Cesar Palacio

Cesar Palacio (/pəˈlæsioʊ/ ⓘ pə-LASS-ee-oh, Spanish: [ˈsesaɾ paˈlasjo]) is a Canadian politician. He was the Toronto city councillor for Ward 17 Davenport during the years 2003–2018. He was the first Hispanic person to be elected to Toronto's City Council.[1]

Cesar Palacio
Toronto City Councillor for (Ward 17) Davenport
In office
December 1, 2003 – December 1, 2018
Preceded byBetty Disero
Succeeded byAna Bailão
Toronto City Councillor for (Ward 21) Davenport
In office
March 1, 2000 – December 1, 2000
Preceded byDennis Fotinos
Succeeded byWard Abolished
Personal details
BornEcuador
OccupationPublic Administrator

Biography

Born in Ecuador he followed his father to Toronto in 1972. Working several blue-collar jobs he first became involved in politics as a volunteer with local MP Charles Caccia. In 1985 he was hired the executive assistant to Councillor Betty Disero and he remained in the office for several years. For a few months in 2000 he was appointed to fill the seat vacated by Dennis Fotinos, but the appointment was conditional on him not running in the subsequent election. In the 2003 Toronto election he ran to succeed Disero and won. He also won subsequent re-election in the 2006 Toronto election. He is fluent in Italian, English, Spanish and Portuguese. He is a cousin of the former President of Ecuador, Alfredo Palacio.

In the 2010 Toronto election, Palacio won re-election over six other candidates: Brian Bragason, Tony Letra, Maria Marques, Kar Rasaiah, Jonah Schein, and Ben Stirpe. He was one of five Councillors removed from the TTC board by council in March 2012 as a result of voting to terminate the services of the TTC General Manager Gary Webster.[2]

Palacio ran again in the 2014 Toronto election defeating a strong challenger Alejandra Bravo. On June 11, 2015, Palacio supported the Hybrid option for the Gardiner Expressway[3]

Changes to the City of Toronto ward boundaries imposed by the Ontario Provincial Government of Doug Ford resulted in the disappearance of former Ward 17 Davenport in the 2018 municipal election. Palacio initially announced he would run for re-election in the new larger Ward 9 Davenport in the 2018 Toronto election[4] but ultimately withdrew his candidacy.

Election results
2014 Toronto election, Ward 17
Candidate Votes  %
Cesar Palacio8,29346.24%
Alejandra Bravo7,84043.71%
Saeed Selvam1,4047.83%
George Stevens3982.22%
Total17,935100%
2010 Toronto election, Ward 17[5]
Candidate Votes  %
Cesar Palacio6,15442.8
Jonah Schein4,82733.6
Tony Letra2,03514.2
Ben Stirpe7515.2
Maria Marques3882.7
Brian Bragason1250.9
Kar Rasaiah940.7
Total14,374100
2006 Toronto election, Ward 17[6]
Candidate Votes  %
Cesar Palacio4,82742.3
Alejandra Bravo4,54639.8
Fred Dominelli1,49113.1
Cinzia Scalabrini2111.9
David Faria2061.8
Gustavo Valdez770.7
Wilson Basantes Espinoza500.4

References
  1. Cesar Palacio biography on the Toronto Star's website
  2. "Eglinton LRT first up at new TTC board". Toronto Star. 7 March 2012.
  3. "Gardiner East will be a hybrid solution, council votes". Toronto Star. 11 June 2015.
  4. "'Development pressures' a big concern in Davenport ward". Toronto Star. 28 September 2018.
  5. City of Toronto elections page Archived October 26, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  6. City Clerk's Official Declaration 2006 Archived June 7, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
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