George Smitherman
Encyclopedia
George Smitherman is a Canadian
politician and broadcaster. He represented the provincial riding
of Toronto Centre
in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
from 1999 to 2010, when he resigned to contest the mayoralty of Toronto
in the 2010 municipal election
. Smitherman is the first openly gay
Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) elected in Ontario, and the province's first openly gay cabinet minister. In January 2011, he joined talk radio
station CFRB as a contributor and fill-in host on the Live Drive with John Tory
show.
, Ontario
). His parents were Arthur and Irene (Margaret), and George was one of four children.
Smitherman spent a lot of time working with his father's business, Smitty's Haulage (later Sure-Way Transport).
and Premier David Peterson
. He was chief of staff to Ontario cabinet minister Hugh O'Neil
and senior advisor to Ontario federal political ministers Herb Gray
and David Collenette
. He was chief of staff and campaign manager to one-time Mayor of Toronto Barbara Hall
. He also ran a private consulting business and co-owned a photofinishing shop in downtown Toronto until 1994.
Smitherman was nominated as the Liberal Party
candidate for Toronto Centre-Rosedale. The riding's previous MPP, Progressive Conservative Al Leach, had chosen not to run again. Former Toronto mayor John Sewell
was running as an independent candidate, and activists accusing him of splitting the left-wing vote with the New Democratic Party
. Although a Progressive Conservative government was re-elected, Smitherman won the seat for the Liberals.
In the legislature, Smitherman was nicknamed "Furious George" for his aggressive and often abrasive manner, and rose to become McGuinty's right-hand man and favourite "attack dog".
In the 2003 election Smitherman was re-elected and the Liberals won the election. Dalton McGuinty was sworn in as the 24th Premier of Ontario on October 23, 2003. Smitherman was named to cabinet as Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. He was also named Deputy Premier and the Toronto Regional Minister.
Under Smitherman's leadership, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care launched the Wait Times Strategy in 2004. The new health care model was designed to reduce wait times for various procedures such as hip and knee replacement, MRIs and CT scans. The Wait Times Strategy also focused on shrinking wait times for cancer, cardiac and cataracts surgeries.
Smitherman also launched the Ministry's "Aging at Home" strategy in 2007. The initiative focused on delivering enhanced community health care services and enabling seniors to live independent, healthy lives at home through home care and other community based services.
In the 2007 election
, Smitherman was re-elected as the MPP for Toronto Centre and continued in his roles as Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, Deputy Premier and Toronto Regional Minister.
However, Smitherman was criticized for ignoring calls for an independent investigation into C. difficile deaths in hospitals, and he was unable improve the lives of nursing home residents who were often forced to sit in soiled diapers for hours on end. Smitherman was also criticized for failures related to the implementation of an electronic health records system called eHealth
that partly occurred during his tenure as Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. eHealth was under criticism for awarding no-bid contracts, as well as the $647 million spent on its predecessor, Smart Systems for Health Agency, which was shut down and restarted as eHealth. Smitherman's successor David Caplan resigned as Minister in 2009 to take responsibility for mistakes that were made.
On June 20, 2008, Smitherman was shuffled to the new Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, a merger of two formerly separate government departments. McGuinty dismissed suggestions that he combined the energy and infrastructure portfolios to satisfy Smitherman, saying, "I think it's a great fit, it's a natural fit, and it's an essential part of our plan to grow this economy."
Smitherman was the first Liberal in the history of Toronto's NOW
magazine to be voted best MPP.
As the Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, Smitherman was responsible for Ontario's Green Energy Act, which was passed in September 2009. The Act encourages investment in green energy production by providing businesses the ability to sell energy produced from renewable sources to the province's electricity grid through a Feed-in-Tariff program. The Green Energy Act has resulted in a series of record-breaking corporate investments in wind and solar energy worth billions of dollars.
The World Wind Energy Association
chose Smitherman as the recipient of their annual World Wind Energy Award in 2009 for his outstanding achievements in making Ontario the leading wind energy jurisdiction in North America.
. He emphasized that any official announcements would not come before "the unofficial campaign season municipally begins in the new year."
On November 8, Smitherman announced his resignation from the provincial cabinet in order to run for mayor. He remained in the legislature as a backbench MPP until January 4, 2010.
