Jane Pitfield
Encyclopedia
Jane Pitfield was a Toronto city councillor, representing one of the two Don Valley West
wards. She ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of Toronto in 2006.
, she worked for several years with Procter & Gamble
. In 1989 she founded Concerned Citizens of Leaside
to oppose a large development project. She is also the author of Leaside, a history of the neighbourhood.
She is married to Robert Pitfield and is the mother of four children. Robert Pitfield runs the Bank of Nova Scotia's international operations. Her uncle-in-law is Ward C. Pitfield, Jr.
, who was chairman of brokerage firm Dominion Securities
. Another uncle-in-law, Senator Michael Pitfield
, was clerk of the Privy Council
under former prime minister
Pierre Trudeau
.
Pitfield proposed a 9% water rate increase in early 2004, a higher figure than city staff had recommended. Following intervention from the office of mayor David Miller, the increase was reduced to 6%. Pitfield justified the proposed increase by saying, "This is not to be thought of as taxation. It's a user fee. If you want to pay less, you can use less."
A Globe and Mail report from March 2005 indicated that Pitfield canvassed for Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
leader John Tory
during his provincial by-election
campaign in Dufferin—Peel—Wellington—Grey
.
After the 2003 election, Miller called in councillors to pick committee chair heads. Pitfield says she did not get a call. "So I called him", she said. She asked to be chair of the works committee, and was appointed. In the mid-term committee chair shuffle, Pitfield left the works and budget committees and joined the audit committee and co-chaired the aboriginal affairs committee.
.
Pitfield promised to hold off on future tax increases and adopted the slogan, "Always think like a taxpayer". Pitfield also stated that the Mayor should be known as the "Billion Dollar Man" for increasing the city's spending by $1.3 billion since he became mayor in 2003. Miller responded by observing that Toronto's share of the new spending was only $275 million, with the remainder coming from the provincial and federal governments. He later added that most of the spending "is new investment we've secured from provincial and federal government to meet the needs of our city in public transit, in housing, or the 58 new child care centres that we've opened in Toronto this month alone, in Toronto's poorest neighbourhoods".
Pitfield's campaign team included Michael Marzolini, pollster and strategist for former Liberal
prime minister
Jean Chrétien
and John Foden, Public Affairs consultant. Ontario PC Party treasurer Vic Gupta, who was deputy campaign manager for John Tory
's 2003 run for mayor was on Pitfield's campaign team but bowed out in June 2006, and is now a lobbyist for the Toronto Port Authority
.
In September 2006, Pitfield voted in favour of a bid by Toronto City Council to purchase a landfill site that she had previously spoken against. She claimed that she voted yes in error and admitted to being embarrassed by her mistake. She indicated that she would try to have her vote changed in the official records but wasn't able to reopen the debate to change her vote.
On September 29, the National Post
released a survey conducted by Ipsos-Reid
that suggested Pitfield was a stronger challenger to Miller than many people believed. The poll showed that of decided voters, 55% would support Miller, while 40% would support Pitfield. In the "absolutely certain" voter category, 51% would support Miller while 46% would support Pitfield. On the same day, former Liberal Party of Canada
President Stephen LeDrew
also entered the contest.
Her platform to be mayor included a public housing program focused on home ownership for low-income families. She accused Miller of being soft on crime and called for a police helicopter, a weapons court and restrictions on bail for individuals with outstanding violent crime charges. She was in favour of incinerating Toronto's garbage as part of a waste-to energy scheme, as opposed to transporting it by road to Michigan
, and set a 60% diversion rate for recycling. She supported building two kilometres of subway per year.
Pitfield's campaign team included co-chairs Jerry Grafstein and Hal Jackman; Judy Paradi, a Toronto business woman; Brian L. French her Policy Director; Michael Marzolini, pollster and strategist for former Liberal
prime minister
Jean Chrétien
; Gabor Apor; Costas Manios
, Operations Director; and Robert Stephens, Media Secretary.
Miller won the contest by a significant margin.
which they are in the process of restoring.
following his retirement.
She was defeated on October 25, 2010 by newcomer Mary Fragedakis
by nearly 2,500 votes.
Unofficial results as of October 26, 2010 03:55 AM
Don Valley West
Don Valley West is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1979. Its population in 2001 was 115,539....
wards. She ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of Toronto in 2006.
Personal life
A graduate of Queen's UniversityQueen's University
Queen's University, , is a public research university located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Founded on 16 October 1841, the university pre-dates the founding of Canada by 26 years. Queen's holds more more than of land throughout Ontario as well as Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex, England...
, she worked for several years with Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....
