James Pasternak joins City Hall
[attach]2858[/attach]Councillor-elect James Pasternak hasn’t spent much time celebrating his recent election victory.
Although he does not take over for York-Centre councillor Mike Feldman until December the outgoing school trustee has already been hard at work preparing for his new job.
“I’ve met with eight of the new councillor-elects, brand new to city council, and we’ve talked about a number of issues,” Pasternak said.
In addition to speaking to other councillor-elects on topics such as renewing the pool agreement between the city and the Toronto District School Board, he has also been looking for space for a constituency office.
He is also planning a forum on mental health — one of his election promises — to be held on Nov. 23.
And, Pasternak has already been to city hall to meet with the man he’ll be replacing.
“The transition has been moving forward fairly briskly,” Pasternak said. “I have met with outgoing councillor Feldman and his staff. They’re committed to a smooth transition.
“Councillor Feldman has been very supportive.”
When Feldman announced he would not be seeking another term a dozen candidates declared their intentions for the vacant Ward 10 seat. The ensuing race was too close to call even after the polls had closed on election day.
“We knew all along that with 12 candidates it was going to be very tight and the evening’s poll results reflected that,” Pasternak said.
In the end Pasternak achieved a narrow victory earning 19 percent of the vote, just 2 percent more than Feldman’s former assistant, Nancy Oomen.
“Election day, it kind of looked like I was going to make it for a while and then the tables turned,” Oomen said. “But still, I’m glad I went into the race and it was an amazing experience.”
Oomen says she wouldn’t rule out running again in the next election but for now she will just take some time to think about what to do next.
Pasternak, on the other hand, is well aware of what his next step will be and although he does not have any past experience on city council he says his experience as a school board trustee has prepared him for the challenges that lie ahead.
“Of the 14 new city councillors I believe only three have held elected office and I’m one of them,” Pasternak said. “So I am familiar with the machinery of municipal government from my four years on the school board.”
And there won’t be any shortage of issues to tackle in Ward 10. Some of the ongoing files Pasternak will take over from Feldman include the preservation of the Wilson Heights on/off ramps at Allen Road, redevelopment plans for the Bathurst Manor Plaza, and vaccine manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur’s planned plant expansion at Dufferin and Steeles.