Giorgio Mammoliti - Provincial Politics

Provincial Politics

At age 28, he ran for the Ontario New Democratic Party in the 1990 provincial election, in the riding of Yorkview. Mammoliti upset Liberal incumbent Claudio Polsinelli by 1,619 votes; the governing Liberals were initially leading in polls but they were beset by several scandals and cynicism from an early election call.

The NDP won a majority government and Mammoliti was appointed as parliamentary assistant to the minister responsible for the provincial anti-drug strategy on October 1, 1990. He later served as the parliamentary assistant for two other ministers.

While in the legislature, Mammoliti was one of the strongest critics of same-sex marriage. He said "I believe that children pick up from their parents and if we extend the definition of spouse and open up traditional families, those children will be influenced in a way that we’ll never, ever forget." He was one of 12 NDP MPPs to break ranks and vote against the Rae government's proposed Bill 167, leading to the bill's defeat on June 9, 1994.

In the 1995 provincial election, Mammoliti was defeated by Liberal city councillor Mario Sergio by almost 3,000 votes. Sergio left North York's city council to take his seat in the Ontario Legislature, and Mammoliti decided to run in the by-election to replace him on city council. He was opposed by his old rival Polsinelli, and won the election without difficulty.