. In 1989 she founded Concerned Citizens of Leaside
Leaside
Leaside is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The area takes its name from William Lea and the Lea family, who settled there in the early years of the nineteenth century. The area first developed as farmland along with Toronto through the nineteenth century. It was incorporated as a...
to oppose a large development project. She is also the author of Leaside, a history of the neighbourhood.
She is married to Robert Pitfield and is the mother of four children. Robert Pitfield runs the Bank of Nova Scotia's international operations. Her uncle-in-law is Ward C. Pitfield, Jr.
Ward C. Pitfield, Jr.
Ward Chipman Pitfield, Jr. is a retired Canadian financier and Thoroughbred racehorse owner. He is the son of Canadian financier Ward C. Pitfield, a co-founder of the stock brokerage firm, Pitfield, MacKay, Ross....
, who was chairman of brokerage firm Dominion Securities
RBC Dominion Securities
RBC Dominion Securities is the brand used by Royal Bank of Canada for full service brokerage services primarily in Canada. It forms part of RBC's Wealth Management division. Established in Toronto in 1901, it originally focused on government and municipal but diversified into war bonds during...
. Another uncle-in-law, Senator Michael Pitfield
Michael Pitfield
Peter Michael Pitfield, PC, CVO is a former Canadian Senator and senior civil servant.He is the youngest son of the late Canadian financier Ward C. Pitfield and the late Grace MacDougall Pitfield. His brother, Ward C...
, was clerk of the Privy Council
Queen's Privy Council for Canada
The Queen's Privy Council for Canada ), sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs, though responsible government requires the sovereign or her viceroy,...
under former prime minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Pierre Trudeau
Pierre Trudeau
Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau, , usually known as Pierre Trudeau or Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was the 15th Prime Minister of Canada from April 20, 1968 to June 4, 1979, and again from March 3, 1980 to June 30, 1984.Trudeau began his political career campaigning for socialist ideals,...
.
Politics
In 1994, she was elected as a school board trustee. With the creation of the megacity in 1997, she ran to be elected to city council, but lost by a small margin. It was later decided, however, that the East York ward was too large for only two councillors. A by-election was held to elect a third councillor and she won this race. In the 2003 elections she did not endorse any candidate for mayor. During the 2003 term of office she served as chair of the Works Committee.Pitfield proposed a 9% water rate increase in early 2004, a higher figure than city staff had recommended. Following intervention from the office of mayor David Miller, the increase was reduced to 6%. Pitfield justified the proposed increase by saying, "This is not to be thought of as taxation. It's a user fee. If you want to pay less, you can use less."
A Globe and Mail report from March 2005 indicated that Pitfield canvassed for Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario , is a right-of-centre political party in Ontario, Canada. The party was known for many years as "Ontario's natural governing party." It has ruled the province for 80 of the years since Confederation, including an uninterrupted run from 1943 to 1985...
leader John Tory
John Tory
John Howard Tory is a Canadian businessman, political activist, former leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, former Member of Provincial Parliament and broadcaster...
during his provincial by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
campaign in Dufferin—Peel—Wellington—Grey
Dufferin—Peel—Wellington—Grey
Dufferin—Peel—Wellington—Grey was a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1997 to 2004.-Federal electoral district:...
.
After the 2003 election, Miller called in councillors to pick committee chair heads. Pitfield says she did not get a call. "So I called him", she said. She asked to be chair of the works committee, and was appointed. In the mid-term committee chair shuffle, Pitfield left the works and budget committees and joined the audit committee and co-chaired the aboriginal affairs committee.
2006 mayoral candidacy
On November 29, 2005 Pitfield announced that she would run against mayor David Miller in the 2006 municipal electionToronto 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...
.
Pitfield promised to hold off on future tax increases and adopted the slogan, "Always think like a taxpayer". Pitfield also stated that the Mayor should be known as the "Billion Dollar Man" for increasing the city's spending by $1.3 billion since he became mayor in 2003. Miller responded by observing that Toronto's share of the new spending was only $275 million, with the remainder coming from the provincial and federal governments. He later added that most of the spending "is new investment we've secured from provincial and federal government to meet the needs of our city in public transit, in housing, or the 58 new child care centres that we've opened in Toronto this month alone, in Toronto's poorest neighbourhoods".
Pitfield's campaign team included Michael Marzolini, pollster and strategist for former Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
prime minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
Jean Chrétien
Jean Chrétien
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien , known commonly as Jean Chrétien is a former Canadian politician who was the 20th Prime Minister of Canada. He served in the position for over ten years, from November 4, 1993 to December 12, 2003....
and John Foden, Public Affairs consultant. Ontario PC Party treasurer Vic Gupta, who was deputy campaign manager for John Tory
John Tory
John Howard Tory is a Canadian businessman, political activist, former leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, former Member of Provincial Parliament and broadcaster...
