Mike Del Grande
Michael Anthony Del Grande (born c. 1953) 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 election in 2014 to the Toronto Catholic District School Board.[1]
Mike Del Grande | |
|---|---|
| Toronto City Councillor for Ward 39 Scarborough—Agincourt | |
| In office December 1, 2003 – December 1, 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Sherene Shaw |
| Succeeded by | Jim Karygiannis |
| Chair of the Budget Committee | |
| In office December 1, 2010 – January 16, 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Shelley Carroll |
| Succeeded by | Frank Di Giorgio |
| Chair of the Scarborough Community Council | |
| In office December 1, 2008 – December 1, 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Norm Kelly |
| Succeeded by | Paul Ainslie |
| Chair of the Toronto Catholic District School Board | |
| In office December 1, 2014 – November 30, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Jo-Ann Davis |
| Succeeded by | Angela Kennedy |
| Toronto Catholic School Trustee for Ward 7 | |
| Assumed office December 1, 2014 | |
| Preceded by | John Del Grande |
| In office January 1, 1998 – December 1, 2003 | |
| Preceded by | Ward Created |
| Succeeded by | John Del Grande |
| Metropolitan Toronto Separate School Trustee for Ward 18 | |
| In office December 1, 1994 – January 1, 1998 | |
| Preceded by | Lynda Sacco |
| Succeeded by | City Amalgamated |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Michael Anthony Del Grande November 5, 1953 Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Spouse(s) | Beverly Del Grande |
| Children | 3 |
| Residence | Toronto, Ontario |
| Occupation | Chartered Accountant |
Background
Mike Del Grande was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario in the Danforth neighbourhood.[2] He is the eldest child of Italian immigrants. He is married and has three children most notably John Del Grande. His early education was completed at Holy Cross and St. Aloysius Catholic Schools and has attended Neil McNeil High School and East York Collegiate Institute.
Del Grande became a member of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants when he graduated from the University of Toronto in 1979. Since that time, he also received a Bachelor of Commerce and Finance degree in 1976 and a Bachelor of Education degree in 2002, both from the University of Toronto, as well as a Master's degree in Theological Studies from St. Augustine in 2000.
City councillor
In 2003, Del Grande ran for city council and defeated longtime incumbent Sherene Shaw. He was an active participant in the "Keep the Chief" campaign in 2004, when Julian Fantino, then Toronto's Chief of Police, did not have his contract renewed by the Toronto Police Services Board.
In December 2004, during a two-hour tour of his ward with Scarborough Mirror reporter David Nickle, Del Grande used the opportunity to highlight the nature of his ward; namely the difficulties of establishing a deep sense of community and trust with local services when longtime residents of the ward are moving out and are replaced by a transient and newly landed immigrant population. Del Grande said, "What's happening here is a lot of the white people are moving out."[3]
During his 2006 re-election campaign, Del Grande was charged criminally for assault following an incident in which he allegedly held captive a female volunteer working for rival candidate John Wong; Del Grande accused the woman of removing his campaign flyers from an apartment building and prevented her from leaving until police arrived to arrest her. The charge against Del Grande was withdrawn in February, 2007.[4]
In January 2012, Del Grande opposed breakfast programs for poor children, stating that parents who have children should take responsibility for them.[5] Pundit Michael Shapcott stated that this was a perfect example of "blaming the victim" for their adverse situation.[6]
School trustee
1994 - 1998, Ward 18
Del Grande was first elected as a school trustee 1994. He was re-elected in 1997 and 2000. Throughout his nine years as a school trustee, he served as the Chair of school board for one year, from 2000 to 2001.
In 1996, Del Grande was charged under Ontario labour law by the Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association for "bargaining in bad faith" when it was alleged that he used the local media to manipulate public opinion at a time when the school board was in contract negotiations with its teachers. The charge was subsequently dropped by the association after he agreed to cease and desist.
2014 - Present, Ward 7
Del Grande was later re-elected as a school trustee after his son John, who was trustee for almost eleven years opted not to seek re-election. In 2014, he became the Chairman of the school board once more, until 2015.
