $93,410.00 | |||
| New Democratic | Maria Augimeri | 7,198 | 19.0 | 8.06 | $18,120.64 | |||
| Conservative | Iftikhar Choudry | 6,164 | 16.3 | -3.96 | $3,300.00 | |||
| Green | Mike Schmitz | 804 | 2.1 | 0.47 | none listed | |||
| People's | Ania Krosinska | 402 | 1.1 | – | none listed | |||
| United | Stenneth Smith | 114 | 0.3 | - | $0.00 | |||
| Marxist–Leninist | Christine Nugent | 89 | 0.2 | -0.36 | $0.00 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 37,958 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 503 | |||||||
| Turnout | 38,461 | 56.8 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 67,656 | |||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | -6.94 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[16][17] | ||||||||
Provincial
edit| 1987 Ontario general election: Downsview | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | Laureano Leone | 11,832 | 46.80 | 2.88 | ||||
| New Democratic | Maria Augimeri | 11,658 | 46.11 | 3.06 | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Drew McCreadie | 1,788 | 7.07 | −5.94 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 25278 | 100.00 | ||||||
Municipal
edit| Candidate | Popular vote | Expenditures | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | ±% | ||||||||||
| James Pasternak (Incumbent) | 11,559 | 47.61% | -57.78% | $67,212.21 | ||||||||
| Maria Augimeri (Incumbent) | 9,223 | 37.99% | -4.75% | $66,209.39 | ||||||||
| Louise Russo | 2,726 | 11.23% | - | $23,323.98 | ||||||||
| Edward Zaretsky | 771 | 3.17 | - | -1 | ||||||||
| Total votes | 24,279 | |||||||||||
| Registered voters | ||||||||||||
| 1 These candidates did not submit official Financial Statements and are, therefore, ineligible to run in the 2022 Municipal election Note: All Toronto Municipal Elections are officially non-partisan. Note: Candidate campaign colours are based on the prominent colour used in campaign items (signs, literature, etc.) and are used as a visual differentiation between candidates. | ||||||||||||
| Sources: City of Toronto, "Election Results" | ||||||||||||
| 2014 Toronto election, Ward 9 | ||
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Maria Augimeri | 6,373 | 42.74% |
| Gus Cusimano | 4,230 | 28.37% |
| Anthony Fernando | 3,367 | 22.58% |
| Danny Quattrociocchi | 562 | 3.77% |
| Ances Hercules | 248 | 1.66% |
| Wilson Basantes | 130 | 0.87% |
| Total | 14,910 | 100% |
| 2010 Toronto election, Ward 9[18] | ||
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Maria Augimeri | 5,452 | 44.3 |
| Gus Cusimano | 5,363 | 43.6 |
| Gianfranco Amendola | 1,082 | 8.8 |
| Wilson Basantes | 259 | 2.1 |
| Stefano Picone | 142 | 1.2 |
| Total | 12,298 | 100 |
| 2006 Toronto election, Ward 9[19] | ||
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Maria Augimeri | 7,256 | 77.6 |
| Vlad Protsenko | 2,100 | 22.4 |
| Total | 9,356 | 100 |
| 2003 Toronto election, Ward 9[20] | ||
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Maria Augimeri | 7,898 | 74.1 |
| Anna Oppedisano | 1,061 | 9.9 |
| Richard Baldachino | 779 | 7.3 |
| Annmarie Robb | 487 | 4.5 |
| Domenic D'Abruzzo | 422 | 4.2 |
| Total | 10,647 | 100 |
| 2000 Toronto election, Ward 9[21] | ||
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Maria Augimeri | 8,698 | 72.3 |
| Anna Oppedisano | 2,816 | 23.4 |
| Richard Baldachino | 504 | 4.3 |
| Total | 12,018 | 100 |
| 1997 Toronto municipal election: Councillor, Ward Seven (two members elected) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % | ||||||
| Maria Augimeri | 11,243 | 28.01 | ||||||
| Peter Li Preti | 9,747 | 24.28 | ||||||
| Maria Rizzo | 8,850 | 22.05 | ||||||
| Anthony Perruzza | 6,347 | 15.81 | ||||||
| Anna Stella | 2,961 | 7.38 | ||||||
| Jeanelle Julien | 523 | 1.30 | ||||||
| Abdulhaq Omar | 467 | 1.16 | ||||||
| Total valid votes | 40,138 | 100.00 | ||||||
Works
edit- Italian-Canadians, a cross section. 1978. National Congress of Italian-Canadians. Ottawa.
- Calabrese folklore. 1985. National Museums of Canada. Ottawa.
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ "Maria Augimeri, NDP; Age: 33, North York alderman". April 9, 1987.
- ^ "Star's selections for city council". EDITORIAL Section. Toronto Star. November 7, 2003. pp. A26. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved February 22, 2007.
- ^ Anderson, Scott; Enzo Di Matteo (November 9, 2000). "Now's Election PICKS a ward by ward voters' GUIDE". Newsfront. Now Magazine. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved February 22, 2007.
- ^ Alcoba, Natalie; Goldberg, Brianna (August 15, 2008). "Frustrations Spill Over at Meeting". National Post. Toronto, Ontario. p. A8. Retrieved January 6, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Bielski, Zosia (August 14, 2008). "Residents, councillor spar near blast site". and "$300-million lawsuit filed against city". National Post. Toronto, Ontario. pp. A1–A8. Retrieved January 6, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Hanes, Allison (August 15, 2008). "Councillor apologizes for outburst". National Post. Toronto, Ontario. p. A9. Retrieved January 6, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Queen, Lisa; Sunshine Fannie (October 26, 2010). "Ward 9: Augimeri scores 89-vote victory". Inside Toronto. Toronto Community News. Retrieved December 7, 2010.
- ^ Nickle, David (February 4, 2011). "Ward 9 to be challenged in court". Inside Toronto. Toronto Community News. Retrieved February 16, 2011.
- ^ "Augimeri to face new vote". CBC Toronto. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. May 13, 2011. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
- ^ Peat, Don (May 13, 2011). "Byelection a go in Augimeri's Ward 9". Toronto Sun. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
- ^ Alcoba, Natalie (May 16, 2011). "Councillor Augimeri to appeal byelection decision". National Post. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
- ^ Rider, David (August 4, 2011). "Mississauga asks to join Augimeri-Cusimano appeal". Toronto Star. TorStar. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
- ^ Dale, Daniel (December 19, 2011). "Ward 9 byelection rejected, Augimeri to stay". Toronto Star. TorStar. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
- ^ "History of Beach Metro News: The Beach was booming in 1982". September 20, 2011.
- ^ "James Pasternak beats fellow incumbent Maria Augimeri in Ward 6, York Centre | The Star". Toronto Star. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
- ^ "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
- ^ "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
- ^ City of Toronto elections page Archived October 26, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ City Clerk's Official Declaration 2006 Archived June 7, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ City Clerk's Official Declaration 2003 Archived April 29, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Toronto Election Results Ward 9 Archived October 14, 2012, at the Wayback Machine