Pam McConnell

Pam McConnell
Pam McConnell in 2011
Toronto City Councillor for (Ward 28) Toronto Centre-Rosedale
Incumbent
Assumed office
December 1, 2000
Preceded by Ward Created
Toronto City Councillor for (Ward 25) Don River
In office
January 1, 1998  December 1, 2000
Preceded by Ward Created
Succeeded by Ward Abolished
Metro Toronto City Councillor for (Ward 7) Regent Park and Cabbagetown
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
Nationality Canadian
Residence Toronto, Ontario
Occupation Teacher

Pam McConnell is a city councillor in Toronto, Canada for Ward 28 which is one of the two Toronto Centre wards.

She was a teacher before entering politics by being elected as a school board trustee in 1982. She held that position until 1994. She played a prominent role in advocating for adult literacy programs. In 1988, she became vice-chair of the Toronto School Board and, in 1992, became its chair.

In 1994, she left the school board and was elected to city council in a close race. With the amalgamation of Toronto with five suburban municipalities in 1997, she was forced into a tough election. With wards electing two councillors each, she faced fellow New Democratic Party (NDP) incumbents Jack Layton and Peter 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 NDPers for a period and supported Liberal-backed Barbara Hall as a candidate for Mayor of Toronto in the 2003 municipal election against New Democrat David Miller.

She has maintained her membership in the NDP, however, and has become more active with the party since 2003. She has been a Miller ally since the election and, served as chair of the Toronto Police Services Board from 2004 to 2005 overseeing the selection of a new police chief, Bill Blair. She is currently vice-chair of the board.

McConnell has also been an advocate of children's issues on city council.

She was elected in Ward 28 in the 2010 municipal election, and again in 2014.

Awards

McConnell received a Duke of Edinburgh award in 1997 for her work with inner city youth.[1]

Election results

2010 Toronto election, Ward 28
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%

[2]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pam McConnell.