In April 2010, Smitherman's campaign manager, Jeff Bangs, resigned and was replaced by Bruce Davis, chair of the Toronto District School Board and a veteran of local politics.
On August 21, 2010, the Ontario Liberal Party
began distributing pamphlets, listing Smitherman's provincial record and endorsements, to 75,000 identified Liberal voters. This partisan endorsement led to speculation that Smitherman's political fortunes were connected with those of the Liberal provincial government. Several other mayoral candidates criticized Premier McGuinty and the provincial Liberals for jumping into the race.
Smitherman admitted telling a volunteer working for rival Rocco Rossi
to "screw off". Smitherman claims he was set up by Rossi's campaign and he said the young woman tried to hand him a paper questioning his work with youth before a debate.
Smitherman's campaign has been criticized for swaying first to the left and then the right. After Labour Day, he made fiscal promises to freeze property taxes for a year and cut down on reckless spending.
Following the results of a Nanos Research poll, released on September 19, Smitherman made the following statement "The polling that we've seen tells us that if an election was held now, Rob Ford
would be our mayor," Smitherman said. "That obviously provokes a certain distaste and reinforces for us that we need to work harder for the values of our city." The poll put Ford's level of support at 45.8% among decided voters. Smitherman held 21.3%, Joe Pantalone 16.8%, Rocco Rossi stood at 9.7% and Sarah Thomson at 6.4%. Smitherman vowed to lead the "anybody-but-Ford" movement and encouraged strategic voting.
In October, Smitherman picked up support. Sarah Thomson dropped out and endorsed Smitherman. Smitherman and his staff were also pressing some of Rocco Rossi
’s key supporters to switch; Rossi soon dropped out due to being unable to improve poll numbers but did not endorse any other candidates. Former Toronto (pre-amalgamation) mayors David Crombie and Art Eggleton
also endorsed Smitherman. Several left-leaning councilors who were normally allies of Joe Pantalone, Joe Mihevc
, Adam Vaughan
, and Pam McConnell
, decided to back Smitherman's campaign instead. Smitherman urged strategic voting and repeatedly asserted that "a vote for Joe Pantalone is a vote for Rob Ford". Smitherman also left a voice-mail for outgoing Mayor David Miller, hoping that Miller would persuade Pantalone to bow out, but Miller never returned the call (back in 2003, Barbara Hall
's campaign used back-channel efforts to discourage Miller's run for mayor) and gave a public endorsement of Pantalone instead. Following the results of the October 18 Angus Reid
Public Opinion Poll, Smitherman and Ford were practically tied for first place, with Ford at 41% and Smitherman at 40%.
On election day
, Smitherman finished second with 35.607% of the vote compared to Ford who won 47.114%.
but says he intends to run for office again at some point in the future.
, near Elliot Lake, Ontario
. On September 26, 2009, the Toronto Star
reported that Smitherman and his spouse had been approved as adoptive parents by the Toronto Children's Aid Society
. A close source said that the couple were on a waiting list to adopt a child, Michael.
Smitherman admitted a five-year addiction to an illegal drug
before running for political office. Smitherman has not indicated the specific drugs he was addicted to during this time, except to say that they were part of the "Toronto party scene", and that "the drugs were not injected".
Smitherman is estranged from his older brother, saying they didn't fall out but just drifted apart. Arthur, who ran for city council from Ward 8, endorsed Rob Ford
for mayor.
