Pam McConnell

Who is Pam McConnell?

Pam McConnell is a city councillor in Toronto, Canada for Ward 28 which is one of the two Toronto Centre wards.

She was a teacher before entering politics by being elected as a school board trustee in 1982. She held that position until 1994. She played a prominent role in advocating for adult literacy programs. In 1988, she became vice-chair of the Toronto School Board and, in 1992, became its chair.

In 1994, she left the school board and was elected to city council in a close race. With the amalgamation of Toronto with five suburban municipalities in 1997, she was forced into a tough election. With wards electing two councillors each, she faced fellow New Democratic Party incumbents Jack Layton and Peter Tabuns edging out Tabuns for the second councillor position by just over two hundred votes. With Tabuns and Layton nominated as the "official" NDP candidates by the ward's NDP association, McConnell's decision to run caused her to be estranged from her fellow NDPers for a period and supported Liberal-backed Barbara Hall as a candidate for Mayor of Toronto in the 2003 municipal election against New Democrat David Miller.

She has maintained her membership in the NDP, however, and has become more active with the party since 2003. She has been a Miller ally since the election and, served as chair of the Toronto Police Services Board from 2004 to 2005 overseeing the selection of a new police chief, Bill Blair. She is currently vice-chair of the board.