On November 7, 2019, during discussions to update the TCDSB Code of Conduct to match the Ontario Human Rights Code and be more inclusive and protective of LGBTQ2S+ students by adding specific terms gender identity, gender expression, family status and marital status, Del Grande stood up to move an amendment asking for several other terms to added including bestiality, pedophilia and terms related to rape, cannibalism and vampirism to be added to the list. Facing severe backlash, including a public petition made with over 2,100 signatures as of December 2019, his proposed amendment was eventually ruled out of order and was withdrawn. Del Grande claimed he was trying to illustrate just how slippery a slope the original concept was. On an interview he said “My point was that we do not accept or view that which is not compatible with our faith ... Eight trustees deemed otherwise and I wanted to point out to them that if they want to use those same arguments … then what about all these other people that you say Jesus loves, etc? Why stop there, then? Why not continue your inclusion, if you will, on all these other terms?”. He has received calls from other trustees and members of the Toronto LGBTQ2S+ advocates to publicly apologize. Following formal public complaints, an investigation could be launched into Del Grande’s actions and potential “sanctions” could be put into place if it’s found that he breached the Board’s code of conduct.[7]
Election results
School Board
| 2014 Toronto election Catholic District School Board Trustee – Ward 7 | ||
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Mike Del Grande | 8,108 | 64.085% |
| Leo Ng | 1,794 | 14.180% |
| Emmanuel Yanga | 1,409 | 11.137% |
| Aldo Calla | 1,341 | 10.599% |
| Total | 12,652 | 100% |
Unofficial results as of October 27, 2014 11:51 PM [8]
City Council
| 2010 Toronto election, Ward 39 | ||
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Mike Del Grande | 9,931 | 68.18% |
| Kevin Xu | 3,640 | 24.99% |
| Caldwell Williams | 994 | 6.82% |
| Total | 14,565 | 100% |
2010 City Clerk's Official Declaration of Results [9]
| 2006 Toronto election, Ward 39 | ||
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Mike Del Grande | 7,964 | 68.2 |
| John Wong | 1,888 | 16.2 |
| Wayne Cook | 660 | 5.6 |
| Lushan Lu | 614 | 5.3 |
| Sunshine Smith | 365 | 3.1 |
| Samuel Kung | 194 | 1.7 |
| Total | 11,685 | 100% |
2006 City Clerk's Official Declaration of Results [10]
| 2003 Toronto election, Ward 39 | ||
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Mike Del Grande | 6,299 | 51.6 |
| Sherene Shaw (Incumbent) | 5,898 | 48.4 |
| Total | 12,197 | 100% |
2003 City Clerk's Official Declaration of Results [11]
References
- "Councillor Mike Del Grande to run for Catholic School Board seat". The Globe and Mail, August 18, 2014.
- Porter, Catherine (November 22, 2003). "He's God-fearing and a fighter; Councillor continues to buck the odds Del Grande battled tumour, the system". Toronto Star. p. H3.
- Nickle, David (December 29, 2004). "Councillor's comments cause concern; Ward 39's Mike Del Grande worries about 'white people' leaving community". The Scarborough Mirror. p. SCP00.
- "Ward 39 campaign incident heads to court hearing". The Scarborough Mirror. November 3, 2006. p. 1.
- Rider, David (January 12, 2012). "Toronto budget: Mike Del Grande's candid chat about social programs". Toronto Star.
- "Del Grande comments "insulting" to the poor, says housing advocate". Toronto Star. January 13, 2012. p. GT2.
- "TCDSB vice-chair facing backlash over comments made during LGBTQ2-related motion". Global News. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
- "Election Results | City of Toronto | 2014 General Election Results for City Ward 37 - Scarborough Centre". October 27, 2014. Archived from the original on October 29, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
- "Declaration of Results of Voting – Monday, October 25, 2010" (PDF). October 28, 2010. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 29, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
- "Declaration of Results of Voting – Monday, November 13, 2006" (PDF). November 16, 2006. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 29, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
- "Declaration of Results of Voting – Monday, November 10, 2003" (PDF). November 13, 2003. p. 6. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 29, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.