Mike Feldman
Encyclopedia
Michael "Mike" Feldman (born ca. 1928) was city council
lor for Ward 10 (York Centre
) from 1992 to 2010, and former Deputy Mayor
, of Toronto
, Ontario
, Canada
.
Feldman was first elected
in 1992 to the City Council of what was then the City of North York
. Feldman was a chair of the Metro Housing Development Corporation
, a public housing
agency serving the second-tier municipality
of Metropolitan Toronto
, whose constituent municipalities would form the amalgamated city of Toronto in 1998. After this amalgamation, he ran and was elected to the Toronto City Council.
Feldman was a longtime supporter of Mel Lastman
, the generally conservative
mayor first of North York, then of the merged Toronto until 2003. In that year's municipal election
, Feldman supported John Tory
, a moderate conservative, for mayor. When David Miller, a social democrat
, was elected, one of his first appointments was to name Feldman one of his three Deputy Mayors, jointly with Joe Pantalone
and Sandra Bussin
.
Along with the appointment of fellow councillor David Soknacki
as budget chief, Feldman's appointment was seen as a key outreach to conservatives on the new mayor's part. The left-wing
alternative weekly
newspaper Now
magazine wrote that "Miller has long respected Feldman's financial acumen and his commitment to neighbourhood issues. The retired business executive is a straight-shooting conservative who can get along with both sides at council and give North York a high-profile voice at City Hall."
After the 2006 election
, Miller appointed a single deputy mayor, Pantalone. In 2009, Feldman joined the Responsible Government Group
, a conservative caucus seen as an unofficial opposition
to Miller and the centre-left majority of council.
Before entering municipal politics, Feldman was a businessman who founded Teela Data Management, a company specializing in real estate information, which was sold to Moore Corp. in 1982. He retired from business in 1988.
Feldman has served as president of the Beth Emeth Bais Yehuda Synagogue and of the Ontario Region of the United Synagogue of America
, the central organization of synagogue
s in Conservative Judaism
. He has been active with the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews.
He and his wife, Sue, have three children and four grandchildren.
City council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
lor for Ward 10 (York Centre
York Centre
York Centre is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1904 to 1917 and since 1953....
) from 1992 to 2010, and former Deputy Mayor
Deputy Mayor
Deputy mayor is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official in many local governments. Many elected deputy mayors are members of the city council who are given the title and serve as acting mayor in the mayor's absence...
, of Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Feldman was first elected
Election
An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...
in 1992 to the City Council of what was then the City of North York
North York, Ontario
North York is a dissolved municipality within the current city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it comprises the central part of the northern section of Toronto. As of the 2006 Census, it has a population of 635,370. The official 2001 census count was 608,288...
. Feldman was a chair of the Metro Housing Development Corporation
Toronto Community Housing Corporation
Toronto Community Housing Corporation is a public housing agency in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and is the second-largest housing provider in North America. TCHC is the amalgamation of three housing organizations in Toronto following the downloading of housing to municipalities by the provincial...
, a public housing
Public housing
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the...
agency serving the second-tier municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
of Metropolitan Toronto
Metropolitan Toronto
The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was a senior level of municipal government in the Toronto, Ontario, Canada area from 1954 to 1998. It was created out of York County and was a precursor to the later concept of a regional municipality, being formed of smaller municipalities but having more...
, whose constituent municipalities would form the amalgamated city of Toronto in 1998. After this amalgamation, he ran and was elected to the Toronto City Council.
Feldman was a longtime supporter of Mel Lastman
Mel Lastman
Melvin Douglas "Mel" Lastman , nicknamed "Mayor Mel", is a former businessman and politician. He is the founder of the Bad Boy Furniture chain. He served as the mayor of the former city of North York, Ontario, Canada from 1972 until 1997. At the end of 1997, North York, along with five other...
, the generally conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
mayor first of North York, then of the merged Toronto until 2003. In that year's municipal election
Toronto municipal election, 2003
The Toronto municipal election of 2003 was held on November 10, 2003, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to elect the Mayor of Toronto, 44 city councillors, and school board trustees.David Miller was elected mayor ....
