Maria Augimeri | |
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Maria Augimeri in February 2007.
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Toronto City Councillor for (Ward 9) York Centre | |
Assumed office December 1, 2000 |
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Preceded by | Ward Created |
Chair of the North York Community Council | |
Assumed office June 16, 2005 |
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Preceded by | Denzil Minnan-Wong |
Chair of the Toronto Transit Commission | |
In office February 19, 2014 – November 30, 2014 |
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Preceded by | Karen Stintz |
Succeeded by | Josh Colle |
Toronto City Councillor for (Ward 7) Black Creek | |
In office January 1, 1998 – December 1, 2000 |
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Preceded by | Ward Created |
Succeeded by | Ward Abolished |
Metro Toronto City Councillor for Black Creek | |
In office December 1, 1988 – January 1, 1998 |
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Preceded by | Ward Created |
Succeeded by | City Amalgamated |
North York City Councillor for Ward 5 | |
In office December 1, 1985 – December 1, 1988 |
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Succeeded by | Anthony Perruzza |
Personal details | |
Born | Italy |
Political party | New Democratic Party |
Spouse(s) | Odoardo Di Santo |
Residence | Toronto, Ontario |
Occupation | Social Anthropologist |
Religion | Roman Catholic |
Website | www.mariaaugimeri.com |
Maria Augimeri (born in Italy) is a city councillor in Toronto, Ward 9 representing one of the two York Centre wards.
Augimeri moved to Canada with her family at age two. Before entering politics, she was a Social Anthropologist at York University. An Italian-Canadian, she has written three books on the Italian-Canadian community and is also a published poet.
She first entered politics as a school trustee, and was elected to the city council of North York in 1985. A left-leaning member of the council, she ran for the Ontario New Democratic Party in the 1987 provincial election in the riding of Downsview. (Her husband, Odoardo Di Santo, had held the riding for ten years before losing it in the 1985 election.) She lost to Liberal Laureano Leone by 174 votes.
Augimeri was elected to the Metro Toronto council in 1988, and remained on that council until the creation of the new city of Toronto in 1997. She has been elected to the new city council three times. She is known for promoting environmental awareness and cultural issues.
She was endorsed for re-election by the Toronto Star newspaper in 2003, although the Star also accused her of "hypocrisy in fighting housing for homeless youth, despite her New Democratic Party roots." Augimeri had previously introduced measures which held up a housing construction project. The left-leaning Now Magazine also gave her a tepid endorsement in 2000, describing her as a "do-nothing councillor", but also claiming she was better than the opposition.