Pam McConnell
{{short description|20th and 21st-century Canadian politician}}
{{good article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2019}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Pam McConnell
| image = Pam McConnell in Toronto (cropped).jpg
| imagesize = 180px
| caption = Pam McConnell in 2014
| office = Deputy Mayor of Toronto
for Toronto and East York
| term_start = December 1, 2014
| term_end = July 7, 2017
| 1blankname = Mayor
| 1namedata = John Tory
| predecessor = Position established
| successor = Ana Bailão
| office1 = Toronto City Councillor
for Ward 28 Toronto Centre—Rosedale
| term_start1 = December 1, 2000
| term_end1 = July 7, 2017
| predecessor1 = Ward created
| successor1 = Lucy Troisi
| office2 = Toronto City Councillor
for Ward 25 Don River
| term_start2 = January 1, 1998
| term_end2 = December 1, 2000
| predecessor2 = Ward created
| successor2 = Ward abolished
| office3 = Metropolitan Toronto Councillor
for Ward 7 Regent Park and Cabbagetown
| term_start3 = December 1, 1994
| term_end3 = January 1, 1998
| predecessor3 = Barbara Hall
| successor3 = City amalgamated
| office4 = Chair of the Toronto Police Services Board
| term_start4 = October 21, 2004
| term_end4 = October 14, 2005
| predecessor4 = Alan Heisey
| successor4 = Alok Mukherjee
| office5 = Chair of the Toronto and East York Community Council
| term_start5 = December 1, 2008
| term_end5 = December 1, 2010
| predecessor5 = Janet Davis
| successor5 = Gord Perks
| birth_date = {{birth date|1946|2|14}}
| birth_place = Carlisle, Cumberland, England
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2017|7|7|1946|2|14}}
| death_place = Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| residence =
| nationality = Canadian
| party = Independent
| otherparty = New Democratic
| occupation = Teacher
| spouse = Jim McConnell{{cite news| url=http://globalnews.ca/news/3582505/pam-mcconnell-dies/| title=Pam McConnell, veteran Toronto city councillor, dies at 71| first1=Adam| last1=Miller| first2=Nick| last2=Westoll| date=July 7, 2017| publisher=Global News| url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707201818/http://globalnews.ca/news/3582505/pam-mcconnell-dies/| archive-date=July 7, 2017| df=mdy-all}}
| alongside2 = Jack Layton
}}
Pamela Margaret McConnell (February 14, 1946 – July 7, 2017) was a Canadian politician who served on Toronto City Council. She was first elected to the Metro Toronto Council in 1994, representing a series of downtown Toronto wards until 2017. She served as a deputy mayor of Toronto, representing Toronto and East York from 2014 to 2017.
McConnell was a teacher before entering politics. She was elected as a public school trustee in 1982 and held that position until she was elected to Metro Council in 1994. After the amalgamation of Toronto, she was elected to the new city council, serving from 1998 until her death in 2017.
McConnell received an award from the Duke of Edinburgh in 1997 for her work with inner city youth, and received the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2013. The Pam McConnell Young Women in Leadership Award was created in 2018 for women between the ages of 19 and 26. In addition, the Pam McConnell Aquatic Center in Toronto is named after her. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) created the Award for Gender Equality in International Development and named it the Pam McConnell Award.{{Cite web|title=International Awards — Past Recipients|url=https://fcm.ca/en/about-fcm/awards/international-fcm-awards/international-fcm-awards-past-recipients|access-date=2020-12-05|website=fcm.ca}}
Early life
McConnell was born on February 14, 1946,{{cite web| url=http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Pamela-McConnell&lc=3155&pid=186040375&mid=7477376| title=In Memory of Pamela Margaret McConnell| website=dignitymemorial.com| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170710203732/http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Pamela-McConnell&lc=3155&pid=186040375&mid=7477376| archive-date=July 10, 2017| url-status=dead| df=mdy-all}} in England; her family emigrated to Canada in 1954 when she was 9 years old.{{cite web |last=Fraser |first=Laura |date=July 7, 2017 |title=Veteran Toronto councillor Pam McConnell has died |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/pam-mcconnell-dies-1.4195079 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707222020/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/pam-mcconnell-dies-1.4195079 |archive-date=July 7, 2017 |publisher=CBC News |df=mdy-all}} She was a teacher before entering politics by being elected as a Toronto Board of Education school trustee in 1982. She held that position until 1994. She played a prominent role in advocating for adult literacy programs. In 1988, she became vice-chair of the Toronto School Board and, in 1992, became its chair.{{cite news |date=July 7, 2017 |title=Veteran city councillor Pam McConnell has died at 71 |work=Toronto Star |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2017/07/07/veteran-city-councillor-pam-mcconnell-has-died-at-71.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707201333/https://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2017/07/07/veteran-city-councillor-pam-mcconnell-has-died-at-71.html |archive-date=July 7, 2017}}
Political career
In 1994, she left the school board and was elected to Toronto City Council in a close race. With the amalgamation of Toronto with five suburban municipalities in 1997, she was forced into a tough election. With wards electing two councillors each, she faced fellow New Democratic Party (NDP) incumbents Jack Layton and Peter Tabuns, edging out Tabuns for the second councillor position by just over two hundred votes. With Tabuns and Layton nominated as the "official" NDP candidates by the ward's NDP association, McConnell's decision to run caused her to be estranged from her fellow New Democrats for a period, and she supported Liberal-backed Barbara Hall as a candidate for Mayor of Toronto in the 2003 municipal election against New Democrat David Miller.
