On Monday evening Torontonians elected a new Mayor, and 7 new Councillors. 37 Councillors who served on the last City Council were re-elected.
Compared to 2010, the great news is that Toronto elected a Mayor who cares about the environment. John Tory has a clear commitment to act on a majority of TEA’s environmental priorities. Torontonians also elected 19 Councillors who made a commitment to move forward on three quarters of our Green Action Agenda.
That’s 20 votes for the environment. Add another 3 Councillors who didn’t fill out our Green Action Agenda Survey but have a good record on voting for the environment, and we have a majority of votes to help implement our environmental priorities over the next 4 years .
Of course, saying you are going to do something is not the same as actually doing it. That’s why TEA has already begun developing tools for Torontonians that will help us encourage our newly elected Councillors and Mayor to fulfill the promises they made to build a Greener City for All.
As we’ve learned, a healthy democracy isn’t just about voting every four years. It’s also about connecting with your elected officials to let them know what you expect of them. TEA will make sure you can do that effectively and easily. Stay tuned.
Franz Hartmann
Executive Director