Pinoy political hopefuls lose but optimism is high
Pinoy political hopefuls lose but optimism is high
Joey Abrenilla (PHOTO: V. SILVA)
Observers noted that Filipino Canadians have matured and expressed interest in electoral process
By Veronica C. Silva
Some Filipino Canadians didn’t quite produce the numbers needed to earn a seat in municipal posts across the Greater Toronto Area.
In the recent October 27 polls in Toronto City, only one Pinoy incumbent stayed put in his seat. Other kababayans who aimed to represent the voice of the Filipino-Canadians in political posts were not so lucky.
In the Toronto Catholic School Board District, incumbent Garry Tanuan kept his seat in Ward 8 by getting 6,026 votes, or 44.95 per cent of total votes cast.
In other wards within the Catholic separate school board, first-time hopefuls attracted only a few thousand votes, which are not enough to unseat the incumbent or leading contenders.
Paulina Corpuz (PHOTO: V. SILVA)
In Ward 12 in Scarborough, the combined votes of two Filipino hopefuls didn’t come close to the votes gained by incumbent Nancy Crawford. Paulina Corpuz got 3,010 votes while Ace Alvarez got only 1,685 votes. In contrast, Crawford got 6,471 votes, or 45.20 per cent of the total 14,315 votes cast in the ward.
In Ward 5, hopeful Joey Abrenila got 1,867 votes, or 13.09 per cent of total votes. Incumbent Maria Rizzo got 5,570 votes, or 39 per cent of total votes to hold on to her seat.
In Ward 9, Manuel Ching lost to incumbent Jo-Ann Davis.
In Ward 7, Emmanuel “Manny” Yanga lost to returning trustee candidate Mike del Grande, whose son, Joseph was the incumbent. Del Grande left his seat in Toronto city council to take over his son’s former post. The elder Del Grande got 8,108 votes, or 68.2 per cent of the total 11,625 votes cast.
At Toronto City Council race, Randy Bucao tried to win the Pinoys’ hearts in the Bathurst area west of Yonge Street. But he got only 1,040 votes, or 5.37 per cent of 19,353 total votes cast. These votes were not enough to unseat incumbent James Pasternak, who got 57 per cent, or 11,183 votes of votes cast.
Despite the generally weak results, Abrenilla and Corpuz said they believe that Pinoys really came out and voted on Oct. 27. Toronto Elections Services said a total of 991,754 out of 1.6 million eligible voters cast their ballots, which is estimated to be 62 per cent turnout.
Manny Yanga (PHOTO: ARIEL RAMOS)
While statistical data are not available to show the percentage of eligible Filipino-Canadian voters who voted, Abrenilla and Corpuz said they are optimistic that the Filipino-Canadian voters in Toronto have matured enough into active participants in municipal elections.
“Sa tingin ko (in my opinion), … with many Filipinos who ran (in the last elections), more Filipinos are involved now; I think lumabas sila at bumoto (they went out and voted),” said Abrenilla.
Gauging from the media publicity given to Filipino candidates, judging from the different events involving Filipinos during the election campaign and based on anecdotes, Abrenilla said Filipinos were somehow encouraged to go out and vote.
Corpuz also said she experienced hearing from Filipinos who were eager to vote and trying to educate themselves about electoral procedures, such as where to vote and how.
Abrenilla admitted though that unseating the incumbent was an uphill battle for him.
Gary Tanauan
Experts have already expected municipal incumbents to hold on to their posts.
A poll released by Forum Research ahead of elections indicated that a number of incumbents in council would be re-elected.
In an earlier interview Myer Siemiatycki, Ryerson University politics professor, said: “In municipal elections, the person who currently holds an elected position has a big advantage over any challenger. Their name recognition is much higher than the name recognition of other challengers.”
Still, an independent observer said all is not lost in this political exercise.
“I still see it as a win,” said Rose Tijam, president of the Philippine Press Club of Ontario (PPCO). “I think now is the time to strategize — how to push our community to come out to register and vote. How to encourage the community to participate in elections.”
Sometime during the campaign, the PPCO hosted a forum where some Filipino-Canadian candidates got a chance to reach out to the community. It was in this forum where the issue about the voting maturity and participation of the Filipino community in general was challenged.
Despite these challenges, both Abrenilla and Corpuz had no regrets in throwing their hats in the political ring as both look forward to 2018.
In the meantime, both candidates said they will continue to remain busy working with the Filipino communities in Toronto.
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