1. John Sewell earned a law degree from the University of Toronto Law School in 1964 and was called to the bar in 1966.
23 Facts About John Sewell
1. 2.
John Sewell became active in city politics in 1966 when he joined the residents of the Trefann Court Urban Renewal Area in the fight against the expropriation and levelling of the working-class and poor neighbourhood.
3.
John Sewell was involved in opposing the building of the Spadina Expressway in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
4.
John Sewell was first elected to Toronto City Council in 1969 as alderman for Ward 7, a predominantly working-class area including St Jamestown, Regent Park, Don Vale, and Cabbagetown.
5.
John Sewell initiated the founding of a community-owned newspaper, Seven News, seen as an alternative to Toronto's corporate-owned daily papers.
6.
John Sewell became the leader of city council's reform wing, and was elected Mayor of Toronto in 1978.
7.
John Sewell won the election with less than 50 percent of the vote: John Sewell won 71,305 votes, to O'Donohue's 62,173 and Smith's 45,071.
8.
John Sewell established himself as a leading critic of the Toronto Police by demanding greater accountability to the public.
9.
John Sewell was a leading defender of gay rights and endorsed the activist George Hislop's 1980 candidacy for city council while it was rare for public figures to express support for gay rights.
10.
John Sewell subsequently returned to city council as an alderman in a by-election, to replace Ward 6 alderman Dan Heap who had been elected to parliament, and won re-election in 1982.
11.
John Sewell retired from municipal politics in 1984 to accept a job as a columnist at The Globe and Mail.
12.
John Sewell subsequently moved to Now Magazine and then wrote a regular column in Toronto's eye weekly from 1999 to 2005.
13.
John Sewell has written a number of books and articles on Toronto urban issues.
14.
John Sewell served as chair of the Toronto public housing authority from 1986 to 1988 and is an acknowledged urban affairs expert.
15.
John Sewell has served as chair of the Royal Commission on Planning and Development Reform in Ontario from 1991 to 1993.
16.
John Sewell was an advisor to the city council of East London, South Africa from 1994 to 1999 and as advisor on the re-establishment of local government in Malawi in 2000.
17.
John Sewell taught law, politics, and social science at York University from 1989 to 1991.
18.
John Sewell was criticized for remaining in the race after Leach, whom he had personally targeted as the minister responsible for amalgamation, had withdrawn from the contest.
19.
In 2005, John Sewell was made a member of the Order of Canada.
20.
On June 26,2006, John Sewell announced that he would seek election in Ward 21 and run against Joe Mihevc in Toronto's 2006 municipal election.
21.
John Sewell said that he was motivated to run because of the construction of a streetcar right-of-way along St Clair Avenue, which was supported by Mihevc.
22.
John Sewell is active in the Toronto Police Accountability Coalition.
23.
John Sewell received chemotherapy, and as of November 2009, the cancer is in remission.