Toronto city council voted in an interim councillor for Ward 1 Etobicoke North this week. After vacating the seat for about 40 days, Rose Milczyn was voted in with 22 of 25 votes. 

She will be the interim councillor until the Oct. 24 municipal election. The longtime Etobicoke resident told council that she does not intend to run for the council seat in October, and will remain in a transitory role for the ward.  

Milczyn is the city’s former district manager for its bylaw enforcement division, and has a 40-year history working for different levels of government. 

Her appointment comes after Rosemarie Bryan resigned as Ward 1 councillor hours after being voted in. Past Facebook posts that were allegedly homophobic in nature emerged on social media, prompting Bryan to resign in a written statement.

Canadaland’s Jonathan Goldsbie was the first to bring the posts to light, criticizing the council for voting in a candidate with alleged homophobic views during June’s pride month. Voters, including Toronto Mayor John Tory, said they would have not voted for Bryan had they known about the posts.  The council promised better due diligence in their voting process for interim councillors moving forward. 

In the initial vote, Bryan received 21 votes from council. 

Prior to the Aug. 15 council meeting, Milczyn was one of 17 candidates for the seat. She will be sworn as council later this week.

Milczyn was contacted to discuss her new role in Ward 1 and what she hopes to accomplish prior to the October election. 

CJRU is awaiting a response. 

More details to come. 

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