1972 Toronto municipal election

The 1972 Toronto municipal election was held December 4, 1972, to elect the governments of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the five other boroughs, and the government of Metro Toronto as well.

The election was overshadowed by the 1972 federal election held October 30 and the American elections held November 7, but it resulted in a dramatic change in the city government. Four new mayors were elected, and 17 of 32 Metro seats were held by newcomers. In the City of Toronto, control of city council was won by the reform faction and reform leader David Crombie was elected mayor.

As in the 1969 election many of the central debates were over proposed megaprojects. The Spadina Expressway had been halted in 1971, but some wanted it built. The debate over the Scarborough Expressway was also one of the central issues in the east end.

An IBM 370-155 was used by the Star to process the results.

Mayoral election
Incumbent mayor William Dennison chose not to turn for reelection. The three main candidates vying to replace him were city councillors David Rotenberg, David Crombie, and Tony O'Donohue. O'Donohue and Rotenberg were veteran councillors. Rotenberg had been on council ten years and had served as Deputy Mayor. He also won the endorsement of the Toronto Star. Crombie had been elected to city council only three years earlier, previously serving as a professor at Ryerson Polytechnic Institute. He was a moderate member of the reform faction on council, willing to compromise with the Old Guard. A fourth notable candidate was Toronto Sun columnist Paul Rimstead, who ran a semi-serious campaign based on law and order policies.

Crombie dominated the affluent midtown and North Toronto wards, and also carried the east end of the city. O'Donohue won the heavily ethnic, working class wards of the west end.


 * Results
 * David Crombie - 82,754
 * Tony O'Donohue - 58,362
 * David Rotenberg - 35,213
 * Paul Rimstead - 7,934
 * Don Andrews - 1,960
 * Jacquie Henderson - 1,598
 * Nelson Clarke - 1,549

City council
Two aldermen were elected per Ward. The alderman with the most votes was declared Senior Alderman and sat on both Toronto City Council and Metro Council.

The council elected in 1969 was split into two factions. The dominant group, commonly referred to as the 'Old Guard,' were 12 councillors who generally sided with developers and supported plans for urban renewal and new expressways. The opposition faction was made up of seven members who supported the reform movement. The reformers won a clear victory. Only four Old Guard aldermen were reelected: William Boytchuk, Joseph Piccininni, Fred Beavis, and Thomas Clifford. The reform faction won five new seats, giving them an overall majority on council.


 * Ward 1 (Swansea and Bloor West Village)
 * Elizabeth Eayrs (reform) - 10,312
 * William Boytchuk (incumbent) - 9,229
 * Ben Grys (incumbent) - 4,618
 * Carl Glutsczak - 3,416
 * Slough Bolton - 2,377
 * Ed Homonylo - 1,046
 * Yvette Tessier - 627
 * Andrejs Murniecks - 370


 * Ward 2 (Parkdale and Brockton)
 * Archie Chisholm (incumbent, reform) - 5,156
 * Ed Negridge - 3,222
 * Ken Dear - 2,938
 * Dave May - 2,316
 * Robert Grossi - 1,992
 * Anne Fritz - 1,693
 * Helen Johnson - 1,319
 * Michael Hookway - 1,202
 * Stanley Steban - 839
 * John Stifel - 602
 * Jack Prins - 203


 * Ward 3 (Davenport and Corso Italia)
 * Michael Goldrick (reform) - 4,967
 * Joseph Piccininni (incumbent) - 4,439
 * Hugh Bruce (incumbent) - 3,800
 * Joe Garisto - 2,213
 * Tim Burke - 978


 * Ward 4 (Trinity-Bellwoods and Little Italy)
 * Art Eggleton (incumbent) - 3,034
 * George Ben - 3,023
 * Margot Andras (reform) - 2,439
 * Frank Lacka - 1,587
 * Harold Menzies - 1,593
 * John Conforzi - 1,563
 * Mary Fraser - 1,054
 * Richard Follert - 319
 * Robert Fairley - 207
 * Darrell Furlotte - 163


 * Ward 5 (The Annex and Yorkville)
 * Ying Hope (incumbent, reform) - 12,872
 * Colin Vaughan (reform) - 11,585
 * Erna Kauffman - 2,685
 * David Astle - 1,469
 * David Boyd - 933
 * Manfred Schulzke - 698
 * Melania Gural - 561
 * Wilson Greig - 437


 * Ward 6 (Financial District, Toronto - University of Toronto)
 * William Archer (incumbent) - 7,395
 * Dan Heap (reform) - 7,153
 * June Marks (incumbent) - 6,396
 * Horace Brown (incumbent) - 2,928
 * Arthur Downes - 2,127


 * Ward 7 (Regent Park and Riverdale)
 * Karl Jaffary (incumbent, reform) - 10,572
 * John Sewell (incumbent, reform) - 9,952
 * Richard Kirkup - 4,969
 * Samuel Rotenberg - 3,212
 * Karl Van Harten - 448
 * Charles Rolfe - 422