's 2003 run for mayor was on Pitfield's campaign team but bowed out in June 2006, and is now a lobbyist for the Toronto Port Authority
Toronto Port Authority
The Toronto Port Authority is a Canadian port authority responsible for management of the harbour of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, including the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport...
.
In September 2006, Pitfield voted in favour of a bid by Toronto City Council to purchase a landfill site that she had previously spoken against. She claimed that she voted yes in error and admitted to being embarrassed by her mistake. She indicated that she would try to have her vote changed in the official records but wasn't able to reopen the debate to change her vote.
On September 29, the National Post
National Post
The National Post is a Canadian English-language national newspaper based in Don Mills, a district of Toronto. The paper is owned by Postmedia Network Inc. and is published Mondays through Saturdays...
released a survey conducted by Ipsos-Reid
Ipsos-Reid
Ipsos Reid is a research company based in Canada and is the Canadian arm of the global Ipsos Group. Founded in Winnipeg in 1979, the company expanded across the country and became part of the Ipsos Group in 2000....
that suggested Pitfield was a stronger challenger to Miller than many people believed. The poll showed that of decided voters, 55% would support Miller, while 40% would support Pitfield. In the "absolutely certain" voter category, 51% would support Miller while 46% would support Pitfield. On the same day, former Liberal Party of Canada
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
President Stephen LeDrew
Stephen LeDrew
Stephen Ralph LeDrew is currently hosting CP24 Live at Noon, plus he is a Toronto-based lawyer and broadcast commentator. He served as President of the Liberal Party of Canada from 1998 to 2003, and was a Mayor of Toronto candidate in the 2006 municipal election.-Legal career:As a lawyer, LeDrew...
also entered the contest.
Her platform to be mayor included a public housing program focused on home ownership for low-income families. She accused Miller of being soft on crime and called for a police helicopter, a weapons court and restrictions on bail for individuals with outstanding violent crime charges. She was in favour of incinerating Toronto's garbage as part of a waste-to energy scheme, as opposed to transporting it by road 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"....
, and set a 60% diversion rate for recycling. She supported building two kilometres of subway per year.
Pitfield's campaign team included co-chairs Jerry Grafstein and Hal Jackman; Judy Paradi, a Toronto business woman; Brian L. French her Policy Director; Michael Marzolini, pollster and strategist for former Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
prime minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
Jean Chrétien
Jean Chrétien
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien , known commonly as Jean Chrétien is a former Canadian politician who was the 20th Prime Minister of Canada. He served in the position for over ten years, from November 4, 1993 to December 12, 2003....
; Gabor Apor; Costas Manios
Liberal Party candidates, 1999 Ontario provincial election
The Ontario Liberal Party ran a full slate of 103 candidates in the 1999 provincial election, and elected 35 Members of Provincial Parliament to form the official opposition in the provincial legislature...
, Operations Director; and Robert Stephens, Media Secretary.
Miller won the contest by a significant margin.
After mayoral attempt
In 2008, Pitfield was elected president of the Caledon Heritage Foundation. She and her family own a 19th century house in CaledonCaledon, Ontario
Caledon is a town in the Regional Municipality of Peel in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada. In terms of land use, Caledon is somewhat urban, though it is primarily rural in nature...
which they are in the process of restoring.
2010 municipal election
In January 2010, Pitfield announced that she would run for councillor in East York, Ward 29, to replace Case OotesCase Ootes
Case Ootes is a former city councillor in Toronto, Canada, for Ward 29 Toronto—Danforth. He represented one of the two Toronto—Danforth wards...
following his retirement.
She was defeated on October 25, 2010 by newcomer Mary Fragedakis
Mary Fragedakis
Mary Fragedakis is a Canadian politician, who was elected to Toronto City Council in the 2010 city council election to succeed Case Ootes in Ward 29....
by nearly 2,500 votes.
2010 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 29 |
||
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Mary Fragedakis | 7,430 | 41.81 |
| Jane Pitfield | 4,966 | 27.95 |
| Jennifer Wood | 4,269 | 24.02 |
| Chris Caldwell | 885 | 4.98 |
| John Richardson | 138 | 0.78 |
| Mike Restivo | 81 | 0.45 |
| Total | 17,769 | 100 |
Unofficial results as of October 26, 2010 03:55 AM