Joe Mihevc

Summary

Joe Mihevc (/mɪˈhɛvɪk/ mi-HEV-ik; born February 24, 1954) is a Canadian politician who was appointed to represent Ward 10 Spadina—Fort York on Toronto City Council on June 1, 2022.[1] He was previously elected to represent Ward 21 St. Paul's from 2000 to 2018, Ward 28 York Eglinton from 1998 to 2000 and was a York City Councillor from 1991 to 1997.

Joe Mihevc
Mihevc in 2012
Toronto City Councillor
for Ward 10 Spadina—Fort York
In office
June 1, 2022 – November 14, 2022
Preceded byJoe Cressy
Succeeded byAusma Malik
Toronto City Councillor
for Ward 21 St. Paul's
In office
December 1, 2000 – December 1, 2018
Preceded byWard created
Succeeded byWard dissolved
Toronto City Councillor
for Ward 28 York Eglinton
In office
January 1, 1998 – November 30, 2000
Serving with Rob Davis
Preceded byWard created
Succeeded byWard abolished
York City Councillor
for Ward 2
In office
December 1, 1991 – December 31, 1997
Preceded byTony Mandarano
Succeeded byCity amalgamated
Personal details
Born (1954-02-24) February 24, 1954 (age 70)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
SpouseRosalee Bender
Children3
Residence(s)Toronto, Ontario
Alma materUniversity of Toronto
Occupation
  • Politician
  • adjunct lecturer

Background edit

Mihevc's family is originally from a small village in Slovenia. They arrived in Canada in 1948 as refugees. Mihevc grew up in Toronto districts of Dufferin and Eglinton, a working class area that borders the northwest corner of his ward. Raised Catholic, Mihevc obtained a PhD in theology and became an adjunct professor of ethics at the University of Toronto.

Political career edit

He first ran for office in 1991 in the old City of York, and defeated incumbent Tony Mandarano, who had been facing corruption charges. Backed by the New Democratic Party, he rose to the position of deputy mayor of York.

Following the amalgamation of York with five other Metropolitan Toronto municipalities, which he had opposed, Mihevc was elected to the new Toronto city council. In 2000, redistricting resulted in an election battle with the conservative councillor Rob Davis. The election was marred by an anonymous telephone campaign that painted Mihevc as anti-Semitic. Mayor of Toronto Mel Lastman endorsed Davis.

He was chair of Toronto's World Youth Day, and from 2000 to 2003 was chair of the health board. He was in that position during the 2003 SARS outbreak. He also was instrumental in forcing through a ban on the use of lawn pesticides.

Mihevc has been a long-time member of the Toronto Transit Commission and served as Vice-Chair from 2006 to 2010. He supported the St. Clair Avenue streetcar right-of-way. The $100 million investment in new streetcar lanes, hydro undergrounding, new gas lines, and public realm improvements has led to a rejuvenation of the St. Clair West neighbourhood.

Construction was delayed by a failed lawsuit by a group of local residents. A report by a consultant for the TTC, which Councillor Mihevc had commissioned, found numerous faults with the project, among them a lack of centralized project management. This led to a number of changes to construction management protocols.

Despite a high-profile challenge from former pre-amalgamation Toronto mayor John Sewell, Mihevc was easily re-elected to city council in the 2006 election.

Mihevc was re-elected by a substantial margin in November 2010, earning nearly 10,000 of the 17,500 votes cast and approximately 56% of the ward's popular vote.

Mihevc was the chair of the Board of Health, a TTC Commissioner, and sat on the Community Development and Recreation Committee and the Tenant Issues Committee. He was appointed Newcomer Advocate along with Joe Cressy in December 2015.

Following the resignation of Joe Cressy in ward 10, Mihevc was appointed to his seat for the remainder of term council term on June 1, 2022.[2] On June 20, 2022, Mihevc once again became chair of the Board of Health.[3]

Election results edit

2018 Toronto municipal election, Ward 12 Toronto—St. Paul's
Candidate Votes Vote share
Josh Matlow 20,371 51.60%
Joe Mihevc 16,634 42.14%
Ian Lipton 930 2.36%
Elizabeth Cook 908 2.3%
Bob Murphy 342 0.87%
Artur Langu 290 0.73%
Total 39,475
100%
Source: City of Toronto[4]
2014 Toronto election, Ward 21[5]
Candidate Votes %
Joe Mihevc 15,745 76.9
Ted Bustamante 1,766 8.6
Cos Licursi 1,728 8.4
Rosina Bonavota 1,223 6.0
Total 20,462 100
2010 Toronto election, Ward 21[6]
Candidate Votes %
Joe Mihevc 9,824 56.2
Shimmy Posen 5,328 30.5
Peter Nolan 921 5.3
Beth McLellan 644 3.7
Alex Freedman 454 2.6
Marius Frederick 295 1.7
Total 17,466 100

Unofficial results as of October 26, 2010 03:55 am

2006 Toronto election, Ward 21[7]
Candidate Votes %
Joe Mihevc 8,092 56.7
John Sewell 3,326 23.3
John Adams 2,712 19.0
Tony Corpuz 150 1.1

References edit

  1. ^ David Rider, "Ex-councillor and former political staffer chosen to fill vacancies on Toronto city council". Toronto Star, June 1, 2022.
  2. ^ "City Council appoints Joe Mihevc as Councillor for Ward 10 - Spadina-Fort York and Robin Buxton Potts for Ward 13 - Toronto Centre". City of Toronto. 2022-06-01. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  3. ^ "Former veteran Toronto councillor Joe Mihevc declared board of health chair". CP24. 2022-06-20. Retrieved 2022-10-17.
  4. ^ "Declaration of Results" (PDF). Toronto City Clerk's Office. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 25, 2018.
  5. ^ "City Clerk's Official Declaration 2014" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-07-05. Retrieved 2017-04-19.
  6. ^ City of Toronto elections page Archived 2010-10-26 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ City Clerk's Official Declaration 2006 Archived 2011-06-07 at the Wayback Machine

External links edit

  • City of Toronto Councillor Profile