Joe Cressy

Joe Cressy

Joe Cressy (left) with Pam McConnell
Toronto City Councillor for Ward 20 (Trinity—Spadina)
Assumed office
December 1, 2014
Preceded by Ceta Ramkhalawansingh
Personal details
Born (1984-07-10) July 10, 1984
Toronto, Ontario
Nationality Canadian
Political party New Democratic Party
Parents Gordon Cressy
Joanne Campbell
Residence Toronto, Ontario

Joseph "Joe" Cressy (born July 10, 1984)[1] is a Canadian politician, who was elected to Toronto City Council in the 2014 city council election to succeed interim councillor Ceta Ramkhalawansingh in Ward 20.[2] The ward was previously represented by Adam Vaughan, who defeated him in a 2014 by-election to the House of Commons of Canada for Trinity—Spadina.

He is the son of former Toronto city councillors Gordon Cressy and Joanne Campbell.[3] His birth in 1984 made Campbell the first woman in Toronto City Council history to give birth to a child while serving as a councillor.[4]

Cressy has worked on various social-justice issues, which traces back to high school when he spent a year in South Africa.[5] Upon returning to high school in Toronto, he got involved in the anti-Iraq war movement[6] and has since worked on anti-poverty campaigns in South Africa, literacy programs with First Nations communities in Northern Ontario, and worked with The Stop Community Food Centre.

Cressy also supports LGBTQ issues at home and abroad,[7] volunteering for an LGBTQ organization while studying abroad in Accra and supporting the NDP’s call for a visa ban against legislators who passed anti-gay laws in Russia.

Cressy studied public affairs and policy management at Carleton University. Prior to his entry into electoral politics, he worked for the Stephen Lewis Foundation and the Polaris Institute,[8] and was campaign manager for Mike Layton's successful campaign for a city council seat in the 2010 municipal election and Olivia Chow's reelection campaign in the 2011 federal election.[3] He was also initially involved in Chow's mayoral campaign in 2014, but withdrew when he decided to run in the Trinity—Spadina by-election.[8]

In addition to being councillor for Ward 20 and Toronto's Youth Equity Advocate, he currently sits on the Toronto Board of Health, the board of directors for Toronto Community Housing, the council's Parks and Environment Committee and the sub-committee on Climate Change and Adaptation.

Election results

2014 Toronto election, Ward 20
Candidate Votes %
Joe Cressy 12,466 41.96
Terri Chu 3,693 12.43
Sarah Thomson 2,808 9.45
Mike Yen 1,431 4.81
Philip Morrison 1,407 4.73
Anshul Kapoor 1,063 3.57
Charles MacDonald 972 3.27
Albert Koehl 853 2.87
Tonny Louie 740 2.49
Daryl Christoff 705 2.37
Mike Andreae 590 1.98
Sam Goldstein 519 1.74
Nick Wright 395 1.33
Stephanie Carty-Kegel 376 1.26
Sam Novak 376 1.26
Garaham Hollings 307 1.03
Stella Kargiannakis 286 0.96
Leanne Hicks 212 0.71
Susan Tsai 194 0.65
Michael Monaghan 128 0.43
Kat Shermack 102 0.34
Akeem Fasasi 86 0.28
Total 29,709 100

Unofficial results as of October 27, 2014 10:05 PM[9]

Canadian federal by-election, June 30, 2014: Trinity—Spadina
Resignation of Olivia Chow
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
LiberalAdam Vaughan 18,547 53.66 +30.27
New DemocraticJoe Cressy 11,802 34.14 −20.37
ConservativeBenjamin Sharma 2,022 5.85 −10.96
GreenCamille Labchuk 1,880 5.43 +1.05
Christian HeritageLinda Groce-Gibbons 174 0.50  
IndependentJohn "The Engineer" Turmel 141 0.41  
Total valid votes/Expense limit 34,566 100.00  
Total rejected ballots 111 0.32 −0.12
Turnout 34,677 31.78 −37.02
Eligible voters 110,252
Liberal gain from New Democratic Swing +25.32
By-election due to the resignation of Olivia Chow to run in the 2014 Toronto mayoral election.
Source: Elections Canada[10]

References

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