Tony O'Donohue
| Tony O'Donohue | |
|---|---|
| Toronto City Councillor for Parkdale (Ward 3/4) | |
|
In office 1980–1994 |
|
| Preceded by | Art Eggleton |
| Succeeded by | Mario Silva |
| Toronto City Councillor for Parkdale (Ward 2) | |
|
In office 1974–1978 |
|
| Preceded by | Archie Chisholm |
| Succeeded by | Tony Ruprecht |
| Toronto City Councillor for Trinity-Bellwoods (Ward 4/5) | |
|
In office 1966–1972 |
|
| Preceded by | Joe Piccininni |
| Succeeded by | Art Eggleton |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1933 (age 83–84) The Burren, County Clare, Ireland |
| Occupation | Professional engineer |
Anthony "Tony" O'Donohue (born 1933) is a former municipal politician in Toronto, Ontario.
Born in The Burren, County Clare, Ireland (then Irish Free State), O'Donohue graduated as a civil engineer from University College, Galway in 1954. He moved to Toronto in 1956 to pursue his profession as a municipal engineer designing urban services such as roads, water supply, sewage treatment, storm water run-off and waste management.
Inspired by Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson's initiative for a new flag for Canada, O'Donohue joined the Young Liberals in the early 1960s and made many trips to Ottawa with other Young Liberals to support the new flag proposal. As one of the party's first advocates for environmental causes, he encouraged the Young Liberals to become active in environmental issues. His Liberal Party national convention papers on water supply and sewage treatment received national attention.
He was elected as a Toronto City Council alderman in the 1966 municipal election. As an engineer, he focused on the need for a clearer understanding of the environment and, as a reformer, encouraged a new approach to local politics. He ran for Toronto mayor in 1972, losing to David Crombie, and again in 1978 to John Sewell. His 1978 defeat to the left-wing Sewell was seen as a result of vote splitting between O'Donohue and David Smith, a Liberal.
O'Donohue and colleague Art Eggleton had agreed that only one of them should run against Sewell for mayor in 1980. They were to conduct a public opinion poll to determine which of them had the better chance of toppling the incumbent Mayor. However, according to O'Donohue's memoirs, Eggleton broke the pact and unilaterally declared himself a mayoralty candidate forcing O'Donohue to stay out of the race in order not to split the vote.
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