Giorgio Mammoliti ( , ; born George Mammoliti on September 20, 1961) is a former Canadian politician who represented Ward 7 York West on the Toronto City Council from 2000 to 2018. He ran for mayor of Toronto in 2010 and 2023. Mammoliti previously represented Yorkview from 1990 to 1995 for the New Democratic Party (NDP) in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Prior to entering politics, he worked for the Metro Toronto Housing Authority and was a labour union president.
Background
A landscaper with the then Metro Toronto Housing Authority, he rose to become head of Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 767.
Political career
Mammoliti represented Ward 7 York West, one of the two York West wards. He is a former chair of the Parks & Environment committee and was a member of the mayor's executive committee until he resigned on November 26, 2012, when Rob Ford was found guilty of governmental conflict of interest (due to a complaint regarding Ford's use of city stationery to raise money for his own charity) and ordered removed from office. This order was suspended, and the initial judgement was overturned on appeal. Mammoliti re-joined the executive committee in October 2013. Previously, Mammoliti served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 to 1995. In 2002, he switched names from the anglicized George to the Italian Giorgio. On October 15, 2009, he declared his candidacy for mayor in Toronto's 2010 election. In July, after registering no more than 4% in public opinion polls over several months, Mammoliti withdrew from the mayoral contest in order to stand for re-election as a city councillor. On July 9, 2014, Toronto City Council suspended Mammoliti for three months for holding fundraisers contrary to the Council's code of conduct. On September 15, 2014, police launched an investigation into the matter, though no charges were laid. On October 22, 2018, Mammoliti lost his re-election bid for Toronto City Council.
Ontario Legislature
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 public cynicism due to 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.
In 2018, Mammoliti announced he would re-enter provincial politics, and seek the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario nomination in Brampton Centre. Thirteen days later he decided against such a run, citing his "difficult decision to continue to represent the City of Toronto" by remaining in municipal politics.
Toronto City Council
On city council, he was noted for his unsuccessful attempt to lure a National Hockey League team to North York. When North York and other municipalities were merged to form the new City of Toronto in 1997, Mammoliti was elected to the Toronto City Council. At around the same time, he quit the NDP and joined the Liberal Party (this decision did not affect his standing on council, as all Toronto councillors are elected as independents). On council, his highest profile role was as the chair of the Toronto Zoo. He has also served as Chair of the Affordable Housing Committee, Chair of the Toronto Zoo Board, Co-Chair of Canada Municipalities Housing Action Network – Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), Chair of the City's International Committee, as well as a member of Toronto's Executive Committee.