For other people and things named "Sewell", see Sewell (disambiguation).

John Sewell, CM, (born 1940) is a political activist and writer on municipal affairs; he was the mayor of Toronto, Canada from 1978 to 1980. Sewell may refer to: People Anna Sewell (1820 – 1878), British writer, author of Black Beauty Brian Sewell, English art critic Brocard Sewell (1912 – 2000), British monk and literary figure Cecil Harold Sewell, British Army lieutenant, recipient of the Victoria Cross during World War I Elyse Sewell (b. ... Seal of the Order of Canada The Order of Canada is Canadas highest civilian honour, with membership awarded to those who exemplify the Orders Latin motto Desiderantes meliorem patriam, which means (those) desiring a better country. ... 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ... A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning larger,greater) is in modern times the title of the highest ranking municipal officer, who discharges certain judicial and administrative functions, in many systems an elected politician, who serves as chief executive and/or ceremonial official of many types of municipalities. ...

Raised in the Beaches neighbourhood, in Toronto, Sewell attended Malvern Collegiate Institute and the University of Toronto from which he graduated with an English Literature degree in 1961. He earned a law degree from the University of Toronto Law School in 1964 and was called to the bar in 1966. The Beaches is an upper-middle class neighbourhood and popular tourist destination located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ... Malvern Collegiate Institute is a Toronto high school located in The Beaches neighbourhood. ... The University of Toronto (U of T) is a non-denominational, provincially-supported, coeducational public research university located in Toronto, Ontario. ... Established in 1887, the University of Toronto Faculty of Law is one of the oldest professional faculties at the University of Toronto. ...

Sewell first became active in city politics in 1966 when he joined the residents of the Trefann Court Urban Renewal Area in the fight against the expropriation and levelling of the working class and poor neighbourhood. He was first elected to Toronto City Council in 1969 and became leader of the reform wing. He was elected Mayor of Toronto in 1978. In the 1978 election, the right-wing vote was split between two mayoral candidates: David Paul Smith and Tony O'Donohue. Sewell was able to win the election with less than 50% of the vote. The Toronto City Council is the governing body of the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ... This is a list of mayors of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ... The Toronto municipal election of 1978 was the first seriously contested mayoralty race in Toronto, Canada, since David Crombie took office in 1972. ... David Paul Smith, PC , QC , BA , LL.B (born May 16, 1941) is a Canadian lawyer and politician. ... Anthony ODonohue is a former municipal politician in Toronto, Canada. ...

Sewell was portrayed as a radical in the media and was dubbed "Mayor Blue Jeans" by the Toronto Sun at a time when wearing denim was still considered an identifier of the counterculture. As an environmentalist famous for riding his bicycle to council, he opposed the development of banking and convention centres in the central business district that would become the hallmark of the mayors who followed. Sewell also established himself as a leading critic of the Toronto Police, demanding greater accountability to the public, and was a leading defender of gay rights, endorsing gay rights activist George Hislop's 1980 candidacy for city council, at a time when it was rare for public figures to express support for same-sex rights. The Toronto Sun is an English language daily newspaper published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ... In sociology, counterculture is a term used to describe a cultural group whose values and norms run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition or swimming against the tide. ... The central business district of Melbourne, Australia. ... The Toronto Police Service (TPS), also known colloqually as T.O.P.D., formerly the Metropolitan Toronto Police, is the local police force for the City of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ... The gay rights movement is a collection of loosely aligned civil rights groups, human rights groups, support groups and political activists seeking acceptance, tolerance and equality for non-heterosexual, (homosexual, bisexual), and transgender people - despite the fact that it is typically referred to as the gay rights movement, members also... George Hislop (June 3, 1927-October 8, 2005) was one of Canadas most influential gay activists. ... A city council is the most common style of legislative government in a city or town. ...

In the 1980 election, after two years of controversy, pro-development Conservatives and Liberals united behind the candidacy of Art Eggleton. Although Sewell maintained the support of many Red Tories, reform Liberals and New Democrats and won more votes and a larger share of the vote than in 1978, he lost the mayor's office to Eggleton. The 1980 Toronto municipal election was held on November 10, 1980 in Metropolitan Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ... Senator The Honourable Arthur (Art) C. Eggleton, PC (born September 29, 1943, Toronto, Ontario) is a former Canadian Cabinet minister and Mayor of Toronto, and is currently a Senator representing Ontario. ... The Red Tory Tradition: Ancient Roots-New Routes, by Ron Dart Red Tory is a term given to a political philosophy, tradition, and disposition in Canada. ... The New Democratic Party (NDP; Nouveau Parti démocratique in French) is a political party in Canada with a social democratic philosophy that contests elections at both the federal and provincial levels. ...

Sewell subsequently returned to city council as an alderman in a by-election and won re-election in 1982. He retired from municipal politics in 1984 to accept a job as a columnist at the Globe and Mail. He subsequently moved to NOW Magazine, then wrote a regular column in Toronto's eye weekly from 1999 to 2005. He has written a number of books and articles on Toronto urban issues. An alderman is a member of a municipal legislative body in a town or city with many jurisdictions. ... A by-election or bye-election is a special election held to fill a political office when the incumbent has died or resigned. ... The Globe and Mail is a large Canadian English language national newspaper based in Toronto. ... Categories: Newspaper stubs | Toronto media | Canadian alternative weekly newspapers ... eye weekly is an alternative newsweekly newspaper in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ...