|-
|George Smitherman
|align="right"|21,585
|align="right"|47.75%
|align="right"|-5.03
|-
|Pamela Taylor
|align="right"|9,225
|align="right"|20.41%
|align="right"|-1.63
|-
|Sandra Gonzalez
|align="right"|8,528
|align="right"|18.86%
|align="right"|-1.28
|-
|Mike McLean
|align="right"|4,366
|align="right"|9.66%
|align="right"|5.82
|-
|Michael Green
|align="right"|675
|align="right"|1.49%
|align="right"|
|-
|Danish Ahmed
|align="right"|256
|align="right"|0.57%
|align="right"|
|-
|Gary Leroux
|align="right"|213
|align="right"|0.47%
|align="right"|
|-
|Johan Boyden
|align="right"|200
|align="right"|0.44%
|align="right"|
|-
|Philip Fernandez
|align="right"|159
|align="right"|0.35%
|align="right"|-0.37
|}
|-
|George Smitherman
|align="right"|23872
|align="right"|52.78
|align="right"|13.88
|-
|John Adams
|align="right"|9968
|align="right"|22.04
|align="right"|-7.84
|-
|Gene Lara
|align="right"|9112
|align="right"|20.14
|align="right"|11.34
|-
|Gabriel Draven
|align="right"|1739
|align="right"|3.84
|align="right"|2.98
|-
|Philip Fernandez
|align="right"|324
|align="right"|0.72
|-
|Silvio Ursomarzo
|align="right"|218
|align="right"|0.48
|align="right"|-0.27
|}
|-
|George Smitherman
|align="right"|17756
|align="right"|38.9
|-
|Durhane Wong-Rieger
|align="right"|13640
|align="right"|29.88
|-
|John Sewell
|align="right"|8822
|align="right"|19.33
|-
|Helen Breslauer
|align="right"|4019
|align="right"|8.8
|-
|Joseph Cohen
|align="right"|392
|align="right"|0.86
|-
|Paul McKeever
|align="right"|344
|align="right"|0.75
|-
|Mike Ryner
|align="right"|236
|align="right"|0.52
|-
|Bill Whatcott
|align="right"|232
|align="right"|0.51
|-
|Ron Parker
|align="right"|205
|align="right"|0.45
|}
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...
politician and broadcaster. He represented the provincial riding
Electoral district (Canada)
An electoral district in Canada, also known as a constituency or a riding, is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based...
of Toronto Centre
Toronto Centre (provincial electoral district)
Toronto Centre is a provincial electoral district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It elects one member to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.It was created in 1999 as Toronto Centre—Rosedale from most of St. George—St. David and parts of St. Andrew—St...
in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario , is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the second largest provincial legislature of Canada...
from 1999 to 2010, when he resigned to contest the mayoralty of Toronto
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...
in the 2010 municipal election
Toronto municipal election, 2010
The 2010 Toronto municipal election was held on October 25, 2010 to elect a mayor and 44 city councillors in Toronto, Canada. 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 and...
. Smitherman is the first openly gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) elected in Ontario, and the province's first openly gay cabinet minister. In January 2011, he joined talk radio
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
station CFRB as a contributor and fill-in host on the Live Drive with 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...
show.
Background
Smitherman was born at Humber Memorial Hospital (now Humber River Regional Hospital Church site) in Weston, Ontario and spent much of his early years in Etobicoke (he briefly lived in East YorkEast York
East York can refer to:*East York, Pennsylvania, United States*East York, Ontario, Canada...
, 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....
). His parents were Arthur and Irene (Margaret), and George was one of four children.
Smitherman spent a lot of time working with his father's business, Smitty's Haulage (later Sure-Way Transport).
Early politics
Smitherman was active in politics at Burnhamthorpe Collegiate Institute, where he was the high school's student council president. He dabbled in municipal politics in Etobicoke. Smitherman decided against post-secondary education and began his political career. He worked as an organizer for the Ontario Liberal PartyOntario 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...
and Premier David Peterson
David Peterson
David Robert Peterson, PC, O.Ont was the 20th Premier of the Province of Ontario, Canada, from June 26, 1985 to October 1, 1990. He was the first Liberal premier of Ontario in 42 years....
. He was chief of staff to Ontario cabinet minister Hugh O'Neil
Hugh O'Neil
Hugh Patrick O'Neil is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1975 to 1995, and served as a cabinet minister in the government of David Peterson.O'Neil was educated at Peterborough Teachers' College, and worked as a teacher and...
and senior advisor to Ontario federal political ministers Herb Gray
Herb Gray
Herbert Eser Gray, is a retired Canadian politician. He was Canada's first Jewish federal cabinet minister, and is one of only a few Canadians ever granted the title The Right Honourable who was not so entitled by virtue of a position held.-Early life:Born in Windsor, Ontario, the son of Harry...
and David Collenette
David Collenette
David Michael Collenette, PC was a Canadian politician from 1974 to 2004, and a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. A graduate from York University's Glendon College in 1969, he subsequently received his MA from in 2004...
