TOVotes: Battle of the incumbents

Oct 22, 2018 | News

David Tuchman

The decision to cut Toronto city council’s seats from 47 to 25 has set the stage for an intriguing battle of the incumbents for Monday’s municipal election.
There is a total of 11 wards where two incumbent councillors will face off for the same seat, as a result of the ward redistribution.
The new election map of 25 wards means that incumbent councillors who usually don’t have to worry about re-election now have to fight for votes in order to keep their seats.
CBC reporter John Rieti is covering the municipal election. He says the dynamics of friends now becoming competitors will be interesting to watch:
“These guys get along, they are ideologically aligned on city council and yet they are taking what could be shots at someone who is their friend, who would vote with them along the same lines.”
Here is an overview of some of the races which feature two incumbents.
Ward 1 – Etobicoke North
Vincent Crisanti versus Michael Ford
It’s the battle of a Ford family member versus a Ford family friend. Vincent Crisante. Crisante won Michael Ford, the nephew of Premier Doug Ford is holding the seat that was once his other uncle, former Mayor Rob Ford. He’s facing off against a veteran politician who won his ward by a sizable margin, campaigning on transit, transportation and taxes.
Ward 12 – Toronto St. Paul
Joe Mihevc versus Josh Matlow
Two mid-town heavyweights are fighting in a new riding that’s considered one of the biggest in the city. Matlow is a two-term councillor, who won his won his ward by a big margin in the election. This time, however, he’s up against Joe Mihevc, a long-time politician who has been around City Hall since Toronto amalgamated. Exploding development, especially around the Yonge and Eglinton area, is pitting homeowners against developers.
Ward 22 – Scarborough-Agincourt
A nasty fight has erupted in this ward between two councillors who are seasoned politicians. Norm Kelly has held his seat since 1997 while Jim Karygiannis has only had his seat for one term. But the two are long time politicos. Kelly was deputy mayor under Rob Ford, while Karygiannis has been an MP for almost three decades.
There’s been a lot of finger pointing and accusations between the two. Karygiannis has accused his opponent of “mud-slinging” while Kelly considers Karygiannis to be “light on the record side.”
Ward 7 – Humber River-Black Creek
Another Doug Ford supporter is running against a fellow incumbent. Giorgio Mammoliti is up against Anthony Perruzza, and both expect the issues to be very local, from fixing parks to resurfacing roads.  It will be a tight race since both men have strong support from their respective bases.