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Revision as of 13:30, 3 August 2004
Mel Lastman (b. 1933 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada), was the mayor of the former city of North York from 1972 until 1998. In 1998, North York amalgamated with the city of Toronto. Lastman ran for and won the mayoral race for the new city, beating incumbent Toronto mayor Barbara Hall. Re-elected in November 2000, he chose to serve his final term. Lastman did not run for the 2003 municipal election.
By some measurements, Mel Lastman currently holds the record as the longest-serving mayor of any major city in the world.
Outside of his political career, Lastman ran a discount furniture store, Bad Boy Furniture. It eventually went bankrupt, but was later resurrected by his son.
Re-elected in November 2000 with an 80% majority, his closest opponent, civic activist Tooker Gomberg, drew just a little more than 8% of the vote.
Lastman shared Gomberg's three main campaign planks: committing Toronto to 100% recycling diversion by 2010 to replace the controversial Adams Mine Dump plan, agreeing with Prime Minister Jean Chrétien to end homelessness in Toronto, and appointing Jane Jacobs, the ethicist and urbanist to head the Toronto Charter Committee to explore the potential for more autonomy for Toronto. Jacobs had publicly endorsed Gomberg.
Lastman was an outspoken politician, a trait that was sometimes advantageous, sometimes problematic. As a result, he was sometimes prone to committing public gaffes.
On November 10, 2003, David Miller was elected to replace him as city mayor. Lastman retired from politics, due to his deteriorating health.