Tooker Gomberg
Encyclopedia
Tooker Gomberg was a Canadian
politician and environmental activist.
A native of Montreal, Quebec and a liberal-arts graduate of Hampshire College
(1980), Gomberg founded one of Canada's first curbside recycling
programs in Montreal
, and later moved to Edmonton, Alberta, where he created educational materials for Alberta's energy ministry and headed the EcoCity Society, an environmental agency.
and waste diversion program.
He later ran for the position of Mayor
, but was not elected.
In 1997 he was the New Democratic Party
candidate for the Montreal
riding of Outremont
.
, Ontario
, where he ran for mayor in the 2000 municipal election
. He received over 51,000 votes, but finished a distant second behind Mel Lastman
who garnered over 80 per cent of the vote.
The campaign was nonetheless extremely influential. Gomberg had been endorsed by urban guru Jane Jacobs
, a longtime and extremely influential resident of Toronto's Annex neighborhood. Some of his planks including advocacy of provincial powers for Toronto, tolls for downtown traffic, re-emerged in the successful 2003 campaign of David Miller
.
In the last days of the 2000 campaign, Lastman appeared with Canadian PM Jean Chrétien
to promise nearly one billion dollars in social housing funding. After winning, one of Lastman's first acts was to appoint Jane Jacobs to the City's Charter Committee which was seeking additional powers for the City (taking them from the province of Ontario
). Both moves were generally attributed to the need to respond to Gomberg's insurgent campaign.
In June 2000, he was arrested at the World Petroleum Congress protests in Calgary
. A protest march had taken him by the Suncor building, which was a violation of terms from an arrest at a Suncor protest in Northern Alberta. He was held for a couple of hours, then released. His was one of only two arrests at the WPC protests - the other being a street youth with outstanding warrants.
He locked himself in a safe in Alberta
premier
Ralph Klein's constituency office as a protest against the Province's stance on Kyoto.
He was also arrested in the Netherlands
after breaking into the Volkel NATO Air Force base with 9 other anti-nuclear activists working to expose the presence of nuclear weapons in that country.
, in Halifax, Nova Scotia
, in the early hours of the morning. He had left his partner a suicide note
stating that he had "lost his chutzpah
" and his bicycle and helmet were found on the bridge. His body was never found. Services were held celebrating Tooker's life across Canada.
His wife Angela Bischoff suspects that his use of the antidepressant Remeron may have led to his decision to commit suicide. Gomberg had become increasingly agitated in his final weeks and his Remeron dosage had been increased to the maximum amount two days before his death. Three weeks later, U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued stronger warnings about a link between antidepressants and the risk of suicide, particularly in the weeks after a patient starts treatment or their dosage is increased. Health Canada later followed suit, and Remeron is now listed in Health Canada's adverse drug reaction database.
Toronto activists are advocating the establishment of a major East West Bike lane, to be called the "Tooker", on Bloor Street
, to honour the life of Tooker Gomberg.
Tooker Gomberg's brother Ben is, as of summer 2009, the head of the Chicago
Department of Transportation's Bike (bicycle) Program.
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...
politician and environmental activist.
A native of Montreal, Quebec and a liberal-arts graduate of Hampshire College
Hampshire College
Hampshire College is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1965 as an experiment in alternative education, in association with four other colleges in the Pioneer Valley: Amherst College, Smith College, Mount Holyoke College, and the University of Massachusetts...
(1980), Gomberg founded one of Canada's first curbside recycling
Recycling
Recycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...
programs in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, and later moved to Edmonton, Alberta, where he created educational materials for Alberta's energy ministry and headed the EcoCity Society, an environmental agency.
Political career
In 1992, he was elected to Edmonton's city council. In that position he aggressively pushed the City into adopting an aggressive recyclingRecycling
Recycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...
and waste diversion program.
He later ran for the position of Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
, but was not elected.
In 1997 he was the 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...
candidate for the Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
riding of Outremont
Outremont (electoral district)
Outremont is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1935 to 1949, and since 1968...
.
Toronto mayoralty run
Gomberg then moved to TorontoToronto
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....
, where he ran for mayor in the 2000 municipal election
Toronto municipal election, 2000
The Toronto municipal election of 2000, dubbed "Toronto Vote 2000" was the municipal and school board election held in the City of Toronto, Ontario, Canada on November 13, 2000.Elections were held to elect:* the Mayor of Toronto,* councillors for each of Toronto's 44 wards,* trustees...
. He received over 51,000 votes, but finished a distant second behind 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...
who garnered over 80 per cent of the vote.
The campaign was nonetheless extremely influential. Gomberg had been endorsed by urban guru Jane Jacobs
Jane Jacobs
Jane Jacobs, was an American-Canadian writer and activist with primary interest in communities and urban planning and decay. She is best known for The Death and Life of Great American Cities , a powerful critique of the urban renewal policies of the 1950s in the United States...
