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| Affiliation | Progressive Conservative |
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| Name | Mel Lastman |
| Address |
Toronto, Ontario , Canada |
| Email | None |
| Website | None |
| Born |
March 09, 1933
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| Died | December 11, 2021
(88 years)
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| Contributor | User 13 |
| Last Modifed | Juan Croniqueur
Dec 25, 2022 09:21pm |
| Tags |
Jewish -
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| Info | Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman is the longest-serving mayor of any major city in the world and one of the country's most popular politicians.
Always outspoken and often controversial, the Mayor is undeniably passionate about Toronto - the fifth largest city in North America. Since taking office in 1998, he has helped turn six cities and seven governments into one amalgamated City of Toronto, delivered on his campaign platform of a three-year tax freeze and saved the taxpayers $305 million in the process.
Re-elected in November, 2000, Lastman was quick to demand a new deal for Toronto from the Provincial and the Federal governments. He has argued that Toronto residents can't afford the $276 million in new responsibilities Queen's Park has downloaded any more than they can afford to continue paying Ottawa's share of the bills to house thousands of refugee claimants who arrive here every year.
His campaign to eliminate waste at City Hall is on-going and he is always looking for new, more efficient ways to deliver services to the public. Any tax increases that have to be passed on to Toronto's property owners, the Mayor has promised, will be kept to a minimum.
Toronto's "little mayor with a big heart" has been busy in other areas, too.
Mayor Lastman met with and helped convince Pope John Paul II to name Toronto host of the 2002 World Youth Day. More than 1 million people are expected to visit Toronto in July for the celebration of peace.
Waste diversion is another area of concern for the Mayor, who has put Toronto on the road to diverting 30 per cent of its waste by 2003, 60 per cent by 2006 and 100 per cent by 2010.
Last but not least, the Mayor helped bring the provincial and the federal government together on Toronto's waterfront redevelopment which will turn the city's lakeshore into a "gateway to the world." To date, $1.5 billion has been pledged by all three levels of government to turn this vision into reality.
Lastman became the new City of Toronto's first mayor after a record 25 years as mayor of the former City of North York.
His list of accomplishments is long. Mayor Lastman formed Canada's first mayor's committee on child abuse, on drinking and driving, on race relations and, in 1985, on abuse of the elderly. He is a strong supporter of both charities and the arts.
He campaigned tirelessly for a new downtown in the old City of North York - a $5 billion undertaking that has created 70,000 new jobs and has resulted in $75 million in annual business and realty taxes.
Mayor Lastman gained his unique entrepreneurial talents at an early age. He borrowed $2,000 and a truck to open his first appliance store at the age of 22; before he was through, that one store had grown into a chain of 40 grossing $50 million annually.
Among other accolades, Mayor Lastman has received an honorary doctorate of Laws degree from York University, a Humanitarian of the Year Award and is the only politician in Canada to be named Marketer of the Year.
He and his wife, Marilyn, live in Toronto. They have two married sons and six grandchildren.
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