Councillor who allegedly keyed colleague’s car given the boot by voters
Posted October 25, 2022 12:05 pm.
Last Updated October 26, 2022 11:14 am.
A long-time Mississauga city councillor who allegedly harassed and keyed a fellow councillor’s vehicle has been given the boot by voters.
Ron Starr was unseated in Ward 6 last night following a year of scandal that saw Karen Ras step down as councillor in Ward 2.
The city of Mississauga’s integrity commissioner ruled earlier this year that Starr was likely to have engaged in harassment by keying Ras’ car multiple times while it was parked in a private garage at city hall.
Starr had served as a councillor since 1978. Monday night’s vote wasn’t even close, with challenger Joe Horneck picking up 7,085 votes compared to Starr’s 2,970. This was Horneck’s second council bid. He fell about 300 votes short of beating Starr in 2018.
“It feels fantastic. I’m so proud of Ward 6 giving me the chance to serve them,” said Horneck in an election night interview with CityNews.
Horneck dodged a question about whether the scandal involving Starr played a role in the results, but he did acknowledge the rarity of a veteran councillor getting ousted.
“There’s only been four Mississauga councillors defeated in the last 30 years. I feel like we worked really hard. Maybe that had something to do with it.”
Starr has repeatedly denied any claims of harassing Ras, despite councillors voting to suspend his pay for 60 days.
Voters elected Alvin Tedjo in Ward 2, the riding once held by Ras.
Voters in Mississauga also overwhelmingly re-elected Mayor Bonnie Crombie for a third term. Crombie revealed back in February that she was aware of the allegations of harassment.
She later apologized to Ras, saying she regretted not doing more to help the former councillor.
With files from Caryn Ceolin of CityNews