, a longtime and extremely influential resident of Toronto's Annex neighborhood. Some of his planks including advocacy of provincial powers for Toronto, tolls for downtown traffic, re-emerged in the successful 2003 campaign of David Miller
David Miller (Canadian politician)
David Raymond Miller is a Canadian politician. He was the 63rd Mayor of Toronto and the second since the 1998 amalgamation. He was elected to the position in 2003 for a three-year term and re-elected in 2006 for a four-year term...
.
In the last days of the 2000 campaign, Lastman appeared with Canadian PM Jean Chrétien
Jean Chrétien
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien , known commonly as Jean Chrétien is a former Canadian politician who was the 20th Prime Minister of Canada. He served in the position for over ten years, from November 4, 1993 to December 12, 2003....
to promise nearly one billion dollars in social housing funding. After winning, one of Lastman's first acts was to appoint Jane Jacobs to the City's Charter Committee which was seeking additional powers for the City (taking them from the province of 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....
). Both moves were generally attributed to the need to respond to Gomberg's insurgent campaign.
Media
While in Toronto Gomberg also hosted Eco-Freako a webcast TV show. It ran for ten episodes.Activism and arrests
Gomberg was often controversial as an environmental activist, having been arrested numerous times.In June 2000, he was arrested at the World Petroleum Congress protests in Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
. A protest march had taken him by the Suncor building, which was a violation of terms from an arrest at a Suncor protest in Northern Alberta. He was held for a couple of hours, then released. His was one of only two arrests at the WPC protests - the other being a street youth with outstanding warrants.
He locked himself in a safe in Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
premier
Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in some countries and states.-Examples by country:In many nations, "premier" is used interchangeably with "prime minister"...
Ralph Klein's constituency office as a protest against the Province's stance on Kyoto.
He was also arrested in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
after breaking into the Volkel NATO Air Force base with 9 other anti-nuclear activists working to expose the presence of nuclear weapons in that country.
Death
On Thursday March 4, 2004, Gomberg was reported missing to police, who later stated that he appeared to have jumped off the middle of the Angus L. Macdonald BridgeAngus L. Macdonald Bridge
The Angus L. Macdonald Bridge, locally known as "the old bridge", is a suspension bridge crossing Halifax Harbour in Nova Scotia, Canada; it opened on April 2, 1955....
, in Halifax, Nova Scotia
Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia
Halifax Regional Municipality is the capital of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The Regional Municipality had a 2006 census population of 372,679, while the metropolitan area had a 2010 estimated population of 403,188, and the urban area of Halifax had a population of 282,924...
, in the early hours of the morning. He had left his partner a suicide note
Suicide note
A suicide note or death note is a message that states the author has died by suicide, and left to be discovered and read in anticipation of suicide....
stating that he had "lost his chutzpah
Chutzpah
Chutzpah is the quality of audacity, for good or for bad, but it is generally used negatively. The Yiddish word derives from the Hebrew word , meaning "insolence", "audacity". The modern English usage of the word has taken on a broader meaning, having been popularized through vernacular use in...
" and his bicycle and helmet were found on the bridge. His body was never found. Services were held celebrating Tooker's life across Canada.
His wife Angela Bischoff suspects that his use of the antidepressant Remeron may have led to his decision to commit suicide. Gomberg had become increasingly agitated in his final weeks and his Remeron dosage had been increased to the maximum amount two days before his death. Three weeks later, U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued stronger warnings about a link between antidepressants and the risk of suicide, particularly in the weeks after a patient starts treatment or their dosage is increased. Health Canada later followed suit, and Remeron is now listed in Health Canada's adverse drug reaction database.
Toronto activists are advocating the establishment of a major East West Bike lane, to be called the "Tooker", on Bloor Street
Bloor Street
Bloor Street is a major east–west residential and commercial thoroughfare in Toronto, in the Canadian province of Ontario. Bloor Street runs from the Prince Edward Viaduct westward into Mississauga, where it ends at Central Parkway. East of the viaduct, Danforth Avenue continues along the same...
, to honour the life of Tooker Gomberg.
Tooker Gomberg's brother Ben is, as of summer 2009, the head of the Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
Department of Transportation's Bike (bicycle) Program.
External links
- Take The Tooker Bloor Street Memorial Bike lane in Toronto, Canada.
- Greenspiration Tooker Gomberg and Angela Bischoff's work together, and since his passing.
- Official biography for Tooker and Angela
- Healthy Mind Body Planet Tour 2006 '(honoring) the late Tooker Gomberg by concentrating on the role that mental illness and associated treatments played in his tragic death, ....'
- Tooker Gomberg Memorial discussion forum
- Story on Tooker Gomberg death (subscription)
- Take the Tooker Launch Video
- Tooker (Le Monde à bicyclette) song with lyrics by Mike Ford
- TookerTV - Tooker runs for mayor in Toronto. Warning: video starts playing automatically when page opens (5 min.)