Lily Cheng
{{Short description|Canadian politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Lily Cheng
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| office1 = Toronto City Councillor
for Ward 18 Willowdale
| status1 =
| term_start1 = November 15, 2022
| term_end1 =
| succeeding1 =
| successor1 =
| birth_date =
| birth_place = Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| nationality =
| occupation =
| spouse =
| website = {{URL|www.lilycheng.ca}}
| party = Independent
| predecessor =
| predecessor1 = John Filion
}}
Lily Cheng is a Canadian politician who was elected to represent Ward 18 Willowdale on Toronto City Council in the 2022 Toronto municipal election.
Background
Cheng first became known as founder of North York Moms, an online discussion forum for mothers in the Willowdale area.{{Cite web |last=Palamarchuk |first=Andrew |date=2022-01-17 |title=North York Moms group founder Lily Cheng can put house 'back in order' with kids at school |url=https://www.thestar.com/local-toronto-north-york/news/2022/01/17/north-york-moms-group-founder-lily-cheng-can-put-house-back-in-order-with-kids-at-school.html |access-date=2022-10-26 |website=North York Mirror |language=en}} In 2018, she organized a march through the neighbourhood to reclaim Yonge Street and advocate for public safety in the neighbourhood following the 2018 Toronto van attack.{{Cite web |last=Beattie |first=Samantha |date=2018-04-26 |title=Van rampage prompts debate about increasing safety without sacrificing livability |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2018/04/25/van-attack-leaves-toronto-pondering-safety-in-a-livable-city.html |access-date=2022-10-26 |website=Toronto Star |language=en}} Prior to her election in 2022, she also served as the executive director of the NeighbourLink North York food bank.{{Cite news |date=October 24, 2022 |title=North Toronto ward election results: Lily Cheng breaks through in Willowdale |work=CBC News |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/north-toronto-ward-election-results-1.6622966 |access-date=October 25, 2022}}
Political career
Cheng ran against incumbent councillor John Filion in the 2018 Toronto municipal election. Filion had originally intended not to run again that year, and had in fact endorsed Cheng as his successor in the former Ward 29,David Rider, "John Filion not seeking re-election to Toronto council". Toronto Star, June 20, 2018. however, after the provincial government of Doug Ford passed legislation cutting the size of the city council in half by aligning ward boundaries with provincial and federal electoral district boundaries in the city, Filion changed his mind and ran again, winning the seat over Cheng.Jennifer Yang, "Another four years for Filion". Toronto Star, October 23, 2018.
= 2022 election =
Following Filion's retirement from politics in 2022 she ran again,"Two Toronto city council candidates initially endorsed by John Filion in 2018 election are set to face off in Willowdale". Toronto Star, June 13, 2022. winning the seat over Filion's former chief of staff Markus O'Brien Fehr. She campaigned largely on issues of housing in the ward, including opposing a controversial supportive housing development on Cummer Avenue"'Nobody is in favour of those people': The Toronto neighbourhood where the housing crisis has become an election flashpoint". Toronto Star, September 26, 2022. and lobbying for greater community input into a municipal plan to lease a hotel in the ward as an emergency homeless shelter."North York hotel to become refugee shelter". North York Mirror, August 25, 2022.
Cheng won the seat following the October 24 election and took office on November 15.{{Cite web |title=2022 Candidates' Guide - Ontario municipal council and school board elections |url=http://www.ontario.ca/document/2022-candidates-guide-ontario-municipal-council-and-school-board-elections |access-date=November 1, 2022|website=ontario.ca |language=en}}
Election results
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
| colspan="3" |2022 Toronto municipal election, Ward 18 Willowdale {{cite web |url=https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/9085-FinalDeclaration-of-Results-for-the-2022-Toronto-Municipal-Election.pdf |format=PDF |title=Declaration of Results 2022 Municipal General Election|publisher=City of Toronto |accessdate=2022-10-24 }} | ||
| style="background:#ddf; width:200px;"| Candidate
! style="background:#ddf; width:50px;"| Vote ! style="background:#ddf; width:30px;"| % | ||
|---|---|---|
| Lily Cheng | 8,337 | 41.72 |
| Markus O'Brien Fehr | 6,709 | 33.58 |
| Daniel Lee | 4,617 | 23.11 |
| Elhan Shahban | 318 | 1.59 |
| class="wikitable" |
| Colspan="3" align="center"|2018 Toronto election, Ward 18 - Willowdale{{cite web |url=https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/97da-2018clerksofficialdeclarationofresults.pdf |title=Declaration of Results - 2018 Municipal General Election |author=City of Toronto City Clerk's Office |date=2018-10-22 |website=City of Toronto |access-date=2024-03-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321002159/https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/97da-2018clerksofficialdeclarationofresults.pdf |archive-date=2023-03-21 |url-status=live }} |
| bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150px" | Candidate
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" | Votes ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" | % |
|---|
| valign="top"|John Filion
|valign="top" align="right"|8,104 |valign="top" align="right"|31.06% |
| valign="top"|Lily Cheng
|valign="top" align="right"|5,149 |valign="top" align="right"|19.74% |
| valign="top"|Sonny Cho
|valign="top" align="right"|3,130 |valign="top" align="right"|12.00% |
| valign="top"|David Mousavi
|valign="top" align="right"|1,596 |valign="top" align="right"|6.12% |
| valign="top"|Danny DeSantis
|valign="top" align="right"|1,486 |valign="top" align="right"|5.70% |
| valign="top"|Norman Gardner
|valign="top" align="right"|1,476 |valign="top" align="right"|5.67% |
| valign="top"|Sam Moini
|valign="top" align="right"|1,289 |valign="top" align="right"|4.94% |
| valign="top"|Saman Tabasi Nejad
|valign="top" align="right"|1,189 |valign="top" align="right"|4.56% |
| valign="top"|Winston Park
|valign="top" align="right"|593 |valign="top" align="right"|2.27% |
| valign="top"|Gerald Mak
|valign="top" align="right"|545 |valign="top" align="right"|2.09% |
| valign="top"|David Epstein
|valign="top" align="right"|538 |valign="top" align="right"|2.06% |
| valign="top"|Albert Kim
|valign="top" align="right"|291 |valign="top" align="right"|1.12% |
| valign="top"|Farah Aslani
|valign="top" align="right"|187 |valign="top" align="right"|0.72% |
| valign="top"|Andrew Herbst
|valign="top" align="right"|162 |valign="top" align="right"|0.62% |
| valign="top"|Hamid Shakeri
|valign="top" align="right"|122 |valign="top" align="right"|0.47% |
| valign="top"|Chung Jin Park
|valign="top" align="right"|101 |valign="top" align="right"|0.39% |
| valign="top"|Sam Mathi
|valign="top" align="right"|66 |valign="top" align="right"|0.25% |
| Marvin Honickman
|valign="top" align="right"|61 |valign="top" align="right"|0.23% |
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Toronto City Councillors}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheng, Lily}}
Category:Toronto city councillors
Category:Women municipal councillors in Ontario
Category:21st-century Canadian municipal councillors
Category:21st-century Canadian women politicians