A retired city bureaucrat is the newest member of Toronto city council.

Jim Hart easily won appointment to the vacant Ward 44 (Scarborough - East) seat during a special council meeting Wednesday. Hart received 27 of 40 possible votes from sitting city councillors. He beat the next closest candidate, former councillor David Soknacki, who received nine votes.

“I’m over-whelmed by the vote,” he said. “27 votes in favour was much better than I anticipated. I’m happy to see the vote was wide-spread across council. Members of council from every (political) stripe voted for me. That was really significant and I really appreciate that.”

The seat was declared vacant this spring after Councillor Ron Moeser died following a long battle with cancer. Hart had been working in Moeser’s office for the last year to help the ailing councillor shepherd along a number of key projects.

Hart said he planned to continue that important work, like projects on Port Union Road and the Waterfront Trail, until the end of this council term next year.

“I can’t wait to get down here, back to work, in the place I love,” he said.

“What I love about the ward is it’s green and it’s beautiful and I want to keep it that way,” he added.

Hart worked for the city for 31 years before retiring in 2014. For over two decades, he held senior management positions including as head of the city’s Parks, Forestry and Recreation division.

The appointment process wasn’t without controversy. Soknacki said that after initially receiving the support of some councillors he was told last week “unnamed sources” were telling them to vote for Hart.

Soknacki said the change appears to be connected to the Scarborough subway project. While he told the Toronto Sun he would have no intention to revisit the issue if appointed, in 2014, when he ran for mayor, he was in favour of building a light-rail line and not the subway.

On Wednesday, Soknacki appealed to councillors to stay “true to their word” and support him.

“I know it’s tough,” he said. “I was there on that side and I know I had to make a number of decisions that were tough at the time.”

sjeffords@postmedia.com