Mike Del Grande

Michael Anthony "Mike" Del Grande is a Canadian politician. Elected in 2003, he is a former Toronto city councillor, representing Ward 39 Scarborough—Agincourt. He announced in February 2014 that he would not run for re-election, and instead ran for election in 2014 to the Toronto Catholic District School Board.^[1]

Background

Mike Del Grande was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario. He is the eldest child of Italian immigrants. He is married and has three children most notably John Del Grande. His early education was completed at Holy Cross and St. Aloysius Catholic Schools and has attended Neil McNeil High School and East York Collegiate Institute.

Del Grande became a member of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants when he graduated from the University of Toronto in 1979. Since that time, he also received a Bachelor of Commerce and Finance degree in 1976 and a Bachelor of Education degree in 2002, both from the University of Toronto, as well as a Master's degree in Theological Studies from St. Augustine in 2000.

School trustee

Del Grande was first elected as a school trustee 1994. He was re-elected in 1997 and 2000. Throughout his nine years as a school trustee, he served as the Chair of school board for one year, from 2000 to 2001.

In 1996, Del Grande was charged under Ontario labour law by the Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association for "bargaining in bad faith" when it was alleged that he used the local media to manipulate public opinion at a time when the school board was in contract negotiations with its teachers. The charge was subsequently dropped by the association after he agreed to cease and desist.

Del Grande was later re-elected as a school trustee after his son John, who was trustee for almost eleven years opted not to seek re-election. In 2014, he became the Chairman of the school board once more.

City councillor

In 2003, Del Grande ran for city council against longtime incumbent Sherene Shaw and won in a surprise upset. He was an active participant in the "Keep the Chief" campaign in 2004, when Julian Fantino, then Toronto's Chief of Police, did not have his contract renewed by the Toronto Police Services Board.

In a recent interview Del Grande stated his opposition to breakfast programs for poor children, stating that parents who have children should take responsibility for them.^[2] Pundit (expert) Michael Shapcott stated that this was a perfect example of "blaming the victim" for their adverse situation.^[3]

Controversies

During his 2006 re-election campaign, Del Grande was charged criminally for assault following an incident in which he allegedly held captive a female volunteer working for rival candidate John Wong; Del Grande accused the woman of removing his campaign flyers from an apartment building and prevented her from leaving until police arrived to arrest her. The charge against Del Grande was withdrawn by the crown in February.^[4]

In December 2004 during a two hour tour of his ward with Scarborough Mirror reporter David Nickle, Del Grande used the opportunity to highlight the nature of his ward; namely the difficulties of establishing a deep sense of community and trust with local services when longtime residents of the ward are moving out and are replaced by a transient and newly landed immigrant population. A quote used in the article stating "a lot of white people are moving out" of his ward while many immigrants from mainland China are moving in^[5] sparked a controversy that spilled over to other local newspapers and continued into early January 2005. His remarks were condemned by some commentators as divisive or racist.

Demographics regarding Del Grande's statement can be found directly on the City of Toronto's Web Site

Del Grande's ward (39) is one of, if not the most, ethnically diverse wards in Toronto and Canada. From a 2001 ward population of 54,780 people, the total number of first-generation immigrants from all countries make up 68.3% (37.390 people) of that figure. The total number of first generation immigrants from China and Hong Kong living in the ward represents 31.7% (17,370 people) of the ward's total.

Election results

Unofficial results as of October 27, 2014 11:51 PM ^[6]

2010 City Clerk's Official Declaration of Results ^[7]

2006 City Clerk's Official Declaration of Results ^[8]

2003 City Clerk's Official Declaration of Results ^[9]

References

External links

• City of Toronto Councillor Profile
• Official website