Gordon Chong

Chong in March 2012

Gordon Joseph Chong is a Toronto politician and public servant.

He has served as a city of Toronto councillor and was vice-chairman of the Toronto Transit Commission in the 1990s. He served on the board of GO Transit from 2000 to 2006 including periods as vice-chairman of GO Transit and chairman. He has also served as final chair of the Greater Toronto Services Board (2001).

Biography

A dentist by profession (formerly with Yorkville Dental Associates), Chong represented a downtown Toronto Ward 6 (Financial District, Toronto - University of Toronto) on city council from 1980 defeating then incumbent Dan Heap until he was defeated by newcomer Jack Layton in the next elections in 1982. Chong returned to dentistry and returned to Metro Toronto Council in the suburban North York as Metro Councillor (and City Councillor from 1997 onwards) for Ward 11 Don Parkway from 1994 until 2000 when he retired from electoral politics.

In the 1987 provincial election, Chong was a Progressive Conservative candidate in York Mills, losing by 3000 votes to Liberal Brad Nixon.

In 2010 he served as a part of new mayor Rob Ford's transition team.^[1]

In 2011, he was appointed to head up the Toronto Transit Commission’s consulting subsidiary at a $100,000 yearly salary, raising controversy about Ford's recruitment and hiring practices.^[2]

Chong now appears in the Toronto Sun as a columnist in the opinion section of the paper.

References