. He was chief of staff and campaign manager to one-time Mayor of Toronto Barbara Hall
Barbara Hall
Barbara Hall is a Canadian lawyer, public servant and former politician. She was the 61st mayor of Toronto, the last to run before amalgamation. She was elected mayor of the pre-amalgamation City of Toronto in 1994, and held office until December 31, 1997...
. He also ran a private consulting business and co-owned a photofinishing shop in downtown Toronto until 1994.
Provincial politics
In the 1999 provincial electionOntario general election, 1999
An Ontario general election was held on June 3, 1999, to elect members of the 37th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
Smitherman was nominated as the Liberal Party
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...
candidate for Toronto Centre-Rosedale. The riding's previous MPP, Progressive Conservative Al Leach, had chosen not to run again. Former Toronto mayor John Sewell
John Sewell
John Sewell, CM is a Canadian political activist and writer on municipal affairs; he was the mayor of Toronto, Ontario from 1978 to 1980.-Background:...
was running as an independent candidate, and activists accusing him of splitting the left-wing vote with the New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
. Although a Progressive Conservative government was re-elected, Smitherman won the seat for the Liberals.
In the legislature, Smitherman was nicknamed "Furious George" for his aggressive and often abrasive manner, and rose to become McGuinty's right-hand man and favourite "attack dog".
In the 2003 election Smitherman was re-elected and the Liberals won the election. Dalton McGuinty was sworn in as the 24th Premier of Ontario on October 23, 2003. Smitherman was named to cabinet as Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. He was also named Deputy Premier and the Toronto Regional Minister.
Under Smitherman's leadership, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care launched the Wait Times Strategy in 2004. The new health care model was designed to reduce wait times for various procedures such as hip and knee replacement, MRIs and CT scans. The Wait Times Strategy also focused on shrinking wait times for cancer, cardiac and cataracts surgeries.
Smitherman also launched the Ministry's "Aging at Home" strategy in 2007. The initiative focused on delivering enhanced community health care services and enabling seniors to live independent, healthy lives at home through home care and other community based services.
In the 2007 election
Ontario general election, 2007
The Ontario general election of 2007 was held on October 10, 2007 to elect members of the 39th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada. The Liberals under Dalton McGuinty won the election with a majority government, winning 71 out of a possible 107 seats with 42.2% of the popular...
, Smitherman was re-elected as the MPP for Toronto Centre and continued in his roles as Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, Deputy Premier and Toronto Regional Minister.
However, Smitherman was criticized for ignoring calls for an independent investigation into C. difficile deaths in hospitals, and he was unable improve the lives of nursing home residents who were often forced to sit in soiled diapers for hours on end. Smitherman was also criticized for failures related to the implementation of an electronic health records system called eHealth
EHealth Ontario
eHealth Ontario is the agency tasked with facilitating the development of Ontario's proposed public Electronic Health Record system. Health Informatics in Canada is run provincially, with different provinces creating different systems, albeit sometimes under voluntary Pan-Canadian guidelines...
that partly occurred during his tenure as Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. eHealth was under criticism for awarding no-bid contracts, as well as the $647 million spent on its predecessor, Smart Systems for Health Agency, which was shut down and restarted as eHealth. Smitherman's successor David Caplan resigned as Minister in 2009 to take responsibility for mistakes that were made.
On June 20, 2008, Smitherman was shuffled to the new Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, a merger of two formerly separate government departments. McGuinty dismissed suggestions that he combined the energy and infrastructure portfolios to satisfy Smitherman, saying, "I think it's a great fit, it's a natural fit, and it's an essential part of our plan to grow this economy."
Smitherman was the first Liberal in the history of Toronto's NOW
NOW (magazine)
Now is a free weekly newspaper in Toronto, Canada. It was first printed on September 10, 1981 by Michael Hollett and Alice Klein. Now is an alternative weekly mixing arts and entertainment news with political coverage....
magazine to be voted best MPP.
