Bill Saundercook
Encyclopedia
Bill Saundercook was a city councillor in Toronto
, Canada
for Ward 13 Parkdale-High Park. He represented one of the two Parkdale—High Park
wards. A teacher from a family of teachers, Saundercook holds a B.Ed., M.A. and M.Ed.
in 1985 defeating a 13 year incumbent. In the 1994 election
he supported incumbent mayor Fergy Brown
. When the election was won by Frances Nunziata
, he was clear in his opposition to her. He said, "I'll be damned if I want to carry her ... (Nunziata's) learning curve will have to be a slope that I couldn't ski."
In 1996, he ran for the Liberal
nomination in the provincial riding of York South
. A by-election was being held to replace former premier Bob Rae
who had resigned subsequent to his defeat in 1995. While Saundercook had the backing of Metro Chairman Alan Tonks
he was criticized for backing a provincial Conservative candidate in the 1994 election. The nomination was won by Gerard Kennedy
who went on to win the by-election.
He was elected the first Chair of the York Community Council and member of the Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee. Saundercook was then elected by other councillors as the Chair of the Works Committee.
On city council, he pioneered a number of important environmental initiatives. He introduced Toronto's biodegradable compost bag policy which banned plastic bags from being used for curbside compost pickup. He also spearheaded the city's Sewer-Use By-Law, which was lauded by environmentalists as one of the most stringent in North America
.
During 2000, Saundercook as Works Chair was faced with issue of what Toronto should do with over one million tonnes of trash with the impending closure of the Keele Valley Landfill
. Saundercook's committee endorsed an aggressive recycling and green-bin plan, but also endorsed a controversial plan to ship Toronto's garbage to Adams Mine
outside Kirkland Lake, Ontario
, but on the condition that Toronto would not be locked into sending fixed amounts of garbage and the city could recycle as much as they wanted.
Saundercook now found himself strongly opposed by environmentalists, many of those who had recently supported him in his other initiatives. The anti-Adams Mine faction on Council eventually defeated the proposal and voted to ship Toronto's trash across the US border to Michigan
. In a surprising turn of events, Council also defeated Saundercook's proposal to limit the trash households can put out to three large bags per week while allowing free, unlimited curbside recycling pickup.
This redistricting prior to the 2000 municipal election
placed Saundercook in a difficult position. His new ward was claimed by Frances Nunziata
, another popular fellow councillor and the former Mayor of York. Saundercook's home and core area of support fell into the new ward of Parkdale-High Park, also home to fellow councillor and future Mayor of Toronto David Miller. Saundercook was narrowly defeated in this election.
in his successful federal election campaign
Tonks was running against John Nunziata
, and with the help of many community supporters, including Saundercook, Tonks defeated Nunziata, putting an effective end on the career of the often controversial politician.
Saundercook returned to being a teacher after these elections, but remained active in the Liberal Party, helping out Tonks over the next few years.
, leaving his council seat open.
Saundercook was returned to city council after a close and fragmented race with undertones going back to the leadership race seven years earlier.
Despite running against Miller in 2000, and Miller's endorsed candidate Stan Kumorek in 2003, Miller and Saundercook have been seen as striking up a good working relationship.
On the 2003-2006 Council, Saundercook has supported many of Mayor Miller's initiatives such as killing the bridge to the island airport, and banning pesticides. He also opposed a pay increase for city council, supported the hiring of more police officers and supported a contract extension for former Toronto Police Chief Julian Fantino
. He is Mayor Miller's designate on both the Toronto Hydro Board of Directors and the Toronto Transit Commission
.
. His reputation for indecisiveness on major development and community issues led to widespread dissatisfaction.
Unofficial results as of October 26, 2010 03:55 am
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
for Ward 13 Parkdale-High Park. He represented one of the two Parkdale—High Park
Parkdale—High Park
Parkdale—High Park is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1979.Peggy Nash of the New Democratic Party was elected the Member of Parliament for the riding on May 2, 2011....
wards. A teacher from a family of teachers, Saundercook holds a B.Ed., M.A. and M.Ed.
Background
Saundercook grew up in York. He came from a family of nine children. Before entering politics he taught school and coached a local hockey team.Alderman, City of York
He was first elected as an alderman for the City of YorkYork, Ontario
York is a dissolved municipality in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it is located northwest of Old Toronto, southwest of North York and east of Etobicoke, where it is bounded by the Humber River. Formerly a separate city, it was one of six municipalities that amalgamated in 1998 to form...
in 1985 defeating a 13 year incumbent. In the 1994 election
Toronto municipal election, 1994
The 1994 Toronto municipal election was held in November 1994 to elect councillors in Metropolitan Toronto, Canada, and mayors, councillors and school trustees in Toronto, York, East York, North York, Scarborough and Etobicoke....
he supported incumbent mayor Fergy Brown
Fergy Brown
James Fergus Brown is a retired politician in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He served as Mayor of York from 1988 to 1994, and was listed as eighty years old in a 2003 newspaper report....
