Now that Bonnie’s gone, who’s the mayor of Mississauga this month?
Published January 13, 2024 at 5:06 pm
With former mayor Bonnie Crombie devoted full-time to helming the Ontario Liberals as they set their sights on ousting Premier Doug Ford at the next electoral opportunity, who’s now sitting in the Mississauga mayor’s chair?
Until Crombie’s successor is determined in an upcoming mayoral byelection, which is still a number of months away, Mississauga councillors will again take turns watching over things at city hall for a while from the mayor’s perch.
Councillors will assume the mayor’s duties on a two-month, rotating basis. Duties of the acting mayor of Canada’s seventh-largest city include chairing council and committee meetings and attending official events on behalf of the mayor.
Ward 4 Coun. John Kovac, who assumed acting mayor’s duties in December following first-up fill-in Chris Fonseca (Ward 3), will continue in the role for the remainder of January.
Ward 5 Coun. Carolyn Parrish is then expected to take the reins for February and March. Other councillors will then be called upon beyond that, if needed.
Kovac, born and raised in Mississauga, is described in his city hall biography as having always shown a passion for his community and for volunteerism.
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Ward 4 Coun. John Kovac, left, has always been a big soccer fan. (Photo: John Kovac social media)
The passionate soccer fan has also been active in politics and campaigning as well as with local church groups since his childhood.
He grew up in the centre-east neighbourhood known as “Rathwood” and attended both Sts. Martha and Mary Catholic School and Philip Pocock Secondary School in his early years.
After graduating high school, Kovac received an Honours Bachelor of Arts Degree, majoring in history and English literature, from the University of Toronto, St. Michael’s College.
Professionally, he worked for a local MP and also served as political aide to an MPP/Cabinet Minister prior to being elected to city council.
“A continued strong advocate for social justice and for workers’ rights, John has also worked for a trade union as a government relations representative,” his bio reads.
Crombie’s final day on the job in Mississauga was Friday, when she spent a good part of the day cleaning out her office and saying goodbye to people she’d worked with for more than a decade at city hall.
