Adam Giambrone

Adam Giambrone
Councillor Giambrone speaking at the Human Train Protest, 26 September 2009
Toronto City Councillor
Incumbent
Assumed office  2003
Preceded by	Mario Silva
Constituency	Ward 18 (Davenport)
Chair of the Toronto Transit Commission
Incumbent
Assumed office  2006
Preceded by	Howard Moscoe
Born	1977 Toronto, Ontario
Political party	New Democratic Party
Residence	Toronto, Ontario
Occupation	archaeologist
Religion	Catholic

Adam Giambrone (born ca. 1977 in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian politician who is currently a Toronto City Councillor, representing the southern of two Davenport wards. Elected at 26, he was the youngest member of the 2003–2006 Toronto council. He is also a former president of the federal New Democratic Party. He is the 2008 recipient of NOW Magazine's "Best City Politician" award^[1]. Giambrone is chair of the Toronto Transit Commission.

An archeologist by training, Giambrone has participated in excavations in Tunisia, Libya, Sudan and Yemen.^[2] He speaks English, French, and Arabic. He is of Italian-American ancestry.^[2]

Giambrone has said that his candidacy for Mayor of Toronto in the 2010 election is "a very real possibility" in light of the decision of Mayor David Miller to retire.^[3]

Early life and career

Growing up in the Davenport area of Toronto, he first became active with the New Democratic Party in its youth wing at age 15. While studying at McGill University in Montreal, he served as treasurer of the New Democratic Youth of Canada, and ran for the NDP in the riding of Mount Royal in the 1997 federal election, in which he finished fifth out of six candidates with 966 votes. The Liberal candidate, Sheila Finestone, won with 30,115 votes.

At McGill University Giambrone ran for the position of vice-president finance of the Students' Society (undergraduate student union) and lost to fellow student Duncan Reid by a wide margin, but was later elected to the student council as one of three ad hoc councilors representing McGill's student clubs.

Returning to Toronto, he took up employment at the Royal Ontario Museum. He ran for Toronto City Council in the southern Davenport ward against Mario Silva in the 2000 municipal election, losing 6,037 to 3,338.

Federal NDP president

At the federal NDP convention of 2001, Giambrone won a first two-year term as president of the party. He was initially a grassroots challenger to the "official slate" candidate customarily supported by the party brass, but the official slate candidate stood down in Giambrone's favour. The president of the NDP is the administrative chairperson of the party, chairing party conventions, councils and executive meetings. Giambrone was 24, and no younger person had ever become president (or leader) of a major Canadian party. He became a frequent guest on television and figure in the news, and travelled the country extensively speaking to New Democrats.

Seeking re-election at the 2003 convention at which Jack Layton was elected party leader, Giambrone faced a strong challenge from respected New Brunswick NDP leader Elizabeth Weir. Midway through the convention, Giambrone and Weir decided to seek a co-presidency. Many delegates balked, especially at the assumption that they could push through a sudden constitutional change in a party often dearly concerned with internal process. The joint ticket was withdrawn, and Giambrone won a second term against Weir and a challenger from the NDP Socialist Caucus.

He announced in the summer of 2006 that he would not seek a third term as federal NDP President. Anne McGrath was elected to succeed him at the party Convention in Quebec City.

Toronto councillor

Giambrone never gave up his campaign to win the south Davenport seat on Toronto city council. When Silva left city council and was elected a federal Liberal Member of Parliament in Davenport in the 2004 federal election, Giambrone became a leading candidate to replace him in the 2003 municipal election. With the endorsements of the Toronto Star, NOW, Bloor West Villager newspapers and councillors Joe Pantalone and Fred Dominelli, Giambrone defeated Ana Bailao, Silva's former assistant, by a 51-40 margin in a field of six candidates.

Shortly after taking office, he was chosen as a commissioner of the Toronto Transit Commission. He also served along with Greater Toronto Area mayors and regional chairs on the board of Metrolinx from its inception in 2006 until 2009.

During the TTC workers' wildcat strike on May 29, 2006, Giambrone was prominent in the media representing the TTC's position as commission chair Howard Moscoe was out of town. After being re-elected in the 2006 municipal election, taking almost 67% of the vote in his ward, Giambrone was elected as the new chair of the commission on December 6, 2006.

As Chair of the TTC, Giambrone has launched a number of customer service initiatives including a new website,^[4] electronic service advisories,^[5] next vehicle arrival information systems,^[6] and an affinity discount program for the Metropass. Some of these ideas were discussed at Transit Camp, a successful community consultation early in his term as chair. Giambrone also established the station modernization and station renaissance renewal programs for TTC subway stations, the latter in conjunction with the Toronto Community Foundation, as well as a program to install bicycle racks on all TTC buses^[7].

On March 16, 2007, Giambrone and Mayor David Miller unveiled "Transit City", a proposal to build 120 kilometres of electric light rail along seven routes at an estimated cost of $6 billion.^[8] Premier Dalton McGuinty announced funding for Transit City as a component of its MoveOntario 2020 plan on June 15, 2007.^[9] Transit City was ultimately also included in Metrolinx's "Big Move" plan when it was released on November 27, 2008, while Giambrone, Miller and other regional representatives were still on the board.^[10]

In September 2007, city council unanimously approved a motion to allow the Toronto Parking Authority to proceed with a plan to expropriate the Matador, a famed Toronto music hall and cultural landmark. After considerable media attention^[11], an organised group of citizens, including noted author Michael Ondaatje and folk singer Sylvia Tyson, successfully lobbied Giambrone to reverse his support of the expropriation — yet Giambrone still noted a need for parking in the neighbourhood.^{[12] [13]}

On March 23, 2008, Giambrone's U-Pass proposal, a cheaper transit pass for university students, was overwhelmingly rejected with a 73 per cent vote against in a student referendum at the University of Toronto Scarborough. Most opposition was due to the fact that the programme was mandatory for all students and offered no opt-out for students who didn't use public transit.^[14] Giambrone and Miller moved to freeze TTC fares in December, 2008 as an economic stimulus measure during the Late-2000s recession.^[15]

On May 7, 2009, Giambrone sent an email, that he claims was hastily composed, to fellow councillor Cesar Palacio that had a threatening tone. He wrote, “Stop messing in my ward or there will be problems. I generally ignore your actions, but I am going to start looking for ways to cause trouble for you and when I start you’re not going to appreciate it.” Palacio was helping a group of Portuguese obtain a liquor license for a conference in Giambrone's ward. Giambrone later apologized for sending the email. Palacio accepted the apology but he insisted that the city's integrity commissioner investigate the email as a possible breach of the city's code of conduct.^[16] Palacio ultimately withdrew the complaint^[17].

On Friday, April 24, Giambrone announced that the TTC had opted to replace its aging fleet of Canadian Light Rail Vehicles and Articulated Light Rail Vehicles with 204 new streetcars, procured competitively from Bombardier Transportation with a minimum Canadian content requirement of 25 per cent^[18].

Giambrone launched the TTC's Transit City Bus Plan on August 21, 2009.^[19] This plan takes the network approach of the Transit City Light Rail Plan and applies it to buses, creating a network of 10-minute service on 21 of its 139 bus routes beginning in the fall of 2010.

Giambrone appears on CP24's new monthly television show called On The Rocket in which he rides a streetcar and discusses daily transit operations, improvements and plans.

References

External links

• Adam Giambrone
• Adam Giambrone profile on City of Toronto website