. When the election was won by Frances Nunziata
Frances Nunziata
Frances Nunziata is a Toronto city councillor for Ward 11 York South-Weston . She is the sister of former Member of Parliament John Nunziata....
, he was clear in his opposition to her. He said, "I'll be damned if I want to carry her ... (Nunziata's) learning curve will have to be a slope that I couldn't ski."
In 1996, he ran for the Liberal
Ontario Liberal Party
The Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and...
nomination in the provincial riding of York South
York South
York South was an electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1904 to 1979, and in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1926 to 1999....
. A by-election was being held to replace former premier Bob Rae
Bob Rae
Robert Keith "Bob" Rae, PC, OC, OOnt, QC, MP is a Canadian politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre and interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
who had resigned subsequent to his defeat in 1995. While Saundercook had the backing of Metro Chairman Alan Tonks
Alan Tonks
Alan Tonks is a Canadian politician. He was the Liberal MP for the federal electoral district of York South—Weston in Toronto from 2000 to 2011, and was the final Metro Toronto Chairman before the amalgamation of Metro Toronto into the new City of Toronto.-Background:Tonks is the son of the late...
he was criticized for backing a provincial Conservative candidate in the 1994 election. The nomination was won by Gerard Kennedy
Gerard Kennedy
Gerard Michael Kennedy is a Canadian politician in Ontario, Canada. He served as Ontario's Minister of Education from 2003 to 2006, when he resigned to make an unsuccessful bid for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada...
who went on to win the by-election.
Toronto City Council
When York was amalgamated with Toronto and four other suburban municipalities in 1997, Saundercook was elected to Toronto City Council in a ward shared with Nunziata, and defeated Ontario Liberal leadership candidate Gerard Kennedy, forcing all three into an uncomfortable working relationship.He was elected the first Chair of the York Community Council and member of the Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee. Saundercook was then elected by other councillors as the Chair of the Works Committee.
On city council, he pioneered a number of important environmental initiatives. He introduced Toronto's biodegradable compost bag policy which banned plastic bags from being used for curbside compost pickup. He also spearheaded the city's Sewer-Use By-Law, which was lauded by environmentalists as one of the most stringent in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
During 2000, Saundercook as Works Chair was faced with issue of what Toronto should do with over one million tonnes of trash with the impending closure of the Keele Valley Landfill
Keele Valley Landfill
The Keele Valley Landfill was the largest landfill in Canada and the third largest in North America during its operation. It was the primary landfill site for the City of Toronto and the regional municipalities of York and Durham from 1983 until 2002, and was owned and operated by the City of Toronto...
. Saundercook's committee endorsed an aggressive recycling and green-bin plan, but also endorsed a controversial plan to ship Toronto's garbage to Adams Mine
Adams Mine
Adams Mine is an abandoned open pit iron ore mine located in the Boston Township of the District of Timiskaming, south of Kirkland Lake in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the Canadian Shield....
outside Kirkland Lake, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, but on the condition that Toronto would not be locked into sending fixed amounts of garbage and the city could recycle as much as they wanted.
Saundercook now found himself strongly opposed by environmentalists, many of those who had recently supported him in his other initiatives. The anti-Adams Mine faction on Council eventually defeated the proposal and voted to ship Toronto's trash across the US border to Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. In a surprising turn of events, Council also defeated Saundercook's proposal to limit the trash households can put out to three large bags per week while allowing free, unlimited curbside recycling pickup.
This redistricting prior to the 2000 municipal election
Toronto municipal election, 2000
The Toronto municipal election of 2000, dubbed "Toronto Vote 2000" was the municipal and school board election held in the City of Toronto, Ontario, Canada on November 13, 2000.Elections were held to elect:* the Mayor of Toronto,* councillors for each of Toronto's 44 wards,* trustees...
placed Saundercook in a difficult position. His new ward was claimed by Frances Nunziata
Frances Nunziata
Frances Nunziata is a Toronto city councillor for Ward 11 York South-Weston . She is the sister of former Member of Parliament John Nunziata....
, another popular fellow councillor and the former Mayor of York. Saundercook's home and core area of support fell into the new ward of Parkdale-High Park, also home to fellow councillor and future Mayor of Toronto David Miller. Saundercook was narrowly defeated in this election.