As the Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, Smitherman was responsible for Ontario's Green Energy Act, which was passed in September 2009. The Act encourages investment in green energy production by providing businesses the ability to sell energy produced from renewable sources to the province's electricity grid through a Feed-in-Tariff program. The Green Energy Act has resulted in a series of record-breaking corporate investments in wind and solar energy worth billions of dollars.
The World Wind Energy Association
World Wind Energy Association
The World Wind Energy Association is an international non-profit association representing the wind power sector worldwide, with members in 100 countries, amongst them the leading national and regional wind energy associations...
chose Smitherman as the recipient of their annual World Wind Energy Award in 2009 for his outstanding achievements in making Ontario the leading wind energy jurisdiction in North America.
Toronto mayoral election
On September 9, 2009, Smitherman strongly suggested that he would be running for mayor of Toronto in the upcoming 2010 mayoral electionToronto municipal election, 2010
The 2010 Toronto municipal election was held on October 25, 2010 to elect a mayor and 44 city councillors in Toronto, Canada. 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 and...
. He emphasized that any official announcements would not come before "the unofficial campaign season municipally begins in the new year."
On November 8, Smitherman announced his resignation from the provincial cabinet in order to run for mayor. He remained in the legislature as a backbench MPP until January 4, 2010.
In April 2010, Smitherman's campaign manager, Jeff Bangs, resigned and was replaced by Bruce Davis, chair of the Toronto District School Board and a veteran of local politics.
On August 21, 2010, the Ontario Liberal Party
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...
began distributing pamphlets, listing Smitherman's provincial record and endorsements, to 75,000 identified Liberal voters. This partisan endorsement led to speculation that Smitherman's political fortunes were connected with those of the Liberal provincial government. Several other mayoral candidates criticized Premier McGuinty and the provincial Liberals for jumping into the race.
Smitherman admitted telling a volunteer working for rival Rocco Rossi
Rocco Rossi
Rocco Rossi is a Canadian businessman, executive and former candidate for Toronto municipal and Ontario provincial office. From 2004 to 2009 he was the CEO of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario. In 2009 he became national director of the Liberal Party of Canada...
to "screw off". Smitherman claims he was set up by Rossi's campaign and he said the young woman tried to hand him a paper questioning his work with youth before a debate.
Smitherman's campaign has been criticized for swaying first to the left and then the right. After Labour Day, he made fiscal promises to freeze property taxes for a year and cut down on reckless spending.
Following the results of a Nanos Research poll, released on September 19, Smitherman made the following statement "The polling that we've seen tells us that if an election was held now, Rob Ford
Rob Ford
Robert Bruce "Rob" Ford is the 64th and current Mayor of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was first elected to city council in the 2000 Toronto municipal election, and was re-elected to his council seat in 2003 and again in 2006...
would be our mayor," Smitherman said. "That obviously provokes a certain distaste and reinforces for us that we need to work harder for the values of our city." The poll put Ford's level of support at 45.8% among decided voters. Smitherman held 21.3%, Joe Pantalone 16.8%, Rocco Rossi stood at 9.7% and Sarah Thomson at 6.4%. Smitherman vowed to lead the "anybody-but-Ford" movement and encouraged strategic voting.
In October, Smitherman picked up support. Sarah Thomson dropped out and endorsed Smitherman. Smitherman and his staff were also pressing some of Rocco Rossi
Rocco Rossi
Rocco Rossi is a Canadian businessman, executive and former candidate for Toronto municipal and Ontario provincial office. From 2004 to 2009 he was the CEO of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario. In 2009 he became national director of the Liberal Party of Canada...
’s key supporters to switch; Rossi soon dropped out due to being unable to improve poll numbers but did not endorse any other candidates. Former Toronto (pre-amalgamation) mayors David Crombie and Art Eggleton
Art Eggleton
Arthur "Art" C. Eggleton, PC is a former Canadian Cabinet minister and Mayor of Toronto, and is currently a Senator representing Ontario.-City council:...
also endorsed Smitherman. Several left-leaning councilors who were normally allies of Joe Pantalone, Joe Mihevc
Joe Mihevc
Joe Mihevc is a city councillor in Toronto, Canada. He represents one of the two St. Paul's wards, Ward 21 St. Paul's.-Background:...
