Karl Jaffary is a former municipal politician in Toronto, Ontario.

Karl was born in New Orleans and moved to Toronto with his family in 1940. He went to school in Toronto and attended North Toronto Collegiate Institute

North Toronto Collegiate Institute

North Toronto Collegiate Institute is a non-semestered public high school of over 1,000 students located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Toronto District School Board....

 and University of Toronto Schools

University of Toronto Schools

The University of Toronto Schools is an independent secondary day school affiliated with the University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario, Canada...

. He went to the University of Toronto

University of Toronto

The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...

 and graduated from the Faculty of Law

University of Toronto Faculty of Law

Established in 1887, the University of Toronto Faculty of Law is one of the oldest professional faculties at the University of Toronto. The Faculty of Law is particularly renowned in the areas of corporate law, international law, law and economics, and legal theory.The law school has been...

. He practised with Blake, Cassels & Graydon

Blake, Cassels & Graydon

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP – Blakes for short – is a Canadian-based international business law firm. It is one of the "seven sisters" in Toronto, Canada....

 before starting his own firm in 1968. Jaffary was active with the federal New Democratic Party

New Democratic Party

The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...

 and served as Vice-President from 1969 to 1973.

Jaffary became active in local politics in 1968 when he became President of the Ward 2 Residents' Association in the Cabbagetown, Toronto

Cabbagetown, Toronto

Cabbagetown is a neighbourhood located on the east side of downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It comprises "the largest continuous area of preserved Victorian housing in all of North America", according to the Cabbagetown Preservation Association....

 area. The association fought the city's plans to tear down housing for urban renewal. In the 1960s Cabbagetown was a run down area of town. Since then many of the houses have been renovated and the neighbourhood is now gentrified and upscale.

Jaffary ran for city council and became alderman

Alderman

An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...

 for Ward 7 in 1969. As senior alderman he sat on both City and Metro Council. He was re-elected in 1972 but decided not to run in the 1974 election. During his tenure he was active in the reform wing of city council along with John Sewell

John Sewell

John Sewell, CM is a Canadian political activist and writer on municipal affairs; he was the mayor of Toronto, Ontario from 1978 to 1980.-Background:...

. He was interested in civic organization and administration and became involved in city housing policy.

Karl Jaffary married Ann Hoffman in 1959, and has two children.