In between terms
A federal election also overlapped the 2000 municipal elections. Immediately following his municipal defeat, Saundercook took a core of his campaign team to assist his long-time friend and fellow Liberal Alan TonksAlan Tonks
Alan Tonks is a Canadian politician. He was the Liberal MP for the federal electoral district of York South—Weston in Toronto from 2000 to 2011, and was the final Metro Toronto Chairman before the amalgamation of Metro Toronto into the new City of Toronto.-Background:Tonks is the son of the late...
in his successful federal election campaign
Tonks was running against John Nunziata
John Nunziata
John Nunziata is a Canadian politician. He served in the Canadian House of Commons from 1984 to 2000, initially as a Liberal and later as an independent member.-Background:...
, and with the help of many community supporters, including Saundercook, Tonks defeated Nunziata, putting an effective end on the career of the often controversial politician.
Saundercook returned to being a teacher after these elections, but remained active in the Liberal Party, helping out Tonks over the next few years.
Toronto City Council, II
Miller launched a successful campaign for Mayor of Toronto in the 2003 municipal electionToronto municipal election, 2003
The Toronto municipal election of 2003 was held on November 10, 2003, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to elect the Mayor of Toronto, 44 city councillors, and school board trustees.David Miller was elected mayor ....
, leaving his council seat open.
Saundercook was returned to city council after a close and fragmented race with undertones going back to the leadership race seven years earlier.
Despite running against Miller in 2000, and Miller's endorsed candidate Stan Kumorek in 2003, Miller and Saundercook have been seen as striking up a good working relationship.
On the 2003-2006 Council, Saundercook has supported many of Mayor Miller's initiatives such as killing the bridge to the island airport, and banning pesticides. He also opposed a pay increase for city council, supported the hiring of more police officers and supported a contract extension for former Toronto Police Chief Julian Fantino
Julian Fantino
Julian Fantino is a retired police official and the elected Member of the Parliament of Canada for the riding of Vaughan following a November 29, 2010 by-election...
. He is Mayor Miller's designate on both the Toronto Hydro Board of Directors and the Toronto Transit Commission
Toronto Transit Commission
-Island Ferry:The ferry service to the Toronto Islands was operated by the TTC from 1927 until 1962, when it was transferred to the Metro Parks and Culture department. Since 1998, the ferry service is run by Toronto Parks and Recreation.-Gray Coach:...
.
Re-election (2006)
On November 13, 2006, Saundercook was re-elected to Toronto City Council by a margin of 2000 votes over his opponent - Greg Hamara. Saundercook ran primarily on a platform of environmental activism balanced with his record of delivering community improvements.Defeat (2010)
On October 25, 2010, Saundercook was defeated by Sarah DoucetteSarah Doucette
Sarah Doucette is a Canadian politician, who was elected to Toronto City Council in the 2010 city council election, defeating Bill Saundercook in Ward 13, Parkdale–High Park. Doucette was born in Winchester, Hampshire but grew up on the Isle of Wight, in the United Kingdom in the 1960s. Doucette...
. His reputation for indecisiveness on major development and community issues led to widespread dissatisfaction.
Election results
| 2010 Toronto election Toronto city council election, 2010 For information on the campaign for mayor see Toronto mayoral election, 2010The 2010 Toronto council election was held on October 25, 2010 to elect councillors to represent Toronto's 44 wards at Toronto City Council... , Ward 13 |
||
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Sarah Doucette | 10,100 | 47.0 |
| Bill Saundercook | 7,893 | 36.8 |
| Nick Pavlov | 2,109 | 9.8 |
| Redmond Weissenberger | 1,139 | 5.3 |
| Jackelyn Van Altenberg | 228 | 1.1 |
| Total | 21,469 | 100 |
Unofficial results as of October 26, 2010 03:55 am
| 2006 Toronto election Toronto municipal election, 2006 The 2006 Toronto municipal election took place on 13 November 2006 to elect a mayor and 44 city councillors in Toronto, Ontario. In addition, school trustees were elected to the Toronto District School Board, Toronto Catholic District School Board, Conseil scolaire de district du Centre-Sud-Ouest... , Ward 13 |
||
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Bill Saundercook | 6,930 | 43.4 |
| Greg Hamara | 4,829 | 30.2 |
| David Garrick | 2,904 | 18.2 |
| Frances Wdowczyk | 605 | 3.8 |
| Linda Coltman | 433 | 2.7 |
| Aleksander Oniszczak | 281 | 1.8 |