David Soknacki
| David Soknacki | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Toronto City Councillor for (Ward 43) Scarborough East | |
|
In office September 23, 1999 – November 30, 2006 | |
| Preceded by | Frank Faubert |
| Succeeded by | Paul Ainslie |
| Chair of the Budget Committee | |
|
In office December 1, 2003 – November 30, 2006 | |
| Preceded by | David Shiner |
| Succeeded by | Shelley Carroll |
| Scarborough City Councillor for Ward 8 | |
|
In office December 1, 1994 – December 31, 1997 | |
| Preceded by | Frank Faubert |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
September 9, 1954 Scarborough, Ontario |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Spouse(s) | Florence |
| Children | 1 |
| Occupation | Business owner |
David Soknacki (born September 9, 1954)[1] is a Canadian municipal politician in Toronto, Ontario. He was a councillor in Scarborough from 1994 to 1997 and then served as a Toronto City Councillor from 1999 to 2006 representing Ward 43 in the western half of the Scarborough East riding. He was a candidate for Mayor of Toronto in the 2014 election.
Background
Soknacki graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1976. In 1978, he received his MBA degree from the University of Western Ontario.[2]
He moved to eastern Scarborough in 1963, and founded the Densgrove Park Community Association.
Politics
He ran for Scarborough city council in 1991, but lost to Frank Faubert. When Faubert ran for the mayor's job in 1994, Soknacki tried for the seat again. This time he was successful, defeating Glenn De Baeremaeker and Zephine Wailoo.
When Scarborough was amalgamated with the City of Toronto and four other municipalities in 1997, ran for a seat on the new Toronto city council, but came in third, losing to Faubert and Ron Moeser. In June 1999, Faubert died of cancer and a by-election was called to replace him. Soknacki won by a considerable margin in a field of seven candidates.
During his first term on city council, one of his accomplishments was the creation of a position of poet laureate for the city. He was seen as a centre-right member of city council, but also had links to the left. Unusually for a conservative, he was endorsed by the left-leaning NOW magazine in the 2003 municipal election, and was appointed to the important position of budget chief by mayor David Miller in 2003, despite Soknacki's support for Miller's rival John Tory in the mayoral election.
In his second term on council, Soknacki served as the Chair of the Budget Committee, a position often referred to as the 'budget chief'. During this term he continued to write a column on municipal politics for the Scarborough Mirror.[3]
On August 22, 2006, Soknacki announced that he was retiring from politics. He gave no reasons for leaving city council but said he was returning to run his spice importing business. He gave his retirement date as the end of the council term on November 30, 2006.[4]
2014 mayoral campaign
On September 30, 2013, he announced that he would run for Mayor of Toronto as a fiscal conservative against incumbent mayor Rob Ford.[5] He registered on January 6, 2014.[6]
Soknacki has positioned himself as a centre-right candidate, but unlike current right-wing mayor Rob Ford, Soknacki has promised to replace the Scarborough RT with light rail transit rather than the proposed subway.[7] Soknacki had been treated as a mainstream candidate by the media,[8][9] despite early polls consistently showing he was last among the five major contenders.[10] A Forum Poll conducted in June showed Soknacki at 8% support, ahead of rival Karen Stintz putting him in fourth place among the top five mayoral contenders.[11]
After polling in single digits since the official start of his campaign, he announced on September 9, 2014 that he is withdrawing his candidacy.[1]
References
- 1 2 "David Soknacki drops out of mayor’s race". CTV News. September 9, 2014. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
- ↑ Powell, Betsy (March 15, 2014). "Toronto mayoral election profile: David Soknacki". Toronto Star. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
- ↑ Rider, David (July 30, 2013). "Former Toronto councillor David Soknacki ponders run for mayor". Toronto Star. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
- ↑ Moloney, Paul; Spears, J. (August 8, 2006). "Soknacki retiring from politics". Toronto Star.
- ↑ "Businessman David Soknacki plans to run for Toronto mayor". Toronto Star. September 30, 2013.
- ↑ "David Soknacki files papers to run for mayor, says Toronto 'can do better". Globe and Mail. January 2, 2013.
- ↑ Moore, Oliver (January 24, 2014). "Toronto mayoral candidate David Soknacki presses for LRT ‘built faster’". Globe and Mail. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
- ↑ Dale, Daniel (5 February 2014). "Rob Ford to duck World Pride parade, too". Toronto Star. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
[Ford] was joined by David Soknacki, a businessman and former councillor, and three fringe candidates.
- ↑ Alcoba, Natalie (6 March 2014). "Olivia Chow continues to play coy on mayoral bid at event, despite Rob Ford shadowing her with his campaign". National Post. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
John Tory, Karen Stintz and David Soknacki are among the high-profile candidates who have registered to take on Rob Ford.
- ↑ "High approval ratings for Tory" (PDF). Forum Research. 27 February 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
- ↑ "Toronto mayoral election poll tracker". Retrieved 20 June 2014.