She maintained her membership in the NDP, however, and became more active with the party since 2003. She was a Miller ally since the election and, served as chair of the Toronto Police Services Board from 2004 to 2005 overseeing the selection of a new Toronto police chief Bill Blair. She also served as vice-chair of the board.{{cite news|last1=Cruickshank|first1=Ainslie|title=Veteran Toronto city councillor Pam McConnell has died at 71|url=https://www.thespec.com/news-story/7412395-veteran-toronto-city-councillor-pam-mcconnell-has-died-at-71/|newspaper=The Hamilton Spectator|access-date=March 6, 2018|date=July 7, 2017}}
McConnell has also been an advocate of children's issues on city council.{{cite web|last1=Simcoe|first1=Luke|title=Meet Toronto's four deputy mayors|url=http://www.metronews.ca/news/toronto/2014/12/01/meet-torontos-four-deputy-mayors.html|website=Toronto Metro|access-date=March 6, 2018|date=December 1, 2014|archive-date=July 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170714041134/http://www.metronews.ca/news/toronto/2014/12/01/meet-torontos-four-deputy-mayors.html|url-status=dead}}
McConnell served as a member of Toronto City Council for Ward 28 from its creation in 2000, and was re-elected every term until her death.{{cite web|last1=Lavoie|first1=Joanna|title=WARD 28: Pam McConnell secured eighth term on council|url=https://www.insidehalton.com/news-story/4947285-ward-28-pam-mcconnell-secured-eighth-term-on-council/|website=Inside Halton|access-date=March 6, 2018|date=October 27, 2014}}{{cite web|last1=Black|first1=Debra|title=Pam McConnell wins Ward 28, Toronto Centre—Rosedale|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/toronto2014election/2014/10/27/pam_mcconnell_wins_ward_28_toronto_centrerosedale.html|newspaper=Toronto Star|access-date=May 8, 2015|date=October 27, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150504222802/http://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/toronto2014election/2014/10/27/pam_mcconnell_wins_ward_28_toronto_centrerosedale.html|archive-date=May 4, 2015}} In November 2013, she briefly became a subject of national and international news coverage when Mayor Rob Ford, during council debate on November 18 around him of discretionary powers following his drug use scandal, got up out of his chair and began to run in the council chamber, bumping into McConnell and knocking her to the ground.[https://www.cbc.ca/news/rob-ford-knocks-over-city-councillor-1.2431150 "Rob Ford knocks over city councillor"]. CBC News, November 18, 2013.
McConnell is credited for her role in advocating poverty reduction and the Regent Park revitalization. She championed the development of an aquatic centre in Regent Park. Two million dollars of the cost the new centre was directed through section 37 funding (a part of the Planning Act which allows the city to receive community benefiting funding from developers) from the construction of the Trump International Hotel and Tower.{{Cite web |date=October 12, 2007 |title=Donald Trump Makes His Presence Felt In T.O. |url=https://toronto.citynews.ca/2007/10/12/donald-trump-makes-his-presence-felt-in-t-o/ |access-date=2022-03-23 |website=CityNews Toronto}} In a 2012 interview, Donald Trump described McConnell as a "tough negotiator" and a "terrific representant for her district", and credited her for securing the funding for the centre from his development.{{Cite news |last=Warmington |first=Joe |date=July 8, 2017 |title=McConnell a 'tough negotiator': Trump |url=https://torontosun.com/2017/07/08/mcconnell-a-tough-negotiator-trump |access-date=2022-03-23 |newspaper=Toronto Sun |language=en-CA}}
Following the 2014 Toronto municipal election, new mayor John Tory appointed McConnell as one of four deputy mayors representing the city,{{cite web| url=http://www.metronews.ca/news/toronto/2014/12/01/meet-torontos-four-deputy-mayors.html| title=Meet Toronto's four deputy mayors| first=Luke| last=Simcoe| newspaper=Metro| date=December 1, 2014| url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170714041134/http://www.metronews.ca/news/toronto/2014/12/01/meet-torontos-four-deputy-mayors.html| archive-date=July 14, 2017| df=mdy-all}} and in 2015 he selected her as the champion of the city's poverty reduction strategy.{{cite press release| url=https://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=af71df79b2df6410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD&nrkey=A0FBC5B13C8EE82C8525815600658ED4| title=City of Toronto pays tribute to Deputy Mayor Pam McConnell| first=Wynna| last=Brown| publisher=City of Toronto government| date=July 7, 2017| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170726060207/https://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=af71df79b2df6410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD&nrkey=A0FBC5B13C8EE82C8525815600658ED4| archive-date=July 26, 2017| df=mdy-all| access-date=July 7, 2017}} McConnell is credited for her role in advocating poverty reduction and the revitalization of the Regent Park neighbourhood.