, Feldman supported John Tory
John Tory
John Howard Tory is a Canadian businessman, political activist, former leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, former Member of Provincial Parliament and broadcaster...
, a moderate conservative, for mayor. When David Miller, a social democrat
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
, was elected, one of his first appointments was to name Feldman one of his three Deputy Mayors, jointly with Joe Pantalone
Joe Pantalone
Joe Pantalone is a former Canadian politician, city councillor for Ward 19, one of two wards in Trinity—Spadina. He served as deputy mayor under David Miller from 2003 to 2010...
and Sandra Bussin
Sandra Bussin
Sandra Bussin was a politician in Toronto, Canada. She was a municipal councillor for Toronto City Council representing Ward 32, an area called the Beaches. From 2006 to 2010 she was Speaker of Toronto City Council.-Background:...
.
Along with the appointment of fellow councillor David Soknacki
David Soknacki
David Soknacki is a former city councillor in Toronto, Canada. He represented one of the two Scarborough East wards.He moved to eastern Scarborough in 1963, and founded the Densgrove Park Community Association. He first ran for Scarborough city council in 1991, but lost to Frank Faubert...
as budget chief, Feldman's appointment was seen as a key outreach to conservatives on the new mayor's part. The left-wing
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
alternative weekly
Alternative weekly
An alternative newspaper is a type of newspaper, that eschews comprehensive coverage of general news in favor of stylized reporting, opinionated reviews and columns, investigations into edgy topics and magazine-style feature stories highlighting local people and culture. Their news coverage is more...
newspaper Now
NOW (magazine)
Now is a free weekly newspaper in Toronto, Canada. It was first printed on September 10, 1981 by Michael Hollett and Alice Klein. Now is an alternative weekly mixing arts and entertainment news with political coverage....
magazine wrote that "Miller has long respected Feldman's financial acumen and his commitment to neighbourhood issues. The retired business executive is a straight-shooting conservative who can get along with both sides at council and give North York a high-profile voice at City Hall."
After the 2006 election
Toronto municipal election, 2006
The 2006 Toronto municipal election took place on 13 November 2006 to elect a mayor and 44 city councillors in Toronto, Ontario. In addition, school trustees were elected to the Toronto District School Board, Toronto Catholic District School Board, Conseil scolaire de district du Centre-Sud-Ouest...
, Miller appointed a single deputy mayor, Pantalone. In 2009, Feldman joined the Responsible Government Group
Responsible Government Group
The Responsible Government Group was a caucus of centre-right Toronto City Councillors who formed an unofficial opposition to then Toronto Mayor David Miller and his mostly left-wing supporters on council in the last two years of Miller's final term....
, a conservative caucus seen as an unofficial opposition
Opposition (politics)
In politics, the opposition comprises one or more political parties or other organized groups that are opposed to the government , party or group in political control of a city, region, state or country...
to Miller and the centre-left majority of council.
Before entering municipal politics, Feldman was a businessman who founded Teela Data Management, a company specializing in real estate information, which was sold to Moore Corp. in 1982. He retired from business in 1988.
Feldman has served as president of the Beth Emeth Bais Yehuda Synagogue and of the Ontario Region of the United Synagogue of America
United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism is the primary organization of synagogues practicing Conservative Judaism in North America...
, the central organization of synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
s in Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...
. He has been active with the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews.
He and his wife, Sue, have three children and four grandchildren.
Election results
| 2006 Toronto election Toronto municipal election, 2006 The 2006 Toronto municipal election took place on 13 November 2006 to elect a mayor and 44 city councillors in Toronto, Ontario. In addition, school trustees were elected to the Toronto District School Board, Toronto Catholic District School Board, Conseil scolaire de district du Centre-Sud-Ouest... , Ward 10 |
||
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Mike Feldman>Michael Feldman | 6,527 | 52.0 |
| Igor Toutchinski | 1,940 | 15.4 |
| Magda Berkovits | 1,586 | 12.6 |
| Max Royz | 1,106 | 8.8 |
| Robert Freedland | 561 | 4.5 |
| Craig Smith | 440 | 3.5 |
| Alex Dumalag | 404 | 3.2 |