Mary Fragedakis ( ; born April 22, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the Toronto city councillor for Ward 29 Toronto—Danforth from 2010 to 2018. She was also the
Ontario Liberal Party
The Ontario Liberal Party (OLP; , PLO) is a political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. The party has been led by Bonnie Crombie since December 2023.
The party espouses the principles of liberalism, with their rival the Progressive Co ...
GreekTown
Greektown is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Greeks or people of Greek ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood.
History
The oldest Greek dominated neighborhood outside of Greece were probably the Fener in Istan ...
on the Danforth Business Improvement Area (BIA) since April 2019.
Early life and education
Fragedakis is the child of Greek immigrants, and spent her childhood in the Danforth community. She attended Wilkinson Public School, Earl Grey Senior Public School and
Riverdale Collegiate Institute
Riverdale Collegiate Institute (Riverdale CI, RCI, or Riverdale) is a semester high school located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada owned and operated by the Toronto Board of Education until its amalgamation in 1998 into the Toronto District School Boa ...
, before graduating from the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...
in 1996 with a
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...
(MA) in
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
. Prior to her election, Fragedakis was involved for nine years with Open Dialogue, a conference and seminar organizing company and served as one of the founders of the Broadview Community Youth Group.
Political career
First term
Fragedakis was encouraged to run by former councillor and then-federal
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic:
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* The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...
(NDP) leader
Jack Layton
John Gilbert Layton (July 18, 1950 – August 22, 2011) was a Canadian politician and academic who served as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) from 2003 to 2011 and leader of the Official Opposition in 2011. He previously sat on T ...
Case Ootes
Case Ootes (born 1941) is a retired Canadian politician who was the deputy mayor of Toronto from 1998 to 2003. On Toronto City Council, Ootes represented East York's Ward 29 Broadview—Greenwood. He was first elected in the 1990s and served o ...
."Changed council faces new mayor" ''
Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division.
...
'', October 25, 2010. She defeated Ootes' preferred candidate, Jane Pitfield, 41.8 per cent to 28 per cent."Rating the races" ''Now Magazine'', September 2–9
Second term
Fragedakis was re-elected as councillor for Ward 29 in the 2014 Toronto election with a significant plurality of over 60 per cent of the popular vote.
Toronto Transit Commission Board
The Toronto City Council appointed Fragedakis to the
Toronto Transit Commission
The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the primary public transport agency in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operating the majority of the city's transit bus, bus and rail services. It is the oldest and largest of the urban transit service providers ...
(TTC) Board in late 2016. On the board she was a strong advocate for improving public transit. In 2017, she moved a motion to find the $1.2 million for the subway reliability program, which TTC CEO
Andy Byford
Andrew Byford (born 1965) is a British transport executive who has held several management-level positions in transport authorities around the world, such as the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Autho ...
told council would help cut down on track-related subway delays by up to 30 per cent.“I think we owe it to subway users. I know they’ve put up with a lot of subway closures, they’ve put up with no air conditioning on subway cars, they’ve put up with trains too full to get on in the morning and other delays,” Mary Fragedakis. During the city's 2018 budget process, she called for more money for the TTC to address overcrowding.
Two-hour transfer policy
Along with
Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
John Tory
John Howard Tory (born May 28, 1954) is a Canadian lawyer, broadcaster, businessman, and former politician who served as the 65th mayor of Toronto from 2014 to 2023. He served as leader of the Official Opposition in Ontario from 2005 to 2007 ...
and TTC Chair
Josh Colle
Josh Colle (; born 1972 or 1973) is a Canadian politician. He was the councillor for Ward 15 on Toronto City Council for the years 2010-2018.2018 municipal election, the Ward 29 was combined with the other Toronto—Danforth, Ward 30, forming the new Ward 14. Fragedakis ran again as councillor for the newly constituted ward, however, lost to
Paula Fletcher
Paula Fletcher (born 1951) is a Canadian politician who has served on Toronto City Council since 2003. She currently represents Ward 14 Toronto—Danforth.
Fletcher is regarded as an advocate for affordable housing, environmentally sustainable ...
who was the incumbent councillor for former Ward 30.
After council
In April 2019 Fragedakis became the Executive Director of the GreekTown on the Danforth BIA.
2022 Ontario election
Fragedakis announced in January 2022 she would seek the
Ontario Liberal Party
The Ontario Liberal Party (OLP; , PLO) is a political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. The party has been led by Bonnie Crombie since December 2023.
The party espouses the principles of liberalism, with their rival the Progressive Co ...
nomination for Toronto—Danforth in the upcoming 2022 provincial election. She won the nomination on March 17. In the election, she lost coming in second to NDP incumbent
Peter Tabuns
Peter Charles Tabuns (born October 3, 1951) is a Canadian politician who served as the interim leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party and the Leader of the Official Opposition (Ontario), leader of the Official Opposition from 2022 to 2023. ...