Alejandra Bravo
Toronto City Councillor
for Ward 9 Davenport
Assumed office
November 15, 2022
Preceded byAna Bailão
Personal details
Born1971 (age 52–53)
Chile
Political partyIndependent
Other political
affiliations		New Democratic
Alma materUniversity of Toronto
Occupation
  • Politician
  • community organizer
Websitewww.alejandrabravo.ca

Alejandra Bravo (born 1971) is a Canadian politician who was elected to represent Ward 9 Davenport on Toronto City Council following the 2022 municipal election.

Early life and education

Bravo was born in Chile in 1971. She lived in Santiago until 1973, when the 1973 Chilean coup d'état forced her family to Canada.[1]

She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Latin American studies from the University of Toronto,[2] before attending the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.[3]

Career

Prior to her election to council, Bravo worked as manager of leadership and learning for the Maytree Foundation,[2] and as director of leadership and training at the Broadbent Institute.[4][3]

Political career

Early campaigns

Bravo has run in the former Ward 17 Davenport in the 2003 Toronto municipal election,[5] the 2006 Toronto municipal election[6] and the 2014 Toronto municipal election,[7] finishing in second place all three times behind Cesar Palacio. She did not run in the 2010 Toronto municipal election, instead endorsing Jonah Schein as a challenger to Palacio.[8]

She ran as a New Democratic Party candidate in Davenport in the 2021 Canadian federal election,[9] losing to Julie Dzerowicz by a 76-vote margin so narrow that it was verified in a judicial recount.[10]

2022 Toronto election

Ward 9 Councillor Ana Bailão announced that she would not be seeking re-election after serving on council for 12 years, leaving the seat in Davenport open for the 2022 election.[11] Bravo joined the race on July 5, 2022,[12] and ran on a platform which included ending exclusionary zoning, building affordable housing, providing stronger tenant protections, improving transit and building more cycling infrastructure.[13] She received endorsements from the Toronto Star,[14] the city's largest newspaper and Progress Toronto,[12] a left-wing advocacy group.

Following the election on October 24, Bravo won the ward with over 70 percent of the vote.[13][15] She took office on November 15, 2022.[16]

Electoral history

2022 Toronto municipal election, Ward 9 Davenport
Candidate Votes Vote share
Alejandra Bravo 17,009 70.72
Grant Gonzales 3,192 13.27
Shaker Jamal 1,414 5.88
Allie Spencer 882 3.67
Steven Leca 675 2.81
Simon Fogel 381 1.58
Jacob Maydansky 207 0.86
Mosea Houghron 151 0.63
Lazare Shorter 139 0.58
Total 24,050 100%
Source: City of Toronto[17]
2021 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalJulie Dzerowicz19,93042.1-1.50
New DemocraticAlejandra Bravo19,85442.0+1.20
ConservativeJenny Kalimbet4,77410.1+0.50
People'sTara Dos Remedios1,4993.2+2.30
GreenAdrian Currie1,0872.3-2.20
IndependentTroy Young860.2
IndependentChai Kalevar770.2
Total valid votes 47,307
Total rejected ballots 429
Turnout 47,736
Eligible voters 77,306
Source: Elections Canada[18][19]
2014 Toronto municipal election, Ward 17 Davenport
Candidate Name Number of votes  % of votes
Cesar Palacio8,29346.24
Alejandra Bravo7,84043.71
Saeed Selvam1,4047.83
George Stevens3982.22
Total17,935100
2006 Toronto municipal election, Ward 17 Davenport
Candidate Votes  %
Cesar Palacio (incumbent)482742.3
Alejandra Bravo454639.8
Fred Dominelli149113.1
Cinzia Scalabrini2111.9
David Faria2061.8
Gustavo Valdez770.7
Wilson Basantes Espinoza500.4
2003 Toronto municipal election, Ward 17 Davenport
Candidate Votes  %
Cesar Palacio5,12744.99
Alejandra Bravo4,33638.05
David Senater9408.24
Romolo Cimaroli5304.65
Nicolo Fortunato4614.04

References

  1. ↑ Ejeckam, Chuka (2021-09-17). "For Alejandra Bravo, the political is personal". rabble.ca. Retrieved 2022-10-25.
  2. 1 2 Nice, Dianne (2011-11-17). "Maytree's Alejandra Bravo shakes up the civic landscape". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2022-10-26.
  3. 1 2 "Alejandra Bravo - Institute for Future Legislators at Ryerson". Archived from the original on October 26, 2022.
  4. ↑ "She's lost in four elections. Here's why Alejandra Bravo thinks her fifth time will be different". Toronto Star. 2022-10-07. Retrieved 2022-10-26.
  5. ↑ Royson James, "Faces of the new Toronto: Thompson, Bravo both face fight to end". Toronto Star, November 7, 2003.
  6. ↑ Jim Byers, "Davenport sees one of craziest races in GTA; Culturally diverse, Ward 17 is most politically divided Only Vaughan has more bizarre election campaign". Toronto Star, November 9, 2006.
  7. ↑ Sahar Fatima, "In Toronto's Davenport ward, a rematch for council". The Globe and Mail, October 10, 2014.
  8. ↑ Laurie Monsebraaten, "City's social issues lose out to tax cuts: Mayoral candidates more focused on cutting fat than helping the poor, hungry and homeless". Toronto Star, October 11, 2010.
  9. ↑ "Liberal Julie Dzerowicz narrowly wins reelection in Davenport in tight race". CP24. September 22, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Election recount in Toronto riding stopped, Liberals confirmed as victors". CBC News. October 15, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Toronto city councillor Ana Bailao will not seek re-election after 12 years in office - Toronto | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved 2022-10-26.
  12. 1 2 "Your Progressive Champion - Alejandra Bravo". Progress Toronto. Retrieved 2022-10-26.
  13. 1 2 O'Brien, Abby (2022-10-18). "What you need to know about the race in Ward 9 - Davenport". CTV Toronto. Retrieved 2022-10-26.
  14. ↑ "Editorial | The Star's endorsements for Toronto Council in Wards 9 to 16". Toronto Star. 2022-10-20. Retrieved 2022-10-26.
  15. ↑ Kopun, Francine (2022-10-24). "Meet the new faces on Toronto City Council". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2022-10-26.
  16. ↑ "2022 Candidates' Guide - Ontario municipal council and school board elections". ontario.ca. Retrieved 2022-11-01.
  17. ↑ "Declaration of Results 2022 Municipal General Election" (PDF). Toronto City Clerk's Office.
  18. ↑ "List of confirmed candidates – September 20, 2021 Federal Election". Elections Canada. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  19. ↑ Elections Canada – Results Validated by the Returning Officer
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