Councillors billed Toronto taxpayers for popcorn, podcasts

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City councillors spent thousands on podcasts, parties and popcorn – and Toronto taxpayers got the bill.

Councillors’ office expenses for 2024 were recently released, and some of the spending ranges from seemingly wasteful to weird.

Toronto’s 25 councillors each had a budget of $58,411.87, and some spent almost all of that. Lily Cheng, the biggest spender, came in at $58,404.53, barely beating out Chris Moise’s $58,383.99.

The two were also close rivals when it came to buying popcorn on the city’s dime.

Cheng billed $906.98 worth of purchases at The Canada Popcorn Company, spread across community events on three days throughout 2024. Meanwhile, Moise expensed $1,040.64 for 1,000 custom-made popcorn bags for a special Moss Park movie night. (The councillor watched the Toronto-set Disney film Turning Red.)

Dianne Saxe – reaching, presumably, a very different audience – expensed $4,172.16 for Toronto Mike Digital Services to produce two podcasts. One of them, titled Green Economy Heroes, which spotlights environmentally minded businesses, was on the invoices for $2,849.28. (The rest of the expensed amount was for two episodes of a Toronto-themed podcast called Saxe in the City.)

Her most recent Green Economy Heroes episode, released last month, focused on a B.C. vehicle leasing business. Toronto was only mentioned in passing, Saxe did not introduce herself as a city councillor, and municipal politics was absent from the conversation, except when guest Shayna Rector Bleeker made a reference to “elected leaders like yourself,” referring to Saxe.

The Toronto Sun has asked for clarification as to why this would be considered a city expense. Saxe has not responded.

Saxe also appears to have led in taking a ride on Toronto’s money. The University-Rosedale councillor’s office rang up $923.79 in trips via Uber or Lyft. Not far behind was Deputy Mayor Ausma Malik, who prefers taxis. Her office clocked in with $881.83 worth of cab rides.

A couple of car lengths behind were Alejandra Bravo, at $787.33 of taxi trips, and Jamaal Myers, with $757.27 spent on Uber.

In a video posted to social media, activist Daniel Tate called it “sadly ironic” that Myers, the TTC chairman, spent so much time in Ubers “while the rest of us struggled on an inefficient transit system.”

Michael Thompson didn’t pay for taxis, but instead racked up a whopping $6,355.85 in mileage for 2024.

Meanwhile, Malik claimed a number of expenses related to last fall’s Taylor Swift concert series, which was held in her ward.

Malik billed $2,299.24 for community event expenses from the date Nov. 9. While the descriptions in the expense report sometimes differ, it appears that money was spent to hire artists and buy beads, drinks, candy, samosas and more for a Swift-themed friendship bracelet event held at the Bentway.

Malik’s office also paid a print shop $381.60 for flyers “for city services for Taylor Swift series to constituents.”

(Those expenses are in addition to the tens of thousands that City Hall spent promoting the singer with its Taylor Swift Way campaign, as the Sun has previously reported.)

On Dec. 29, with days left in 2024, Anthony Perruzza spent $115 for a screen protector and case for his iPhone. That was a bargain compared with the $178.05 the city paid in June for a phone case and ear buds for his chief of staff, Matias de Dovitiis. 

Vincent Crisanti spent $450 on a meet and greet with Spider-Man at the North Kipling Community Centre one May afternoon. Meanwhile, Myers expensed $732.67 to get Santa Claus to the Merry Malvern Holiday Market. If that sounds like a splurge, it’s because, as the invoice notes, it was for three hours with a Santa with a “real beard.” 

Expenses for Mayor Olivia Chow’s office were also disclosed. Of note: Chow spent $4,032.47 on fridge magnets.

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In one of the big-ticket items, Parthi Kandavel hosted a community dinner meeting on Dec. 30, at Watts Restaurant in Scarborough, reportedly feeding 120 at a total cost of $7,200. Meanwhile, over the year, Nick Mantas spent $23,264.89 on a communications firm that handled his electronic newsletter.

While nine councillors expensed more than $50,000 in 2024, they weren’t all big spenders. Stephen Holyday was, by far, the most frugal, expensing just $1,193.16, below even Rachel Chernos Lin, who only joined council in November (winning a byelection for the seat left vacant by the May 16, 2024 death of Jaye Robinson). In second place for the least amount expensed among those who had spent the full year on council was Frances Nunziata, with $8,724.91 in expenses.

HEY, BIG SPENDERS 

The amounts expensed by the mayor and Toronto councillors in 2024, with both Jaye Robinson and Rachel Chernos Lin included for Ward 15 – Don Valley West:

Mayor Olivia Chow: $76,747.12 

Lily Cheng: $58,404.53 

Chris Moise: $58,383.99 

Anthony Perruzza: $56,588.07 

Jamaal Myers: $56,315.87 

Amber Morley: $55,244.24 

Paul Ainslie: $54,580.81 

Alejandra Bravo: $53,400.17 

Brad Bradford: $51,376.84 

Paula Fletcher: $50,672.56 

Ausma Malik: $49,925.63 

James Pasternak: $48,656.77 

Parthi Kandavel: $48,373.71 

Dianne Saxe: $47,163.96 

Nick Mantas: $38,178.90 

Vincent Crisanti: $37,291.24 

Jennifer McKelvie: $36,220.24 

Shelley Carroll: $34,566.96 

Josh Matlow: $29,009.58 

Jon Burnside: $28,355.55 

Mike Colle: $23,241.66 

Gord Perks: $20,132.37 

Michael Thompson: $17,631.66 

Jaye Robinson: $12,018.41 

Frances Nunziata: $8,724.91 

Rachel Chernos Lin: $1,299.62 

Stephen Holyday: $1,193.16 

jholmes@postmedia.com