Sewell served as chair of the Toronto public housing authority from 1986 to 1988 and is an acknowledged urban affairs expert. He has served as chair of the Royal Commission on Planning and Development Reform in Ontario from 1991 to 1993. Sewell was an advisor to East London, South Africa's city council from 1994 to 1999 and as advisor on the re-establishment of local government in Malawi in 2000. Sewell also taught law, politics and social science at York University from 1989 to 1991. A local authority tower block in Cwmbrân, South Wales Public housing or project homes is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. ... In states that are Commonwealth Realms a Royal Commission is a major government public inquiry into an issue. ... East London (Afrikaans: Oos-Londen, Xhosa: Imonti) is a city in southeast South Africa, situated in the Eastern Cape Province at 32. ... York University is a large comprehensive university, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ...

In the late 1990s, Sewell founded the group Citizens for Local Democracy to fight the plans of the provincial Mike Harris government to abolish Metropolitan Toronto and amalgamate its constituent parts into a new City of Toronto "megacity". This article is about the year. ... Michael Deane Harris (born January 23, 1945, in Toronto, Ontario) was the twenty-second Premier of Ontario from June 26, 1995 to April 15, 2002. ... Metro Council redirects here. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Megalopolis (term). ...

In the 1999 Ontario provincial election, Sewell ran as an independent candidate in the riding of Toronto Centre--Rosedale, challenging Progressive Conservative cabinet minister Al Leach to protest the megacity. His entry into the race was controversial, with many activists accusing him of splitting the left-wing vote with the New Democratic Party (NDP). Sewell was also criticized for remaining in the race after Leach, whom he had personally targeted as the minister responsible for amalgamation, withdrew from the contest. The riding was ultimately won by Liberal George Smitherman; Sewell finished third, behind Tory Durhane Wong-Rieger. Map of Ontarios ridings and their popular vote for their party elected The Ontario Legislature after the 1999 election. ... Toronto Centre is an electoral district that has long covered the heart of downtown Toronto. ... The Ontario Progressive Conservative Party (PC Party of Ontario) is a right-of-centre political party in Ontario, Canada. ... Alternate meanings in cabinet (disambiguation) A Cabinet is a body of high-ranking members of government, typically representing the executive branch. ... Allan F. Leach (born December 9, 1935 in Toronto, Ontario) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. ... The New Democratic Party (NDP; Nouveau Parti démocratique in French) is a political party in Canada with a social democratic philosophy that contests elections at both the federal and provincial levels. ... The Ontario Liberal Party is a centrist provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. ... George Smitherman (b. ... Dr. Durhane Wong-Rieger is a Chinese-born, American-raised [1], Canadian physician who is best known in her role as an advocate of patients who contracted diseases such as HIV and hepatitis C from tainted blood transfusions, in particular from the Health Management Associates Scandal. ...

In 2005, Sewell was made a member of the Order of Canada. Sewell lives with his wife, Liz Rykert in Toronto. Seal of the Order of Canada The Order of Canada is Canadas highest civilian honour, with membership awarded to those who exemplify the Orders Latin motto Desiderantes meliorem patriam, which means (those) desiring a better country. ...

On June 26, 2006, Sewell announced that he would seek election in Ward 21 running against Joe Mihevc in Toronto's 2006 municipal election. Sewell said that he was motivated to run due to the construction of a streetcar right-of-way along St. Clair Avenue that is supported by Mihevc. He also stated that he is disappointed at the record of Mayor David Miller. "Living in a megacity demands more citizen participation and community consultation, not less," says Sewell. June 26 is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 188 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Joe Mihevc is a Toronto city councillor representing one of the two St. ... The 2006 Toronto municipal election will take place on 13 November 2006, to elect a mayor and 44 city councillors in Toronto, Canada. ... St. ... Mayor David Miller David R. Miller (born December 26, 1958) is a Canadian politician. ...

Sewell, a former resident of Riverdale, currently resides in Ward 21. Riverdale is a large neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ...

Works

• Up Against City Hall (1972) James Lorimer and Company. ISBN 0-88862-021-7
• Rowland Travel Guide to Toronto (with Charlotte Sykes) (1985) Rowland & Jacob. ISBN 0-921430-00-0
• Police: Urban Policing in Canada (1986) James Lorimer and Company. ISBN 0-88862-744-0
• The shape of the city: Toronto struggles with modern planning (1993) University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-7409-X
• Houses and Homes: Housing for Canadians (1994) James Lorimer and Company. ISBN 1-55028-437-1
• Redeveloping public housing projects (1999) Caledon Institute of Social Policy. ISBN 1-894159-67-5
• Doors Open Toronto, Illuminating the City's Great Spaces (2002) Random House. ISBN 0-676-97498-8
• Mackenzie, a political biography of William Lyon Mackenzie (2002) James Lorimer and Company. ISBN 1-55028-767-2
• A New City Agenda (2004) Zephyr Press. ISBN 0-9734112-2-8

Mackenzie: A Political Biography

The work is a biography and historical defense of William Lyon Mackenzie, the first mayor of Toronto and leader of the 1837 Upper Canada Rebellion. // Today, films and television programs surrounding the lives of famous people are a major part of the entertainment industry. ... William Lyon Mackenzie William Lyon Mackenzie (March 12, 1795 – August 28, 1861) was a Canadian journalist, politician and leader of an unsuccessful rebellion. ... The Republic of Canadas flag - the two stars represent Upper and Lower Canada. ...

External links

• John Sewell official website
• LocalGovernment.ca
• Order of Canada Citation