Veteran city councillor Case Ootes will lead Mayor-elect Rob Ford’s transition team – helping the new mayor plan everything from the move into Mayor David Miller’s office to the sensitive matter of political staffing and committee appointments.

Ootes didn’t run in the Oct. 25 election and will be leaving the position of Ward 29 councillor Dec. 1, when the new council is sworn in. Read More

Will work with but not ‘blindly follow’ new mayor Ford

Longtime councillor Raymond Cho handily beat York Region school trustee Neethan Shan for the council seat in Scarborough-Rouge River Ward 42 in Monday’s municipal election.

Cho received 10,811 votes or 53 per cent of the vote while Shan garnered 6,873 votes or 34 per cent. Read More

Sheppard Avenue transit plans could change from LRT to subway

With two new councillors in Scarborough and a mayor who ran a campaign promising big changes in the suburbs, Monday’s election results may have created more questions than answers.

Monday night saw eight of Scarborough’s nine incumbent councillors re-elected. The only incumbent to fall was Ward 35 Scarborough-Southwest’s Adrian Heaps, who was defeated by Michelle Berardinetti. Gary Crawford won in the only open race, taking the seat held by retiring Ward 36 Councillor Brian Ashton for the past 24 years, over a field of nine other candidates. Read More

Local councillors’ plans mesh with new mayor’s vision

With Etobicoke’s Rob Ford now at the helm of city council, and his brother Doug filling his shoes as Ward 2’s representative, Etobicoke could have a stronger voice at city hall this coming term.

Not to mention some returning Etobicoke councillors backed Ford for mayor and share a similar vision for transit, cost-cutting and customer service. Read More

When long-serving Ward 36 councillor Brian Ashton announced he would not be running for re-election after 24 years, Scarborough Southwest became one of the most interesting election races in the east end.

The ballots listed ten candidates, but after a dramatic election night it was former Toronto District School Board Trustee Gary Crawford who came out on top. Read More

Doug Ford promises to maintain service levels, tackle issues big or small

Doug Ford took the first step towards filling the “massive shoes” left vacant by his popular predecessor – little brother and mayor-elect Rob Ford – this week by pledging to donate his entire councillor salary back to his new constituency in Ward 2.

“When Rob asked me to get involved as a city councillor in Etobicoke North, I told him I’m not going to go down there for a paycheque or a position, I’m gonna go down there and try to help our community as much as possible,” Ford told The Guardian Wednesday, Oct. 27, explaining his motivation behind the annual pledge of $99,619.52. Read More