, Adam Vaughan
Adam Vaughan
Adam Vaughan is a councillor representing Ward 20 Trinity—Spadina in Toronto, Canada. For about 20 years, Vaughan worked as a political journalist and activist, most recently as the Political Specialist at Citytv/CP24. Before that, for ten years, he reported for CBLT in Toronto as a municipal...
, and Pam McConnell
Pam McConnell
Pam McConnell is a city councillor in Toronto, Canada for Ward 28 which is one of the two Toronto Centre wards.She was a teacher before entering politics by being elected as a school board trustee in 1982. She held that position until 1994. She played a prominent role in advocating for adult...
, decided to back Smitherman's campaign instead. Smitherman urged strategic voting and repeatedly asserted that "a vote for Joe Pantalone is a vote for Rob Ford". Smitherman also left a voice-mail for outgoing Mayor David Miller, hoping that Miller would persuade Pantalone to bow out, but Miller never returned the call (back in 2003, Barbara Hall
Barbara Hall
Barbara Hall is a Canadian lawyer, public servant and former politician. She was the 61st mayor of Toronto, the last to run before amalgamation. She was elected mayor of the pre-amalgamation City of Toronto in 1994, and held office until December 31, 1997...
's campaign used back-channel efforts to discourage Miller's run for mayor) and gave a public endorsement of Pantalone instead. Following the results of the October 18 Angus Reid
Angus Reid
Angus Reid is an offensive lineman for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League. Reid went to Simon Fraser University and played for the Simon Fraser Clan. He began his career with the Montreal Alouettes but was traded, along with a 5th round draft pick, to BC for Adriano Belli...
Public Opinion Poll, Smitherman and Ford were practically tied for first place, with Ford at 41% and Smitherman at 40%.
On election day
Toronto mayoral election, 2010
The 2010 Toronto mayoral election was held on October 25, 2010 to elect a mayor of the City of Toronto, Canada. The mayor's seat was open for the first time since the 2003 Toronto election due to the announcement by incumbent mayor David Miller that he will not seek a third term in office...
, Smitherman finished second with 35.607% of the vote compared to Ford who won 47.114%.
Post-political career
Smitherman joined radio station CFRB on an occasional basis in January 2011. He turned down an invitation from Premier McGuinty to run in the next provincial electionOntario general election, 2011
The 40th Ontario general election was held on October 6, 2011 to elect members of the 40th Legislative Assembly of Ontario. The Ontario Liberal Party will form a minority government, with the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario serving as the Official Opposition and the Ontario New...
but says he intends to run for office again at some point in the future.
Personal life
On August 5, 2007, Smitherman married his partner, Christopher Peloso, a manager with Lindt & SprüngliLindt & Sprüngli
Lindt & Sprüngli AG, more commonly known as Lindt, is a luxury Swiss chocolate and confectionery company.- History :The origins of the company date back to 1845...
, near Elliot 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....
. On September 26, 2009, the Toronto Star
Toronto Star
The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
reported that Smitherman and his spouse had been approved as adoptive parents by the Toronto Children's Aid Society
Children's Aid Society (Canada)
The Children's Aid Societies of Ontario, Canada, are independent organizations empowered by the Ontario government to perform child protection services. The declared goal is to "promote the best interests, protection and well being of children"...
. A close source said that the couple were on a waiting list to adopt a child, Michael.
Smitherman admitted a five-year addiction to an illegal drug
Recreational drug use
Recreational drug use is the use of a drug, usually psychoactive, with the intention of creating or enhancing recreational experience. Such use is controversial, however, often being considered to be also drug abuse, and it is often illegal...
before running for political office. Smitherman has not indicated the specific drugs he was addicted to during this time, except to say that they were part of the "Toronto party scene", and that "the drugs were not injected".
Smitherman is estranged from his older brother, saying they didn't fall out but just drifted apart. Arthur, who ran for city council from Ward 8, endorsed Rob Ford
Rob Ford
Robert Bruce "Rob" Ford is the 64th and current Mayor of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was first elected to city council in the 2000 Toronto municipal election, and was re-elected to his council seat in 2003 and again in 2006...
for mayor.
