Mike Del Grande

Mike Del Grande
Toronto City Councillor for Ward 39 Scarborough—Agincourt
In office
December 1, 2003  December 1, 2014
Preceded by Sherene Shaw
Succeeded by Jim Karygiannis
Chair of the Budget Committee
In office
December 1, 2010  January 16, 2013
Preceded by Shelley Carroll
Succeeded by Frank Di Giorgio
Chair of the Scarborough Community Council
In office
December 1, 2008  December 1, 2010
Preceded by Norm Kelly
Succeeded by Paul Ainslie
Chair of the Toronto Catholic District School Board
In office
December 1, 2014  November 30, 2015
Preceded by Jo-Ann Davis
Succeeded by Angela Kennedy
Toronto Catholic School Trustee for Ward 7
Assumed office
December 1, 2014
Preceded by John Del Grande
In office
January 1, 1998  December 1, 2003
Preceded by Ward Created
Succeeded by John Del Grande
Metropolitan Toronto Separate School Trustee for Ward 18
In office
December 1, 1994  January 1, 1998
Preceded by Lynda Sacco
Succeeded by City Amalgamated
Personal details
Born Michael Anthony Del Grande
1954 (age 6162)
Toronto, Ontario
Spouse(s) Beverly Del Grande
Children 3
Residence Toronto, Ontario
Occupation Chartered Accountant

Michael Anthony "Mike" Del Grande (born c.1954) is a Canadian politician. Elected in 2003, he is a former Toronto city councillor, representing Ward 39 Scarborough—Agincourt. He announced in February 2014 that he would not run for re-election, and instead ran for election in 2014 to the Toronto Catholic District School Board.[1]

Background

Mike Del Grande was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario in the Danforth neighbourhood.[2] He is the eldest child of Italian immigrants. He is married and has three children most notably John Del Grande. His early education was completed at Holy Cross and St. Aloysius Catholic Schools and has attended Neil McNeil High School and East York Collegiate Institute.

Del Grande became a member of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants when he graduated from the University of Toronto in 1979. Since that time, he also received a Bachelor of Commerce and Finance degree in 1976 and a Bachelor of Education degree in 2002, both from the University of Toronto, as well as a Master's degree in Theological Studies from St. Augustine in 2000.

School trustee

Del Grande was first elected as a school trustee 1994. He was re-elected in 1997 and 2000. Throughout his nine years as a school trustee, he served as the Chair of school board for one year, from 2000 to 2001.

In 1996, Del Grande was charged under Ontario labour law by the Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association for "bargaining in bad faith" when it was alleged that he used the local media to manipulate public opinion at a time when the school board was in contract negotiations with its teachers. The charge was subsequently dropped by the association after he agreed to cease and desist.

Del Grande was later re-elected as a school trustee after his son John, who was trustee for almost eleven years opted not to seek re-election. In 2014, he became the Chairman of the school board once more.

City councillor

In 2003, Del Grande ran for city council and defeated longtime incumbent Sherene Shaw. He was an active participant in the "Keep the Chief" campaign in 2004, when Julian Fantino, then Toronto's Chief of Police, did not have his contract renewed by the Toronto Police Services Board.

In December 2004, during a two-hour tour of his ward with Scarborough Mirror reporter David Nickle, Del Grande used the opportunity to highlight the nature of his ward; namely the difficulties of establishing a deep sense of community and trust with local services when longtime residents of the ward are moving out and are replaced by a transient and newly landed immigrant population. Del Grande said, "What's happening here is a lot of the white people are moving out."[3]

During his 2006 re-election campaign, Del Grande was charged criminally for assault following an incident in which he allegedly held captive a female volunteer working for rival candidate John Wong; Del Grande accused the woman of removing his campaign flyers from an apartment building and prevented her from leaving until police arrived to arrest her. The charge against Del Grande was withdrawn in February, 2007.[4]

In January 2012, Del Grande opposed breakfast programs for poor children, stating that parents who have children should take responsibility for them.[5] Pundit Michael Shapcott stated that this was a perfect example of "blaming the victim" for their adverse situation.[6]

Election results

School Board

2014 Toronto election
Catholic District School Board
Trustee – Ward 7
Candidate Votes %
Mike Del Grande 8,108 64.085%
Leo Ng 1,794 14.180%
Emmanuel Yanga 1,409 11.137%
Aldo Calla 1,341 10.599%
Total 12,652 100%

Unofficial results as of October 27, 2014 11:51 PM[7]

City Council

2010 Toronto election, Ward 39
Candidate Votes %
Mike Del Grande 9,931 68.18%
Kevin Xu 3,640 24.99%
Caldwell Williams 994 6.82%
Total 14,565 100%

2010 City Clerk's Official Declaration of Results[8]

2006 Toronto election, Ward 39
Candidate Votes %
Mike Del Grande 7,964 68.2
John Wong 1,888 16.2
Wayne Cook 660 5.6
Lushan Lu 614 5.3
Sunshine Smith 365 3.1
Samuel Kung 194 1.7
Total 11,685 100%

2006 City Clerk's Official Declaration of Results[9]

2003 Toronto election, Ward 39
Candidate Votes %
Mike Del Grande 6,299 51.6
Sherene Shaw (Incumbent) 5,898 48.4
Total 12,197 100%

2003 City Clerk's Official Declaration of Results[10]

References

  1. "Councillor Mike Del Grande to run for Catholic School Board seat". The Globe and Mail, August 18, 2014.
  2. Porter, Catherine (November 22, 2003). "He's God-fearing and a fighter; Councillor continues to buck the odds Del Grande battled tumour, the system". Toronto Star. p. H3.
  3. Nickle, David (December 29, 2004). "Councillor's comments cause concern; Ward 39's Mike Del Grande worries about 'white people' leaving community". The Scarborough Mirror. p. SCP00.
  4. "Ward 39 campaign incident heads to court hearing". The Scarborough Mirror. November 3, 2006. p. 1.
  5. Rider, David (January 12, 2012). "Toronto budget: Mike Del Grande's candid chat about social programs". Toronto Star.
  6. "Del Grande comments "insulting" to the poor, says housing advocate". Toronto Star. January 13, 2012. p. GT2.
  7. "Election Results | City of Toronto | 2014 General Election Results for City Ward 37 - Scarborough Centre". October 27, 2014. Archived from the original on October 29, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  8. "Declaration of Results of Voting – Monday, October 25, 2010" (PDF). October 28, 2010. p. 8. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 29, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  9. "Declaration of Results of Voting – Monday, November 13, 2006" (PDF). November 16, 2006. p. 7. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 29, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  10. "Declaration of Results of Voting – Monday, November 10, 2003" (PDF). November 13, 2003. p. 6. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 29, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
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