Michael Di Biase (born 1947) is a Canadian politician who formerly part of the regional council of the city of

Vaughan Vaughan () (2021 population 323,103) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Regional Municipality of York, just north of Toronto. Vaughan was the fastest-growing municipality in Canada between 1996 and 2006 with its population increas ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

as the deputy mayor and

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

. He was first elected to the city's council in 1986. Following the death of Mayor

Lorna Jackson Lorna Jackson (October 25, 1935 – April 5, 2002) was a local politician in Vaughan for 28 years. During her career, she served as both a local and a regional councillor, as well as serving as the Mayor of Vaughan for 20 years. She died w ...

in 2002, Di Biase was appointed acting mayor by virtue of his position as senior regional councillor (a position he had held since 1988). In the 2003 municipal election, Di Biase won his first official term as mayor. He became the first chairman of the Vaughan Health Care Foundation, an independent non-profit organization established by the city of Vaughan on 16 January 2004 to "bring a hospital and ancillary services" to the city. ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'' newspaper reports that Di Biase received an annual salary of $164,074, making him one of the highest-paid municipal politicians in the country. The next highest paid mayor was

Hazel McCallion Hazel McCallion, (; born February 14, 1921) is a Canadian businesswoman and retired politician who served as the fifth mayor of Mississauga, Ontario, from 1978 until 2014. She is the first and current chancellor of Sheridan College. McCallion ...

Mississauga Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...

at $158,704. The mayor of the largest city in Canada, David Miller of Toronto, received $143,635 per year. The average salary of Vaughan councillors was $102,657 which is second to that of Mississauga at $113,296, while

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

councillors earn $85,497. In the 2006 municipal election, Di Biase faced Lorna Jackson's daughter Linda Jackson and lost by 90 votes in one of the closest races of the night. After a court-ordered recount completed on April 26, 2007, which had been initiated by Di Biase, it was confirmed that Jackson had indeed won the election. In 2006, Di Biase was made a Knight Officer of the

Order of Merit The Order of Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite) is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by K ...

by the Government of Italy. In September 2009, after an audit of Di Biase's campaign in Vaughan's 2006 municipal election, he had faced 27 charges in contravention of the ''Municipal Elections Act'', including alleged election finance irregularities. He was elected Local and Regional Councillor for the City of Vaughan in October 2010. His term began December 1, 2010. In July 2011, an auditing committee voted to examine expenses relating to Di Biase's 2010 campaign. It is alleged that due to improper reporting and accounting procedures on DiBiase's part, he improperly kept $32,000 in campaign funds that should have been returned to the city. In April 2015, Di Biase was docked three month's pay for breaching the city's code of conduct by aiding a local construction firm acquire municipal contracts. On May 18, 2017 Di Biase resigned as regional councillor and deputy mayor stemming from sexual assault and sexual harassment allegations made by a city staffer. In October 2019, Di Biase was charged with one charge each of breach of trust and municipal corruption under the

criminal code A criminal code (or penal code) is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that migh ...

. In February 2020, the two criminal code charges were dropped, but Di Biase pleaded guilty and was convicted of a ''

Municipal Act, 2001 The ''Municipal Act, 2001'' (the Act) is the main statute governing the creation, administration and government of municipalities in the Canadian province of Ontario, other than the City of Toronto. After being passed in 2001, it came into force ...

'' offence; he was charged $5,000 and donated $20,000 to two Vaughan charities as part of the agreement. At that time, Di Biase had recently suffered a heart attack, has

Type 2 diabetes Type 2 diabetes, formerly known as adult-onset diabetes, is a form of diabetes mellitus that is characterized by high blood sugar, insulin resistance, and relative lack of insulin. Common symptoms include increased thirst, frequent urinatio ...

, as well as kidney issues.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Di Biase, Michael Mayors of Vaughan Living people 1947 births Canadian people of Italian descent Place of birth missing (living people)