Pam McConnell | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Pam McConnell in 2014 | |
| Deputy Mayor of Toronto forToronto andEast York | |
| In office December 1, 2014 – July 7, 2017 | |
| Mayor | John Tory |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Ana Bailão |
| Toronto City Councillor for Ward 28Toronto Centre—Rosedale | |
| In office December 1, 2000 – July 7, 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Ward created |
| Succeeded by | Lucy Troisi |
| Toronto City Councillor for Ward 25 Don River | |
| In office January 1, 1998 – December 1, 2000 Serving with Jack Layton | |
| Preceded by | Ward created |
| Succeeded by | Ward abolished |
| Metropolitan Toronto Councillor for Ward 7Regent Park andCabbagetown | |
| In office December 1, 1994 – January 1, 1998 | |
| Preceded by | Barbara Hall |
| Succeeded by | City amalgamated |
| Chair of the Toronto Police Services Board | |
| In office October 21, 2004 – October 14, 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Alan Heisey |
| Succeeded by | Alok Mukherjee |
| Chair of the Toronto and East York Community Council | |
| In office December 1, 2008 – December 1, 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Janet Davis |
| Succeeded by | Gord Perks |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Pamela Margaret Ritchie[1] (1946-02-14)February 14, 1946[2] |
| Died | July 7, 2017(2017-07-07) (aged 71) |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Party | Independent |
| Other political affiliations | New Democratic |
| Spouse | Jim McConnell[3] |
| Children | 2[3] |
| Occupation | Teacher |
Pamela Margaret McConnell (February 14, 1946 – July 7, 2017) was a Canadian politician who served onToronto City Council. She was first elected to theMetro Toronto Council in 1994, representing a series ofdowntown Toronto wards until 2017. She served as adeputy mayor of Toronto, representingToronto andEast York from 2014 to 2017.
McConnell was a teacher before entering politics. She was elected as a public school trustee in 1982 and held that position until she was elected to Metro Council in 1994. After the amalgamation of Toronto, she was elected to the new city council, serving from 1998 until her death in 2017.
McConnell received an award from theDuke of Edinburgh in 1997 for her work with inner city youth, and received theQueen's Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2013. The Pam McConnell Young Women in Leadership Award was created in 2018 for women between the ages of 19 and 26. In addition, the Pam McConnell Aquatic Center in Toronto is named after her. TheFederation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) created the Award for Gender Equality in International Development and named it the Pam McConnell Award.[4]
McConnell was born on February 14, 1946,[2] inEngland; her family emigrated to Canada in 1954 when she was 9 years old.[5] She was a teacher before entering politics by being elected as aToronto Board of Education school trustee in 1982. She held that position until 1994. She played a prominent role in advocating foradult literacy programs. In 1988, she became vice-chair of theToronto School Board and, in 1992, became its chair.[6]
In 1994, she left the school board and was elected to Toronto City Council in a close race. With theamalgamation of Toronto with five suburban municipalities in 1997, she was forced into a tough election. With wards electing two councillors each, she faced fellowNew Democratic Party (NDP) incumbentsJack Layton andPeter Tabuns, edging out Tabuns for the second councillor position by just over two hundred votes. With Tabuns and Layton nominated as the "official" NDP candidates by the ward's NDP association, McConnell's decision to run caused her to be estranged from her fellow New Democrats for a period, and she supportedLiberal-backedBarbara Hall as a candidate forMayor of Toronto in the2003 municipal election against New DemocratDavid Miller.[6]
She maintained her membership in the NDP, however, and became more active with the party since 2003. She was a Miller ally since the election and, served as chair of theToronto Police Services Board from 2004 to 2005 overseeing the selection of a newToronto police chiefBill Blair. She also served as vice-chair of the board.[7]
McConnell has also been an advocate of children's issues on city council.[8]
McConnell served as a member of Toronto City Council for Ward 28 from its creation in 2000, and was re-elected every term until her death.[9][10] In November 2013, she briefly became a subject of national and international news coverage when MayorRob Ford, during council debate on November 18 around him of discretionary powers following hisdrug use scandal, got up out of his chair and began to run in the council chamber, bumping into McConnell and knocking her to the ground.[11]
McConnell is credited for her role in advocating poverty reduction and theRegent Park revitalization.[5][6] She championed the development of an aquatic centre inRegent Park. Two million dollars of the cost the new centre was directed through section 37 funding (a part of thePlanning Act which allows the city to receive community benefiting funding from developers) from the construction of theTrump International Hotel and Tower.[12] In a 2012 interview,Donald Trump described McConnell as a "tough negotiator" and a "terrific representant for her district", and credited her for securing the funding for the centre from his development.[13]
Following the2014 Toronto municipal election, new mayorJohn Tory appointed McConnell as one of four deputy mayors representing the city,[14] and in 2015 he selected her as the champion of the city's poverty reduction strategy.[15] McConnell is credited for her role in advocating poverty reduction and therevitalization of theRegent Park neighbourhood.[6][5]
McConnell received an award from theDuke of Edinburgh in 1997 for her work with inner city youth.[16] In 2013, she received theQueen's Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of her decades of public service.[6][17] In January 2018, Toronto MayorJohn Tory announced the creation of the Pam McConnell Young Women in Leadership Award for women between the ages of 19 and 26.[18][19] In June 2018, theFederation of Canadian Municipalities posthumously awarded McConnell a place in its Roll of Honour, as well as created the Pam McConnell International Award for Gender Equity, to recognize "the contributions of a Canadian municipal expert to the advancement and promotion of gender equality in FCM's programs."[20] In July 2018,Toronto City Council voted to name the city's aquatic centre inRegent Park after McConnell, the Pam McConnell Aquatic Centre was a key development that McConnell advocated for while serving on council.[21][22]
McConnell had two daughters, Heather Ann and Madelyn, with her husband Jim.[3] On July 6, 2017, McConnell was reportedly in hospital and was referred to as "gravely ill" by Mayor John Tory.[23] She died on July 7, 2017, from a lung condition.[3][6]
| 2014 Toronto election, Ward 28[24] | ||
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Pam McConnell | 14,047 | 55.80% |
| David Blackmore | 2,852 | 11.33% |
| Jonathan Hughes | 2,416 | 9.60% |
| Andy Melnyk | 1,964 | 7.80% |
| Daniel Patel | 965 | 3.83% |
| Total | 25,173 | 100% |
| 2010 Toronto election, Ward 28[25] | ||
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Pam McConnell | 11,883 | 62.856% |
| Howard Bortenstein | 3,730 | 19.73% |
| Dennis Hollingsworth | 1,128 | 5.967% |
| Raj Rama | 969 | 5.126% |
| Daniel Murton | 633 | 3.348% |
| Eric Brazau | 562 | 2.973% |
| Total | 18,905 | 100% |
