Philip Alves

Vaughan’s budget chief quit the post prior to an evening council meeting April 27. The announcement of Councillor Bernie DiVona’s resignation, made by deputy city clerk Sybil Fernandes, comes on the heels of a damaging audit report delving into his 2006 campaign finances, released last week.

Councillors decided Tuesday to hold off making a decision on redrawing the city’s ward boundaries to give residents another chance to make their opinions known.

Mayor Linda Jackson is staying mum on whether a sweep for bugs in her office last year uncovered anything illicit, citing the security of the City of Vaughan as reason for her silence.

Faced with uneven population growth in its five wards, the City of Vaughan is poised to redraw the political map ahead of the 2010 municipal election.

Council has given the go ahead to special prosecutor Timothy Wilkin to pursue charges against Mario Campese, Mayor Linda Jackson’s husband and 2006 campaign manager.

Vaughan’s new integrity commissioner says her job isn’t the cleanup of city hall. It’s to create rules and make sure they’re being followed. Suzanne Craig, who will be leaving her post as Toronto’s director of corporate access and privacy to take up her new position on April 6, says she’s heard the cleanup suggestion and it’s presumptuous.

Vaughan city councillors are pleased with a recent court decision that cleared them of wrongdoing and bias against Mayor Linda Jackson. Ontario Superior Court Justice Peter Lauwers’ ruling, released last week, dismissed Jackson’s claims that council’s unanimous call in June to pursue charges after a court-ordered audit of her campaign finances hinged on a series of illegal actions.

Mayor Linda Jackson says she’s disappointed with a recent court ruling in her battle with the city and is considering her options.

Mayor Linda Jackson says she will release a statement later today in response to a court ruling by Ontario Superior Court Justice Peter Lauwers released last night.

Less than a month after Vaughan’s eight councillors demanded her resignation, Mayor Linda Jackson is working to end the cold war that has gripped city hall. On a frigid Sunday afternoon outside Vellore Village Community Centre, Jackson pledged to work with her council colleagues to end what she called the acrimony that has impeded important city work.

The dawning of a new year has brought cautious hope for a renewed spirit of cooperation between the mayor and her council colleagues. 2008 ended with a call for reconciliation from embattled Mayor Linda Jackson following a public demand from Vaughan’s eight councillors that she resign.

Looking back at 2008, Vaughan Today’s editorial staff faced what turned out to be an easy decision when choosing Newsmaker of the Year. There were worthy runners up, but only nine could come out on top. Love them or hate them, you couldn’t avoid them in 2008.