Mark Grimes

Mark Grimes

Grimes at Amos Waites Park in Mimico, Toronto, June 2010
Toronto City Councillor for (Ward 6) Etobicoke—Lakeshore
Assumed office
December 1, 2003
Preceded by Irene Jones
Chair of Etobicoke and York Community Council
In office
December 1, 2010  January 1, 2013
Preceded by Frances Nunziata
Succeeded by Vincent Crisanti
Personal details
Born Orillia, Ontario
Nationality Canadian
Spouse(s) Anne
Children 5
Residence Alderwood, Toronto
Occupation Stock Trader/Businessman

Mark Grimes is a Toronto City Councillor for Ward 6 Etobicoke—Lakeshore. He represents one of the two Etobicoke—Lakeshore wards.

Background

Grimes was born in Orillia and grew up in New Toronto, a neighbourhood of Toronto. Prior to politics, he worked as a trader on the Toronto Stock Exchange before starting his own transportation logistics company, MGA International Logistics. He and his wife Anne live in the Alderwood neighbourhood of Toronto with their five children.[1]

Politics

In 2003, Grimes ran as a municipal councillor in Ward 6 Etobicoke-Lakeshore to replace Irene Jones who left the seat to run in the provincial election. He was one of nine candidates to run for the seat. During the campaign he and his closest rival Berardo Mascioli, accused each other of dirty tricks during the election campaign. Both camps complained that the other one was removing or vandalizing election signs. On election night phone lines to both campaign offices were cut. Grimes won the election by 1,352 votes.[2]

In 2005, Grimes was appointed to the Toronto Transit Commission board but he resigned in 2006 due to a conflict with board chair Howard Moscoe. Grimes seconded a motion of non-confidence in Moscoe over his handling of negotiations with the TTC union. When the vote lost, Grimes immediately resigned. He said continuing to serve on the board would be a waste of time. he said, "Obviously my voice isn't going to be heard."[3][4]

While Grimes was generally opposed to initiatives supported by Mayor David Miller, he became a key player in getting the land transfer tax passed in 2007. Grimes proposed a compromise that would see rebates for first time buyers. He said, "I'm not there for the mayor or to play the left wing against the right wing... Nobody likes new taxes, but I don't want to see libraries and ice rinks and community centres closing."[5]

After the 2010 election he was named chair of the Etobicoke-York Community Council.[1]

Election results

2010 Toronto election, Ward 6[6]
Candidate Votes %
Mark Grimes 12,228 60.4
Jem Cain 5,847 28.9
Michael Laxer 717 3.5
Wendell Brereton 605 3.0
Cecilia Luu 466 2.3
David Searle 375 1.9
Total 20,238 100%
2006 Toronto election, Ward 6[7]
Candidate Votes %
Mark Grimes 6,47242.6
Jem Cain 3,75824.7
Matthew Day 2,32715.3
Gregory Wowchuk 9316.1
Danuta Markiewicz 5313.5
Rosalie Chalmers 4242.8
Walter Melnyk 3092.0
Tony Del Grande 3032.0
George Kash 1310.9
2003 Toronto election, Ward 6
Candidate Votes %
Mark Grimes 5,33432.4
Berardo Mascioli 3,98224.2
Jerry Smith 3,43720.9
Diane Cleary 1,18027.2
Mark Selkirk 1,0796.6
Gregory Wowchuk 8935.4
George Kash 2081.3
Frederick Azman 1741.1
David Searle 940.6
Robin Vinden 830.5

References

  1. 1 2 City of Toronto Councillors: Mark Grimes, City of Toronto, last accessed September 25, 2011.
  2. Tamara, Shephard (2003-12-03). "Grimes replaces Jones in Ward 6". Etobicoke Guardian.
  3. Cowan, James (2006-07-20). "TTC keeps Moscoe, Grimes resigns". National Post. p. A15.
  4. Nickle, David (2006-07-20). "Moscoe keeps job with TTC, Grimes steps down". Etobicoke Guardian. p. 1.
  5. Byers, Jim (2007-10-18). "Compromise could tip tax vote; Councillor Mark Grimes suggests modifications to unite warring sides as new taxes go to council; mayor's allies grow optimistic proposal can pass". Toronto Star. p. A8.
  6. City of Toronto elections page
  7. City Clerk's Official Declaration 2006

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, February 13, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.