Mel Lastman
| Mel Lastman | |
|---|---|
| 62nd Mayor of Toronto | |
|
In office January 1, 1998 – November 30, 2003 |
|
| Preceded by | Barbara Hall |
| Succeeded by | David Miller |
| 3rd Mayor of North York | |
|
In office January 1, 1973 – December 31, 1997 |
|
| Preceded by | Basil H. Hall |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Melvin Douglas Lastman March 9, 1933 Toronto, Ontario |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Political party | Progressive Conservative |
| Spouse(s) | Marilyn Bornstein |
| Profession | Businessman |
| Religion | Reform Judaism |
| Website | City of Toronto Profile |
Melvin Douglas "Mel" Lastman (born March 9, 1933), nicknamed "Mayor Mel" or "Mega City Mel", is a Canadian 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 1973 until 1997. At the end of 1997, North York, along with five other municipalities, was amalgamated with the city of Toronto. Lastman ran for and won the mayoral race for the new "megacity", defeating incumbent Toronto mayor Barbara Hall. Re-elected in November 2000, he served until his retirement after the 2003 municipal election.
Lastman was born in Toronto in 1933, the son of Jewish immigrants from Poland. He began his sales career as a child, hawking fruit and vegetables at his family's Kensington Market grocery store.
He met Marilyn Bornstein when he was 16 and she was 13, and they were married five years later. He left school after Grade 12 and, with Marilyn's help, got a job at a College Street furniture store. He quickly established himself as a successful salesman. He switched to selling appliances and promoted himself as "Mr. Laundry" (alias the "Bad Boy").
He opened a small frame building at Kennedy Road and Eglinton in Scarborough, selling used appliances, and then, at age 22, bought out Heather Hill Appliances and established Bad Boy Furniture in 1955.
Having adopted the nickname "the Bad Boy" for himself and developed Bad Boy Furniture into a chain of stores around the Toronto area. "Bad Boy" Lastman was associated with many publicity stunts, including travelling to the Arctic in the 1960s to "sell a refrigerator to an Eskimo." Lastman sold the chain in 1975 to run for the Ontario general election. The Bad Boy trademark was ultimately acquired by the large furniture chain The Brick but the new owners allowed it to lapse through lack of use until it expired.
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Wikipedia