Joe Mihevc - Politics

Politics

He first ran for office in 1991 in the old City of York, and defeated incumbent Tony Mandarano, who had been facing corruption charges. Backed by the New Democratic Party, he rose to be deputy mayor of York.

Following the amalgamation of York with the five other municipalities of Metropolitan Toronto, which he opposed, Mihevc was elected to the new Toronto city council. In 2000, redistricting resulted in an election battle with right-leaning councillor Rob Davis. The election was marred by an anonymous telephone campaign that attempted to paint Mihevc as anti-Semitic. This was especially odd as Mihevc had done his master's thesis on the Holocaust, and was backed by a number of prominent rabbis. Controversy also developed when Mayor of Toronto Mel Lastman endorsed Davis, despite an earlier pledge to remain neutral. Despite this, Mihevc won with a large majority.

He was chair of Toronto's World Youth Day, and from 2000 to 2003 was chair of the health board. He was in that position during the 2003 SARS outbreak. He also shepherded through a ban on the use of lawn pesticides.

Mihevc is no longer the vice-chair of the Toronto Transit Commission but continues to be one of the strongest supporters of the St. Clair Avenue streercar right-of-way, arguing that it was part of a rejuvenation and gentrification of the St. Clair West neighbourhood. The original price of $48 million in 2004 increased past $106 million by the project's completion in 2010. Legal challenges by local residents had to be overcome. The construction delays and reduced parking have also appeared to negatively affect local businesses, with a reported noted that seven shops have closed down on St. Clair between Oakwood to Dufferin. A report by a consultant for the TTC found numerous faults with the project, among them a lack of centralized project management. Mihevc was quoted as saying “I had a full head of hair when I started this project, and now I’m counting the ones left.”

Despite a high-profile challenge from former pre-amalgamation Toronto mayor John Sewell, Mihevc was easily re-elected to city council in the 2006 election.

In 2008, Mihevc stepped down as chair of the Community Development and Recreation Committee but he remains a member of the Community Development and Recreation Committee.

Mihevc was re-elected by a substantial margin in November 2010, earning nearly 10,000 of the 17,500 votes cast and approximately 56% of the ward's popular vote. As of February 2012, Councillor Mihevc serves as vice-chair at the Toronto Board of Health.