2003 Municipal Election: Del Grande vs. Shaw (Congrats, Canuck)

[Canuck 36]

From Today's Star...

...
One also hopes that those councillors departing involuntarily will be co-operative with those who've so recently ended their political sinecures.

It will be particularly galling for defeated councillor Sherene Shaw to relinquish a choice and spaciuos corner office to Mike Del Grande after a campaign that featured some nasty mudslinging, including Del Grande's characterization of Shaw as "foreign representation."

(Del Grande insists he was referring to Shaw's living outside the ward, not her overseas birth.)
...


:rolleyes

Thank you Star for that wonderful report (and fair and balanced rebuttal against the accusation of racism. Now call this musings rather than an unfair portrait by a massive media company, but would the Star be carrying this on as much if it wasn't a middle age white male who defeated a visible minority immigrant woman? Just musing as I said...). One can't help but wonder what, if any other supposed "mudslinging" was involved in the election. And as has been pointed out many times before, (and would make sense to anyone the least bit familiar with the area), what good would a flyer attacking a non-white candidate be in an area where white people make up a small minority? Really!? Does logic never come into play here?

*Sigh* Though there's no real reason for me to repeat it other than it makes me feel somewhat better about the situation, here's my famous quote once again: Guilty until proven no one cares anymore.

 

[cdl42]

Don't let the facts get in the way of a good news story, eh? :no:

Please keep us all informed on how your dad's doing and how this story develops. It is always good to hear the other side.


(Oooohhh... "choice and spacious corner office". Lucky you!)

 

[Canuck 36]

Re office: Ya, Shaw had a larger than normal one in the corner. Real nice from what I hear.

Also the city has been sending lots of things over the past few days. Did you know the city still has a Skybox @ Skydome? I thought they got rid of it, but then again what do I know?

 

[SD2]

Also the city has been sending lots of things over the past few days. Did you know the city still has a Skybox @ Skydome? I thought they got rid of it, but then again what do I know?

So...does that mean urbantoronto has a Skybox@SkyDome? :b

 

[FutureMayor]

Yeah the City has a box at the Skydome. Each councillor gets 2 or 3 games in the box. I've used the days under Councillor Oliva Chow, pretty nice, however it doesn't come with food on the city bil, you have to pay that yourself.

I also believe the city has use of the an Air Canada Centre box, but I believe the city hands those over to local chairities for fundraising use. City also has the same deal over at the new Coliseum at Exhibition Place.

Louroz

 

[Canuck 36]

According to what I was reading in the city material, one can charge small items (pop, popcorn, hotdogs) to the city.

And you get your own hostess. :tup:

 

[ganjavih]

Mike Del Grande (Canuck Sr) in the Star

He's God-fearing and a fighter

Councillor continues to buck the odds

Del Grande battled tumour, the system


CATHERINE PORTER
STAFF REPORTER

The day Mike Del Grande was diagnosed with a brain tumour, he made a pact with God.

He was sitting in his doctor's office waiting for results of a CAT scan on his left ear that had been giving him problems for two years. He couldn't hear well. It always felt full.

The doctor told him to sit down and asked if his family was nearby.

The tumour was the size of a quarter, sitting neatly on the nerve connecting his brain to his ear.

"That was the hardest moment in my life. I had to assemble my brother and sister and tell them. I didn't know if I was going to see them next week," says Del Grande in a choked voice.

"I turned to God. I said, `Help me through this and let me see my daughter married and I will dedicate myself to my fellow neighbours.' That was a pledge."

Last week's municipal election was just one more way Del Grande is fulfilling that pledge.

Del Grande is the new councillor for Ward 39, Scarborough-Agincourt. He narrowly beat the 15-year incumbent, Sherene Shaw, by 386 votes.

"A theme in my life is having lots of things against me and prevailing. When I ran in this contest they told me I didn't have a chance of beating an incumbent of 15 years. Well, it can be done, if you set your mind to it and work hard," he says, sitting on a couch inside his Scarborough home near McNicoll Ave. and Kennedy Rd. The first fight he launched was for his own treatment. Doctors told him they would have to operate immediately. The tumour was benign, but could disrupt other brain functions.

He took a month off work at Shoppers Drug Mart Canada, where he was a controller, to research. He discovered the side effects of surgery for acoustic neuroma — the medical name for his condition — were often nasty: deafness; loss of balance; facial paralysis.

Del Grande found a laser technique with few side effects, but it was only available in the United States.

Three weeks after being diagnosed, Del Grande climbed into his car with his wife Beverly and drove to Rhode Island for the two-hour, $25,550 procedure.

The next day, they drove back through a blizzard and pulled into the neighbourhood church Del Grande had helped to build. They made it just in time for mass.

He then took on the medical system for the $25,550 fee. His case appeared before the Ontario Health Services Appeal and Review Board. After seven days of testimony, the board ruled in his favour in 1999. The government, from now on, would pay for acoustic neuroma patients to get laser surgery.

Del Grande, 50, grew up on the Danforth, the eldest son of two Italian immigrants. His mother, a hairdresser, was the better educated of his two parents. She had made it to Grade 3. His father was a labourer.

He graduated with a bachelor of commerce degree and studied to become a chartered accountant.

With his wife, a pharmacist, Del Grande has three children. When his two sons were still in elementary school, he didn't think they were learning at the same level he had at their age. So, he joined a group of parents pushing for standardized testing. They won, and Del Grande launched his career in the Toronto Catholic School Board. He ran as a trustee in 1991 and lost by 40 votes. Three years later, he won.

By the time of his diagnosis, Del Grande had been on the board for two years. He later became chair for a one-year term. His legacy, he said, has always been fiscal responsibility.

Last year, Del Grande graduated with a bachelor's degree in education. He also has a master's in theological studies and he teaches confirmation classes at his church.

Seven years since his diagnosis, Del Grande is feeling healthy. He lost 20 pounds during his campaign, walking from door to door.

Doctors regularly check his tumour, which is still there, but smaller. He wears a hearing aid in his left ear.

On council, he says, he plans to help return the city to the "Toronto the Clean" of his childhood — less crime, more accountability, cleaner streets.