Electoral record
| Toronto mayoral election, 2010 Toronto mayoral election, 2010 The 2010 Toronto mayoral election was held on October 25, 2010 to elect a mayor of the City of Toronto, Canada. The mayor's seat was open for the first time since the 2003 Toronto election due to the announcement by incumbent mayor David Miller that he will not seek a third term in office... |
||
| Candidate | Number of votes | % of popular vote |
|---|---|---|
| Rob Ford Rob Ford Robert Bruce "Rob" Ford is the 64th and current Mayor of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was first elected to city council in the 2000 Toronto municipal election, and was re-elected to his council seat in 2003 and again in 2006... |
380,201 | 47.098% |
| George Smitherman | 287,393 | 35.602% |
| Joe Pantalone Joe Pantalone Joe Pantalone is a former Canadian politician, city councillor for Ward 19, one of two wards in Trinity—Spadina. He served as deputy mayor under David Miller from 2003 to 2010... |
94,840 | 11.749% |
| Rocco Rossi Rocco Rossi Rocco Rossi is a Canadian businessman, executive and former candidate for Toronto municipal and Ontario provincial office. From 2004 to 2009 he was the CEO of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario. In 2009 he became national director of the Liberal Party of Canada... |
4,973 | 0.616% |
| Other | 39,842 | 4.936% |
| Total | 807,249 | 100% |
|-
|George Smitherman
|align="right"|21,585
|align="right"|47.75%
|align="right"|-5.03
|-
|Pamela Taylor
|align="right"|9,225
|align="right"|20.41%
|align="right"|-1.63
|-
|Sandra Gonzalez
|align="right"|8,528
|align="right"|18.86%
|align="right"|-1.28
|-
|Mike McLean
|align="right"|4,366
|align="right"|9.66%
|align="right"|5.82
|-
|Michael Green
|align="right"|675
|align="right"|1.49%
|align="right"|
|-
|Danish Ahmed
|align="right"|256
|align="right"|0.57%
|align="right"|
|-
|Gary Leroux
|align="right"|213
|align="right"|0.47%
|align="right"|
|-
|Johan Boyden
|align="right"|200
|align="right"|0.44%
|align="right"|
|-
|Philip Fernandez
|align="right"|159
|align="right"|0.35%
|align="right"|-0.37
|}
|-
|George Smitherman
|align="right"|23872
|align="right"|52.78
|align="right"|13.88
|-
|John Adams
|align="right"|9968
|align="right"|22.04
|align="right"|-7.84
|-
|Gene Lara
|align="right"|9112
|align="right"|20.14
|align="right"|11.34
|-
|Gabriel Draven
|align="right"|1739
|align="right"|3.84
|align="right"|2.98
|-
|Philip Fernandez
|align="right"|324
|align="right"|0.72
|-
|Silvio Ursomarzo
|align="right"|218
|align="right"|0.48
|align="right"|-0.27
|}
|-
|George Smitherman
|align="right"|17756
|align="right"|38.9
|-
|Durhane Wong-Rieger
|align="right"|13640
|align="right"|29.88
|-
|John Sewell
John Sewell
John Sewell, CM is a Canadian political activist and writer on municipal affairs; he was the mayor of Toronto, Ontario from 1978 to 1980.-Background:...
|align="right"|8822
|align="right"|19.33
|-
|Helen Breslauer
|align="right"|4019
|align="right"|8.8
|-
|Joseph Cohen
|align="right"|392
|align="right"|0.86
|-
|Paul McKeever
Paul McKeever
Paul McKeever leads the Freedom Party of Ontario and the unregistered Freedom Party of Canada, two political parties advocating laissez-faire capitalism. McKeever graduated from Trent University with an Honours Bachelor of Science in 1989 and a Master of Arts from the University of Western Ontario...
|align="right"|344
|align="right"|0.75
|-
|Mike Ryner
|align="right"|236
|align="right"|0.52
|-
|Bill Whatcott
Bill Whatcott
William G. Whatcott is a Canadian social conservative activist who campaigns against homosexuality and abortion. The dramatic nature of his activities have attracted attention from the media, including an appearance on The Daily Show...
|align="right"|232
|align="right"|0.51
|-
|Ron Parker
|align="right"|205
|align="right"|0.45
|}