Candidate profile: George Smitherman
Posted August 12, 2010 1:05 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
BIOGRAPHY
George Smitherman is the former deputy premier of Ontario. He represented the riding of Toronto-Centre as an MPP from 1999 to 2010.
Smitherman also served as minister of Energy and Infrastructure and minister of Health and Long-Term Care.
On Nov. 8, 2009, Smitherman announced his resignation as an MPP to run in Toronto’s mayoralty race. He remained in office until Jan. 4, 2010.
Smitherman was the first Liberal in history to be voted the best MPP by NOW magazine.
He was also chief of staff to Ontario cabinet minister Hugh O’Neil, as well as senior advisor to ministers Herb Gray and David Collenett, and chief of staff to Barbara Hall, Toronto’s former mayor.
Smitherman was born in 1964 in Etobicoke, where he also grew up. He married Christopher Peloso in August 2007. The couple recently adopted a boy.
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LINKS
- Official site — georgesmitherman.ca
- Facebook — facebook.com/GeorgeSmitherman
- Twitter — @g_smitherman
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CANDIDATE’S STANCE ON KEY ISSUES
Transit
- Subway extension, incorporated with light rail and commuter rail
Debt reduction
- Set multi-year budgets
- Hiring freeze for all but essential services personnel
- Against sale of city assets
- Reduce councillors’ and mayor’s budgets by $2-million
City services
- ‘Service First’ program: wants every city service to undergo a mandatory review for delivery and cost-efficiency
- Combine Toronto Fire and EMS to improve wait times
- Increase officers with the Toronto Police Service
- Clean up Toronto’s beaches in an effort to create a beachfront city, seasonal express TTC buses to the beaches
Environment
- Creating a new solid waste and recycling program
- Revitalizing Toronto’s parks to make some tourist attractions