Awards and honors
McConnell received an award from the Duke of Edinburgh in 1997 for her work with inner city youth.{{cite web|title=Councillor Pam McConnell – Members of Council – City of Toronto|url=http://www.toronto.ca/councillors/mcconnell1.htm|access-date=July 7, 2017|publisher=City of Toronto government|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512231419/http://www.toronto.ca/councillors/mcconnell1.htm|archive-date=May 12, 2013}} In 2013, she received the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of her decades of public service.{{cite web| url=https://www.gg.ca/honours.aspx?ln=McConnell&fn=Pam&t=13&p=&c=&pg=1&types=13| title=Governor General of Canada – Honours| archive-url=https://archive.today/20170707201455/https://www.gg.ca/honours.aspx?ln=McConnell&fn=pam&t=&p=&c=&pg=1| archive-date=July 7, 2017| publisher=Governor General of Canada| url-status=live| df=mdy-all}} In January 2018, Toronto Mayor John Tory announced the creation of the Pam McConnell Young Women in Leadership Award for women between the ages of 19 and 26.{{cite press release| url=https://www.toronto.ca/home/media-room/news-releases-media-advisories/?nrkey=15406175F8CD478A852582190061C1BA| title=City of Toronto launches young women's leadership award in memory of Deputy Mayor Pam McConnell| date=January 18, 2018| website=toronto.ca| url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180119060628/https://www.toronto.ca/home/media-room/news-releases-media-advisories/?nrkey=15406175F8CD478A852582190061C1BA| archive-date=January 19, 2018| df=mdy-all}}{{cite web |last1=Simmons |first1=Taylor |title=Late councillor Pam McConnell's legacy endures in second annual award |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/second-pam-mcconnell-award-for-young-women-in-leadership-1.4996268 |website=CBC News |access-date=11 June 2019 |date=29 Jan 2019}} In June 2018, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities posthumously awarded McConnell a place in its Roll of Honour, as well as created the Pam McConnell International Award for Gender Equity, to recognize "the contributions of a Canadian municipal expert to the advancement and promotion of gender equality in FCM's programs."{{Cite web|url=https://fcm.ca/home/media/news-and-commentary/2018/municipal-leaders-honored-for-outstanding-work-building-our-communities.htm|title=FCM – Municipal leaders honored for outstanding work building our communities|website=FCM.ca|language=EN|access-date=August 13, 2018}} In July 2018, Toronto City Council voted to name the city's aquatic centre in Regent Park after McConnell, the Pam McConnell Aquatic Centre was a key development that McConnell advocated for while serving on council.{{Cite web|url=http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2018.MM44.120#|title=MM44.120 Naming of Public Property after the late Deputy Mayor Pam McConnell|website=app.toronto.ca|access-date=August 1, 2018}}{{cite web |title=Regent Park Aquatic Centre to be named for Pam McConnell |url=https://www.toronto.com/news-story/8794996-regent-park-aquatic-centre-to-be-named-for-pam-mcconnell/ |website=Toronto.com |access-date=11 June 2019 |date=7 August 2018}}
Personal life
McConnell had two daughters, Heather Ann and Madelyn, with her husband Jim. On July 6, 2017, McConnell was reportedly in hospital and was referred to as "gravely ill" by Mayor John Tory.{{cite web|last1=Fox|first1=Chris|title=City councillor Pam McConnell is 'gravely ill' in hospital, mayor says|date=July 6, 2017|url=http://toronto.ctvnews.ca/city-councillor-pam-mcconnell-is-gravely-ill-in-hospital-mayor-says-1.3491880|publisher=CTV News Toronto|access-date=July 7, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706221244/http://toronto.ctvnews.ca/city-councillor-pam-mcconnell-is-gravely-ill-in-hospital-mayor-says-1.3491880|archive-date=July 6, 2017}} She died on July 7, 2017, from a lung condition.
Election results
References
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External links
{{Commons category}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20150715030945/https://pammcconnell.ca/ Personal website] (Archived from July 7, 2015)
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Category:20th-century Canadian municipal councillors
Category:20th-century Canadian women politicians
Category:21st-century Canadian municipal councillors
Category:21st-century Canadian women politicians
Category:Canadian schoolteachers
Category:Chairs of the Toronto Police Services Board
Category:Deaths from lung disease
Category:English emigrants to Canada
Category:Metropolitan Toronto councillors
Category:Politicians from Carlisle, Cumbria
Category:Toronto city councillors
Category:Toronto District School Board trustees