SCARBOROUGH – Conservative candidate Gary Crawford’s 11th-hour resignation from Toronto City Council is about getting himself a sizable taxpayer-funded cheque.
Crawford’s quiet resignation, effective just one day before the provincial by-election in Scarborough–Guildwood, ensures that he’ll receive a windfall of just over $120,000 in taxpayer money as severance.
Had he not resigned and gone on to win the by-election, he would not have received a cent in severance.
Crawford and his record at City Hall show that he’s not willing to stand up for Scarborough, and just like Ford and his other insiders, is only in it for himself.
Momentum in the by-election is behind the Ontario NDP’s Thadsha Navaneethan, the only candidate who will stand up for Scarborough.
QUICK FACTS
- Severance for Toronto City Councillors is paid when Members retire, resign, or are not re-elected during their term.
- Severance is calculated as 1/12th of the Councillor’s annual salary, for each year of consecutive service, to a maximum of 12 years.
- Crawford makes $120,502.20 as a City Councillor; his having served for more than 12 years makes him eligible for the maximum $120,502.20.
Under the Municipal Code, Chapter 223, he would not have received severance in the event he was elected to the Ontario Legislature.