Tom Jakobek (born ) is a former member of the Toronto City Council. He was first elected to council in 1982 after first serving as a school trustee since 1980. He remained a city councillor until 2000.

Background

Jakobek's father emigrated to Canada from Poland.

In high school Jakobek was forced to represent his class in the Student Council, a job no one wanted, as a punishment for talking too much in class. He then served as Student Council President for three years.

Politics

While still in college, at age 20 his former librarian arranged a meeting between him and two school trustees, who encouraged him to run for the position himself. During the time he represented the district on the School Board, he attended college and worked at a liquor store to pay off his campaign debts and tuition.

He was for many years a bulwark of the council's right-wing. He became city of Toronto budget chief in 1990, and held the position for the next ten years despite an attempt by Barbara Hall and others to oust him in 1994. In this capacity, he delivered nine consecutive budgets with no tax increases. Following the city's amalgamation in 1997, Jakobek emerged as a prominent ally of new mayor Mel Lastman.

After departing from the City Council, Jakobek took a break from politics to pursue a master's degree in Health Sciences at the University of Toronto. Partly as a result, Jakobek ended up receiving less than 1% of the vote in the 2003 election.

In March 2010, following a four-year investigation, the Ontario Provincial Police announced that no charges would be filed in relation to the inquiry. Jakobek worked there as a lifeguard in the late 1970s for a salary of $83.20/week. To prevent its destruction, Jakobek partnered with historians Gene Domagala and Glenn Cochrane to create a group called “Save Our Station (S.O.S.)” which raised $75,000 from the Beach community to preserve it. The show was panned by The Globe and Mail TV critic John Doyle, who characterized the show as being "so appalling that normal people will just want to turn it off."

References

Notes

Citations

  • Official website

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