Toronto lawyer headed to City Hall?

One lawyer is trading the firm for the hustle and bustle of public life
One lawyer is trading the firm for the hustle and bustle of public life

photo by Diego SilvestreA Toronto lawyer running for city council got a big boost earlier this week from the Toronto Star.

Jennifer Wood, senior legal counsel at RBC, is campaigning for the open city council seat representing Ward 29, Toronto-Danforth (the would-be incumbent, Case Ootes, is retiring). Wood was tipped as as the Star’s preferred candidate in a ward-by-ward rundown earlier this week. She faces stiff competition from Jane Pitfield, the former councillor who lost the 2006 mayoral election to David Miller, and entrepreneur and environmentalist Mary Fragedakis.

The Star decided not to endorse Joel Dick, a former lawyer (and Precedent profile subject) who left his job to run in Kyle Rae’s vacated council seat in Ward 27. And Rocco Achampong, a recently called lawyer who’s running for mayor (and who we profiled on our blog this past summer), has been unable to shake the “fringe candidate” label stamped upon his campaign from the outset — despite grassroots efforts to elevate his profile and have him included in more and higher-profile mayoral debates.


Photo by Diego Silvestre