Veteran city councillor Frances Nunziata has registered to run for re-election in York South-Weston this fall, setting up a rematch of the 2022 contest she won by less than 100 votes.
It wasn’t clear that Nunziata — who has held elected office since 1985 and been a Toronto councillor since 1998 — would run again. When registrations opened in May, her staff told the Star she had yet to make a decision.
But after she submitted her papers on Friday, she said she never had second thoughts about seeking what would be her ninth term on the amalgamated city’s council.
“I was just waiting for the right time to register,” said Nunziata, who has held the influential role of council speaker under successive mayors since 2010.
“My constituents have been very pleased and happy (about) how I’ve been able to represent them,” she said, adding that there are “a lot of projects” she has been working on in the northwest Toronto ward that ”that I’m very excited to continue.”
She cited development applications, affordable housing projects, and the Weston Loop multi-use trail.
Chiara Padovani, the tenant advocate who lost to Nunziata by 94 votes four years ago, said she always expected the councillor to fight for her seat again. But she said she’s confident residents are “ready for a change” and the outcome will be different this time.
“I’ve been waiting four years for this rematch,” Padovani said.
Padovani, 38, also ran in York South-Weston in 2018, and placed third. She said that after losing in 2022 she converted her campaign headquarters into a community office and has been helping tenants with their issues ever since.
“I think I have really earned the support of my neighbours,” she said. Padovani predicted housing, flooding, and opportunities for youth would be the main issues in the campaign.
So far four other candidates have signed up to run, including Daniel Di Giorgio, a Catholic school board trustee. He lists tackling crime, addressing gridlock, and improving transit as his top priorities.
In a statement, he said he “look(ed) forward to handing (Nunziata) her first loss.”
“I’m glad she’s registered to run instead of stepping aside — now the people of this ward can vote to toss her out and give her the boot at the ballot box themselves,” he said.
Voting day for the municipal election is October 26.
The 2022 York South-Weston race came under scrutiny in July 2024 after the city integrity commissioner released a report that found Nunziata’s chief of staff gathered contact information of at least 8,000 local residents without their consent, and emailed some of them asking for their vote.
The commissioner found that contravened provisions in council’s code of conduct that prohibit councillors from using city resources for campaigns, or using contact information for anything other than its intended purpose.
At the time, Nunziata expressed “deep and sincere” regret for the ethics breach, which she said was her first in more than three decades in politics. The commissioner found no evidence Nunziata instructed her staff to misuse the contacts, and instead concluded she didn’t know what had happened until he reported on it.
In the wake of the report, Nunziata rejected allegations she had cheated and told the Star she was duly elected by her constituents. But Padovani and her supporters questioned whether the misuse of the emails influenced the outcome.
“If you ask me today if Frances Nunziata won the election fair and square, I’m going to be honest with you, I’m not sure about that” Padovani said in a post to social media after the report came out.
Nunziata was elected school trustee in 1985, and three years later became councillor in the City of York. She was mayor of York from 1994 to 1997.
On Friday, Nunziata denied a report that she is 76 but did not confirm her actual age.
