Joe Cressy

Joe Cressy
Cressy in 2014
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 ( listen) (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 (son of former federal NDP leader Jack Layton) successful campaign for a city council seat in the 2010 municipal election and NDP MP 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 Cressy12,46641.96
Terri Chu3,69312.43
Sarah Thomson2,8089.45
Mike Yen1,4314.81
Philip Morrison1,4074.73
Anshul Kapoor1,0633.57
Charles MacDonald9723.27
Albert Koehl8532.87
Tonny Louie7402.49
Daryl Christoff7052.37
Mike Andreae5901.98
Sam Goldstein5191.74
Nick Wright3951.33
Stephanie Carty-Kegel3761.26
Sam Novak3761.26
Garaham Hollings3071.03
Stella Kargiannakis2860.96
Leanne Hicks2120.71
Susan Tsai1940.65
Michael Monaghan1280.43
Kat Shermack1020.34
Akeem Fasasi860.28
Total29,709100

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 Vaughan18,54753.66+30.27
New DemocraticJoe Cressy11,80234.14−20.37
ConservativeBenjamin Sharma2,0225.85−10.96
GreenCamille Labchuk1,8805.43+1.05
Christian HeritageLinda Groce-Gibbons1740.50– 
IndependentJohn "The Engineer" Turmel1410.41– 
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

  1. ↑ "Meet Joe Cressy: Door-knocking in Trinity Spadina and loving it". iPolitics, April 15, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Joe Cressy wins second time in Ward 20, Trinity-Spadina". Toronto Star, October 27, 2014.
  3. 1 2 "NDP turns to young activist with deep Chow roots in Trinity-Spadina". Toronto Star, March 17, 2014.
  4. ↑ "City Hall Notebook". The Globe and Mail, July 23, 1984.
  5. ↑ "Joe Cressy on Nelson Mandela and Inspiration". "Now Toronto", December 12, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Protesters in Canada express anger at Bush, Iraq War". "Jamaica Observer", December 1, 2004.
  7. ↑ "Former Chow staffer seeks NDP nomination in Trinity-Spadina". "Daily Xtra", March 21, 2014.
  8. 1 2 "Meet Joe Cressy: The man who seeks to replace Olivia Chow in Ottawa". Yahoo! News Canada, April 2, 2014.
  9. ↑ City of Toronto elections page
  10. ↑ "Elections Canada". Elections Canada. October 3, 2014. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
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