Minorities made real gains at polls
Breakthrough for non-white candidates in office traditionally hardest to crack
Nov. 29, 2006
NICHOLAS KEUNG
Toronto Star
As municipal councils across the GTA [Greater Toronto Area] start taking
oaths of office and settling down to business next week, a few will look a
little less white bread than they did before the Nov. 13 election.
Overall, members of visible minorities will hold 14 municipal seats - up
from nine in the 2003 election. The gains are all in the regions: four seats
in York Region alone, one in Oakville, and one in Clarington, where newly
elected Willie Woo will sit as the only visible-minority councillor in
Durham Region. Toronto’s 45-member city council, on the other hand,
will see a drop from five to four.