Municipal Politics
Sewell first became active in city politics in 1966 when he joined the residents of the Trefann Court Urban Renewal Area in the fight against the expropriation and levelling of the working class and poor neighbourhood. Sewell was also involved in opposing to the building of the Spadina Expressway in the late 1969s and early 1970s. He was first elected to Toronto City Council in 1969 as alderman for Ward 7, a predominantly working class area including St. Jamestown, Regent Park, Don Vale, and Cabbagetown. He also initiated the founding of a community-owned newspaper, Seven News, seen as an alternative to Toronto's corporate-owned daily papers. Sewell went on to become the leader of city council's reform wing. He was elected Mayor of Toronto in 1978. In the 1978 election, the right-wing vote was split between two mayoral candidates, David Paul Smith and Tony O'Donohue. Sewell was able to win the election with less than 50 percent of the vote as he garnered 71,305 votes, while O'Donohue received 62,173 and Smith receiving 45,071.
Read more about this topic: John Sewell
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