Cesar Palacio 

Cesar Palacio was born in Loja, Ecuador and is Toronto's first Hispanic City Councillor. Fluent in English, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian, Cesar has lived, worked and raised his family in the Davenport — St. Clair — Dufferin neighbourhood for most of his life, one of Toronto's most ethnically diverse communities.

Prior to being elected in 2003 and re-elected in 2006 and 2010, Cesar served as Executive Assistant to former Councillor Betty Disero from 1985 - 2003, except for 8 months in 2000 when he was appointed as interim Councillor to replace former Councillor Dennis Fotinos.

In the community Cesar has served as Chair of the Police Community Partnership 12 Division, Chair of the Ward 17 Crime Task Force, Founding Member of St. Clair West Revitalization Committee, Member of the Hispanic Canadian Foundation and as an Honorary Member of the Casa das Beiras Cultural Community Centre. In the early 1990s, Cesar is proud to have organized Toronto's first ever "Community Clean-up Day" and "Community Compost Day", which are now Citywide annual events each year. In 2005 Cesar also received a Life Time Achievement Award for his outstanding contribution to multicultural communities by the prestigious "Premios Somos" organization.

Cesar knows that healthy communities and Cities are built street by street, block by block and neighbourhood by neighbourhood. He has always believed that a Councillor must represent the views and wishes of citizens at City Hall, and not simply push City Hall's agenda on the community. Cesar is working toward a safe, green, clean community, with genuine revitalization and fair property taxes that don't penalize Toronto's most vulnerable citizens. He is committed to being accessible, accountable and building on his reputation for getting things done.