Rob Newman (born March 23, 1972) is a politician in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was the elected Deputy Leader of the Green Party of Ontario from 2004 to 2006 and also served as the party's Issue Advocate for Democratic Renewal. He attended Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario and holds a Bachelor of Computer Science degree from Acadia University.[1]
Prior to his position as GPO Deputy Leader, Newman served as Executive Assistant to (then) Green Party of Canada leader Jim Harris. He resigned from that position and later went on to support Tom Manley's unsuccessful 2004 leadership bid against Harris.
On 1 September 2005, Newman became the first ever GPO representative to advise an Ontario Legislative Assembly committee on official government policy - speaking on the issue of electoral reform to elected MPPs on the Select Committee on Electoral Reform.[2] He spoke again to the Standing Committee on the Legislative Assembly on 19 September 2005, addressing Bill 214, the Election Statute Amendment Act.[3]
In early 2006, Newman resigned from all of his official positions within the GPO to focus on "other pursuits."[4] He is no longer a member of either the federal or provincial Green Party.
Newman ran for the position of City Councillor in Ward 22 (St. Paul's) in the 2006 Toronto municipal election. Profiles of his candidacy called him a "consensus builder"[5] who "envisions a city with a stronger focus on infrastructure."[6] He placed second to long-time incumbent Michael Walker, receiving 2,506 votes, 16.5% of those cast.[7]
On 5 July 2007 Newman was appointed by The Lieutenant Governor in Council to sit for a one-year term as a Member of the Council of the Ontario Association of Architects.[8]
| 2006 Toronto election, Ward 22[9] | ||
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Michael Walker | 11,899 | 78.2 |
| Rob Newman | 2,506 | 16.5 |
| Gord Reynolds | 805 | 5.3 |