Tom Clifford is a former municipal politician in the City of

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. He served twenty-seven years as an elected official as School Trustee for the Toronto Board of Education and as a City of Toronto Councillor representing the East Toronto and Riverdale area.Kris Scheuer. Filling Jack Layton’s shoes in Ward 30. Town Crier: Beach - Riverdale edition. March 17, 2003

/ref> In a 1978 federal by-election in the riding of Broadview (electoral district), Broadview, Clifford ran as the candidate for the

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC; french: Parti progressiste-conservateur du Canada) was a centre-right federal political party in Canada that existed from 1942 to 2003. From Canadian Confederation in 1867 until 1942, the ...

but lost by 420 votes to NDP candidate Bob Rae. He retired from municipal politics in 1991 but attempted to make a comeback in 2003. In March 2003, Toronto Councillor

Jack Layton John Gilbert Layton (July 18, 1950 – August 22, 2011) was a Canadian academic and politician who served as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) from 2003 to 2011 and leader of the Official Opposition in 2011. He previously sat on To ...

resigned as councillor when he won the leadership of Canada's New Democratic Party. Toronto City Council decided to appoint a replacement until the end the council term that expired that November. Councillor

Michael Tziretas Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

and his assistant Justin Van Dette organized Clifford's campaign by lobbying centre and right-wing councillors for their vote at the special council meeting. It ended up being a classic left vs. right battle as Layton had endorsed former area school trustee Laura Jones. It was also believed that Mayor

Mel Lastman Melvin Douglas Lastman (March 9, 1933 – December 11, 2021) was a Canadian businessman and politician who served as the third mayor of North York from 1973 to 1997 and 62nd mayor of Toronto from 1998 to 2003. He was the first person to serve ...

was supporting Clifford. The special council meeting went four ballots and the final ballot was an 18 to 18 tie between Clifford and Jones. Deputy Mayor Case Ootes who was in the chair requested the City Clerk Ulli Watkiss to pull a name out of the hat to break the tie. Jones' name was pulled out and was appointed as the interim councillor to replace Layton.Kris Scheuer. Paula Fletcher runs for council. Town Crier: Beach - Riverdale edition. April 15, 2003

/ref> As councillor, Clifford was an active supporter of many community and civic causes. He was also involved with The

Riverdale Hospital Hennick Bridgepoint Hospital, formerly Bridgepoint Active Healthcare, is a complex care and rehabilitation hospital in Toronto. It is a member of the Sinai Health and affiliated with the University of Toronto In October 2021 Sinai Health announ ...

(now known as Bridgepoint Health) and the

Toronto East General Hospital Michael Garron Hospital (MGH), formerly Toronto East General Hospital (TEGH), is a community teaching hospital located at 825 Coxwell Avenue in East York, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Overview In the 2019-2020 fiscal year, the Michael Garron Hospi ...

References

Living people Progressive Conservative Party of Canada candidates for the Canadian House of Commons Toronto city councillors Year of birth missing (living people) {{Ontario-politician-stub