 * Ward 8 (Riverdale)
 * Fred Beavis (incumbent) - 7,253
 * Thomas Clifford (incumbent) - 6,794
 * Dallard Runge (reform) - 5,724
 * Ellie Kirzner - 595
 * Christopher Greenland - 542


 * Ward 9 (The Beaches)
 * Reid Scott (reform, incumbent) - 10,432
 * Dorothy Thomas (reform) - 5,643
 * Joe McNulty - 4,479
 * Jim Purdie - 4,199
 * Tom Wardle Jr. - 4,004
 * John Oliver - 2,100
 * Don Ray - 797
 * George Leslie - 318
 * John Square - 115


 * Ward 10 (Rosedale and North Toronto)
 * William Kilbourn (incumbent, reform) - 20,099
 * Paul Pickett (incumbent) - 14,023
 * Juanne Hemsol (reform) - 9,578
 * Margaret Bryce - 2,641
 * Art Keay - 1,449


 * Ward 11 (Forest Hill and North Toronto)
 * Anne Johnston (reform) - 14,325
 * David Smith - 11,297
 * Larry Grossman - 9,127
 * Jim Mills - 8,035
 * William McKay - 1,399
 * Morris Kestin - 1,334
 * Alan Morrison - 1,329
 * Richard Sommers - 818
 * Sydney Zaidi - 605
 * Alan Manington - 551
 * John Houseman - 435
 * John Ross Taylor - 323

Mayor

 * Willis Blair - 15,196 (57%)
 * Royden Brigham - 11,458 (43%)

(Source: Toronto Star, pg 12, December 5, 1972)

Mayor

 * Dennis Flynn - 28,126 (54.9%)
 * David Lacey - 21,634 (42.2%)
 * Reg Sammons - 1,484 (2.9%)

(582 out of 610 polls)

Etobicoke Board of Control (4 elected)

 * Bill Stockwell - 29,259
 * Bruce Sinclair - 27,762
 * E. H. Farrow - 22,616
 * (incumbent)John Allen - 21,312
 * (incumbent)John Carroll - 19,868
 * Hugh MacGregor Griggs 16,705
 * MacDonald 15,015

(582 out of 610 polls)

(Source: "How the voting went throughout Etobicoke", Toronto Star, pg 13, December 5, 1972)

Mayor
(1033 out of 1075 polls)
 * Mel Lastman - 48,328
 * Paul Hunt - 36,380
 * Andrew Fram - 2,536
 * Rik Peletz - 1,264

Lastman is elected mayor for the first time and serves until 1997.

North York Board of Control (4 elected)

 * Paul Godfrey - 60,421
 * John Williams - 33,843
 * Alex McGivern - 30,713
 * Barbara Greene - 28,852
 * Syd Moscoe - 23,129
 * Joseph Gould - 20,075
 * Ruby Richman - 17,861
 * Joseph Morra - 14,596
 * Sam Sherman - 10,784
 * Malcolm Cairnduff - 6,291
 * Ronald Premier - 4,329

Source:

Paul Godfrey was appointed to the Board of Control by North York Council in 1970, following the death of Controller John Booth. He was returned to the Board of Control in 1972, his first time being elected to the body. In 1973, he resigned to become Metro Chairman. Barbara Greene is elected in an upset victory after running to protest a by-law which made it illegal for unrelated roommates to share a house or apartment if the neighbourhood was zoned for single family dwellings. She is not only the first woman ever elected to North York's Board of Control but she and her roommate, Kate Hayhurst who ran for alderman and Betty Sutherland who was also elected as an alderman in 1972 are the first three women ever elected to North York council

Mayor
(735 of 855 polls)
 * Paul Cosgrove - 33,488 (63.2%)
 * (incumbent)Robert W. White - 14,086 (28.6%)
 * Francis O'Donnell - 5,423 (10.2%)

Board of Control (4 elected)
(735 of 855 polls)
 * (incumbent)Gus Harris 34,030
 * (incumbent)Ken Morrish 31,949
 * (incumbent)Brian Harrison 28,324
 * (incumbent)Karl Mallette 24,053
 * John Wimbs 20,222
 * Tom Rowland 14,705
 * John Nowotny 7,714
 * William T. Phipps 6,594

Borough Council

 * Ward 7 Ed Fulton

Mayor

 * (incumbent)Phillip White (acclaimed)

(Source: Toronto Star, page 12, December 5, 1972)

Board of Control (2 elected)

 * (incumbent)Douglas Saunders - 15,899
 * (incumbent)James Trimbee - 14,054
 * Rose Gallic - 5,163

(Source: Toronto Star, page 12, December 5, 1972; "The Star's suggestions for Monday's elections", Toronto Star, December 2, 1972, page 20)