56 people vying to replace former Vaughan councillor Michael Di Biase
Council will choose Di Biase's replacement at special meeting June 28 at 9:30 a.m.
Yorkregion.com
June 23, 2017
By Adam Martin-Robbins
More than 50 people are seeking to fill embattled former councillor Michael Di Biase’s seat.
The city released to yorkregon.com the list of 56 people who submitted applications in hopes council will appoint them to the post at a special meeting June 28.
Former veteran councillor Joyce Frustaglio, who lost her seat in the 2010 municipal election after 22 years in office, is among those vying for the position.
Following her electoral defeat, Frustaglio landed an appointment as a citizenship judge in 2011.
Longtime council critics and former municipal election hopefuls Carrie Liddy, Richard Lorello and Nick Pinto, along with a slew of other past candidates including Elliott Frankl, Josh Martow, Frank Miele and Adriano Volpentesta, are hoping to land the job .
Each applicant gets the chance to make a five-minute pitch to council as to why they should be chosen to fill the post until the end of the term, Nov. 30, 2018. Following that, councillors will go through a voting process to choose the appointee.
The person council appoints to replace Di Biase will sit on city and York Region councils and will pull down more than $132,000, but they won’t get his former title of deputy mayor, which comes with a nearly $8,000 salary bump.
Under the city’s bylaw, the deputy mayor is the regional council candidate who garnered the most votes in the 2014 municipal election. In that person's absence, it is the councillor who received the second highest number of votes, which was Regional Councillor Mario Ferri.
He will serve as deputy mayor until the end of the term.
Di Biase, who served on council for nearly 30 years, including a stint as mayor, stepped down May 19 following the release of an explosive report by integrity commissioner Suzanne Craig that found he sexually harassed a city employee for several months last year.
Di Biase has vehemently denied the allegations.
Less than a month later, Craig released preliminary findings from a second probe suggesting Di Biase tried to improperly influence decision making at city council and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority to help a developer get the necessary approvals to build homes on an environmentally sensitive parcel of land in Maple.
Di Biase called the allegations in the report “totally unfounded and untrue".
The integrity commissioner's final report and findings from that investigation are slated to be presented to council June 27.
Timeline: Michael Di Biase’s departure
May 18 - Di Biase denies allegations, but resigns after integrity commissioner finds he sexually harassed city employee.
June 5 - Council votes to appoint member of public to replace Di Biase to avoid costly byelection.
June 13 - Integrity commissioner releases interim report suggesting Di Biase improperly used influence to help developer.
June 22 - Deadline to submit applications for those looking to fill Di Biase’s local and regional council seat.
June 27 - Integrity commissioner to release final report regarding allegations Di Biase improperly used influence to help developer.
June 28 - Special council meeting to be held at city hall to choose Di Biase’s successor.
