Maria Augimeri avoids a by-election; Rob Ford avoids the referendum he probably doesn’t want anymore

Thanks to the Superior Court of Ontario, Maria Augimeri avoided the crushing indignity of a by-election. The court ruled last year’s results from the Ward 9 election, in which second-place finisher Gus Cusimano lost by a mere 89 votes are valid. Rob Ford and his supporters on council had publicly hoped for the opposite result, suggesting a by-election would serve as a referendum on the mayor’s performance so far; however, as we previously pointed out, they were likely overestimating the effect of removing left-wing Augimeri from council. Plus, before the waterfront debacle, the Marg Delahunty dust-up and the painful budget process, among other things, had tarnished the Ford’s image. Perhaps the good mayor would be slightly less enthused about a referendum today. Read the entire story [Torontoist] »