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Toronto’s new mayor begins his term Monday repairing a politically divided city, asking council to appoint four deputy mayors, one from each region of the metropolis.
The group, combined with the mayor’s picks for his cabinet-like executive committee, draws on left, right and centrist voices at city hall, setting a decidedly more collegial tone than the fractious last four years under Rob Ford.
North York fiscal conservative Denzil Minnan-Wong is Mayor John Tory’s choice to assume the role of the statutory deputy mayor, making him the more powerful of the four who will be in charge when the mayor is absent. Etobicoke North councillor Vincent Crisanti, a Ford ally, represents the west of the city, Scarborough left-wing veteran Glenn De Baeremaeker represents the east and downtown left-winger Pam McConnell represents the south.
The four deputies will meet with the mayor monthly “to discuss efforts to bring the city together,” according to a source in the mayor’s office. They will also advise him on local issues and represent him at events and ceremonies.
“The mayor talked a lot during the campaign about one Toronto and bringing the city together. He wanted to make sure each of the regions of the city had a strong voice,” the source said.
