Councillors’ expenses for 2010: city hall’s five winners and five losers

The city has released the data on councillors’ expenses for 2010: because of the election, their annual allowances are less, and they end with the new council on December 1, so we all get to pore through the numbers a little bit early.  So how did the council do? Let’s look at the winners and losers based on Toronto’s new gravy-free perspective:

Winners of the gravy-free lunch

1. Rob Ford ($65.79)
2. Doug Holyday ($1,511.46)
3. Frances Nunziata ($5,050.93)
4. Mike Feldman ($7,487.89)
5. Joe Pantalone ($8,417.27)

Rob Ford’s position in the number 1 spot is no surprise; that he expensed anything at all is, though. According to the invoice, Ford’s office billed the city for a toner cartridge for a Lexmark printer. Holyday and Nunziata are in the same position they occupied in 2009, making these three a triumvirate of thrift. Joe Pantalone went from number 21 last year to number five in 2010, which we guess is what an election year does for spending habits. Also making a wild change was Adam Vaughan, who went from number 43 last year to number six. Alas, he didn’t make the podium this year, but maybe if he keeps it up he’ll be in contention for 2014.

Losers, or conductors of the gravy train

44. Sandra Bussin ($42,832.65)
43. Anthony Perruzza ($41,100.03)
42. Ron Moeser ($39,219.60)
41. Kyle Rae ($37,226.96)
40. Paula Fletcher ($35,286.44)

These five have something in common. They either lost re-election badly (Bussin) or won in the tightest of squeakers (Fletcher, Moeser). Perruzza can be said to be “leading” this bunch in victory with a lead over his challenger of a whopping three per cent. Kyle Rae, of course, left the clamshell this year, but his coattails were insufficient to land Ken Chan in office, who ended up losing to Kristin Wong-Tam despite Chan’s being endorsed by Rae early on. In this election year, maxing out the expense account looks like it was political kryptonite—except for that to be true, one of this bunch would have to be Superman. And we aren’t seeing it.

• Councillors Office Expense Reporting [Toronto.ca]
• Giambrone continued French studies on his way out [Toronto Star]

(Images: city hall, Benson Kua; cash register, David Trawin)