Sandra Bussin is a politician in

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 ...

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, Canada. She was a municipal councillor for

Toronto City Council Toronto City Council is the governing body of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario. Meeting at Toronto City Hall, it comprises 25 city councillors and the mayor of Toronto. The current term began on November 15, 2022. Structure The cur ...

for Ward 32 in east Toronto from 1998 to 2010. From 2006 to 2010 she was

Speaker of Toronto City Council The Speaker of Toronto City Council chairs meetings of Toronto City Council. With the written consent of the Mayor, the Speaker and a Deputy Speaker are elected by Toronto City Council from among its members. While municipal council meetings in O ...

Background

Bussin was born in Toronto and grew up in the Dawes Road area. She attended Coleman Avenue Public School, then to Central Tech and Eastern Commerce. Bussin graduated with a BA in fine arts from

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

. She worked as a teacher and served as a trustee for the

Toronto District School Board The Toronto District School Board (TDSB), formerly known as English-language Public District School Board No. 12 prior to 1999, is the English-language public-secular school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The minority public-secular franco ...

. She also worked as a senior political advisor at the provincial legislature for NDP Member of Provincial Parliament

Morton Shulman Morton Shulman (25 April 1925 – 18 August 2000) was a Canadian politician, businessman, broadcaster, columnist, coroner, and physician. He was born in Toronto, Ontario in 1925 to a Jewish family. He first came to fame as Ontario's Chief Coron ...

City councillor

Elected in 1997 to the first council of the newly amalgamated City of Toronto, Bussin served four terms as city councillor for Ward 32 Beaches-East York.Sandra Bussin. City of Toronto Councillors. City of Toronto
Archived Bio
Retrieved July 24, 2010. In the council term from 2003 to 2006, Bussin served as a

deputy mayor The deputy mayor (also known as vice mayor, assistant mayor, or mayor ''pro tem'') is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official that is present in many, but not all, local governments. Duties and functions Many elected dep ...

of Toronto, jointly with

Joe Pantalone Joe Pantalone (born February 22, 1952) is a retired Canadian politician. He served as a former Toronto city councillor for Ward 19, one of two wards in Trinity—Spadina and as deputy mayor under David Miller from 2003 to 2010. He ran for mayor in ...

and

Mike Feldman Michael Feldman (born December 29, 1927 is a former politician in Toronto, Ontario. He was a municipal councillor from 1992 to 2010, and served as Deputy Mayor from 2003 to 2006. Background Before entering municipal politics, Feldman was a busine ...

. In 2006, she was appointed as the first

. She was known at council as an

environmentalist An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...

,Karen Palmer. Candidates go green, report finds; Environment group rates councillors' track records. ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

''. November 3, 2000. Pg. B02 who championed the modernisation of the

Ashbridges Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant The Ashbridges Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant is the city of Toronto's main sewage treatment facility, and the second largest such plant in Canada after Montreal's Jean-R. Marcotte facility. One of four plants that service the city of Toronto, it t ...

. Bussin was formerly past chair of the Roundtable for a Clean and Beautiful City. During her time as councillor six incinerators were shut down. She also managed a $2.2 million renovation and extension of the Beaches Library. As well, $12 million was approved to build the new Main Square Recreation Centre and $750,000 for the new addition of the Kimberley Public School. Bussin acquired the Kew Williams (Gardener's Cottage) for community use. She secured $11 million for the landscape and active sport field plan in Ashbridges Bay area. During her time on city council, Bussin was closely aligned with mayor David Miller, who is considered to be on the left wing of the political spectrum. Bussin was defeated by newcomer

Mary-Margaret McMahon Mary-Margaret McMahon (born July 6, 1966) is a Canadian politician. She was elected MPP for the Ontario Liberal Party in Beaches—East York in the June 2022 provincial election. Previously, McMahon served on the Toronto City Council from 2010 to ...

in the municipal election held on October 25, 2010. McMahon defeated Bussin by a margin of over 2.5 to 1.

Controversies

In 2009, Bussin won financial support from Toronto City Council to take legal action against a local publication, ''Ward 32 News'', which she claimed had made untrue and defamatory statements about her. This case was criticized by councillor

Mike Del Grande Michael Anthony Del Grande (born ) is a Canadian politician. Elected in 2003, he is a former Toronto city councillor, representing Scarborough—Agincourt. He announced in February 2014 that he would not run for re-election, and instead ran for ...

, who was quoted by the ''

'' as saying that "taxpayers could be easily intimidated by a councillor who has the financial backing of the city". In September 2009, Bussin placed a live call to

John Tory John Howard Tory (born May 28, 1954) is a Canadian politician who has served as the 65th and current mayor of Toronto since 2014. After a career as a lawyer, political strategist and businessman, Tory ran as a mayoral candidate in the 2003 ...

's Newstalk 1010 ''Strong Opinions'' radio show to defend the legacy of outgoing Mayor David Miller. Bussin provided only her first name and denied that she worked for the City of Toronto. She then concluded her call by saying "And good luck to you, John, because you're a three-time loser. And I don't see you being successful in the future." After being revealed as the caller, Bussin apologized to both Tory and to city council. Councillor

Denzil Minnan-Wong Denzil Minnan-Wong (born ) is a former Canadian politician who was the deputy mayor of Toronto from 2014 to 2022. Minnan-Wong served on Toronto City Council from 1995 to 2022, representing a succession of wards in the Don Mills. Background Bo ...

requested a review of Bussin's actions from Toronto integrity commissioner Janet Leiper. In 2010, prior to her electoral defeat, Bussin faced criticism for her role in three unrelated zoning disputes involving an older house, the post-arson replacement of a commercial building, and a supportive-housing project for the mentally ill. Also that year, Bussin was criticized for allocating her office operating budget to community groups including youth sports teams, and a former restaurant employee told the ''Toronto Sun'' that he had been paid by the restaurant to "volunteer" for Bussin's campaign.

After city council

As of 2012, Bussin works as a real estate agent for Forest Hill Real Estate Inc. She also writes a monthly column for a community newspaper called the ''Town Crier''. Bussin attempted to regain her seat as councillor for Ward 32 in the 2014 municipal election. She lost again to Mary Margaret McMahon, by a larger margin than in the 2010 election.

Election results

References

External links

Bussin's Realtor website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bussin, Sandra Women municipal councillors in Canada Living people Toronto city councillors Women in Ontario politics York University alumni Year of birth missing (living people)