Tom Jakobek
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Tom Jakobek is a former member of the Toronto City Council. He was first elected to council in 1982 after serving as a school trustee, and remained a member until 2000.
Jakobek was for many years a bulwark of the council's right-wing. He became city budget chief in 1990, and held the position for the next ten years despite an attempt by Barbara Hall and others to oust him in 1994. In this capacity, he delivered nine consecutive budgets with no tax increases. Following the city's amalgamation in 1997, Jakobek emerged as a prominent ally of new mayor Mel Lastman. He retired from politics in 2000 and served briefly as a vice-president at Toronto East General Hospital.
He ran for Mayor of Toronto in 2003, but garnered barely 5,000 votes across the entire city, less than one per cent of the total votes cast. His candidacy was hurt by allegations of improper conduct in a computer leasing deal between the City of Toronto and MFP Financial Services. In prior testimony at the Toronto Computer Leasing Inquiry, Jakobek had admitted to lying about his involvement in a controversial computer leasing deal between the city and MFP Financial Services.
Rumours also circulated that Jakobek solicited a bribe from MFP salesman Dash Domi to finalize the city's contract, using lobbyist Jeff Lyons as a go-between. The Ontario Provincial Police determined that the evidence did not warrant charges, though suspicions have remained. A 2005 report from Justice Denise Bellamy investigating the matter described Jakobek as a "slippery operator" and "a strategic liar" (Globe and Mail, 22 October 2005), and said there was "credible evidence" Jakobek had received a $25,000 payoff from Domi (Calgary Herald, 13 September 2005).
In 2004, members of Jakobek's family testified to knowledge of an unusual but legal series of financial arrangements within their family involving the Domi affair.
