Councillor Ron Moeser and recent thorn-in-Mayor-John-Tory’s-side Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti were the most absent from their council seats in 2016.

The Star analyzed voting records for city council — the one meeting where all 45 members are required to attend — to determine how often Tory and councillors were absent.

“I am there for all the important votes and to make sure that the interests of my community are protected,” Mammoliti (Ward 7 York West) wrote the Star in an email. “Spending never-ending hours listening to endless rants from councillors pushing a socialist downtown pet project agenda on a dysfunctional council is indeed a Herculean task.”

Apart from Moeser, who was diagnosed with cancer in March, Mammoliti (Ward 7 York West) was missing in action more often than his colleagues — absent for 38.8 per cent of the votes. That was a slight improvement over his 2015 attendance when he missed 40.8 per cent of the votes.

Mammoliti missed two important votes on the rehabilitation of the Gardiner in March and December, despite his recent vocal concerns over the possibility of tolling the expressway and stated change of heart over the decision to rebuild the eastern section.

He also missed votes on the city’s transit network plan, poverty reduction strategy and affordable housing. He did not respond to a follow-up question on whether he considered those votes important.

Mammoliti appears to have been absent for the entire first, two-day session of council in February, missed a special meeting on contract negotiations with city workers later that month, missed most of a three-day meeting in March, most of a day in July, and other votes during meetings he otherwise was present for.

The councillor’s phone bills, filed publicly with his office expenses, show he was travelling internationally during the first meeting in February.

Council members were asked to push their red or green buttons for recorded votes 1,118 times in 2016. Those votes do not include quick votes that are done more informally using a show of hands. The council average for missed votes was 14.6 per cent and the median councillor (23rd place) missed 13.2 per cent of the votes.

Here’s how the numbers break down:

Most truant

Moeser, who been undergoing cancer treatments missed 81.4 per cent of the votes in 2016.

In an earlier email to the Star, his staff explained his doctors had recommended minimal contact due to a high risk of infection. Though he attended a November meeting, Moeser (Ward 44 Scarborough East) has missed every other meeting since March.

Councillors can lose their seat if they miss more than three consecutive council meetings in a row, unless council excuses their absence — which has been done in Moeser’s case.

Moeser’s office said he has been able to stay in touch with his community. They said inquiries were made about the possibility of an extended leave, but the city clerk’s office informed the councillor “no mechanism is in place to provide representation or a proxy at council or committees.”

“Councillors have to treat each other in a humane way. We have a longstanding practice of being flexible when someone’s ill,” Councillor Gord Perks told the Star. “I think that (at) some point, though, it becomes incumbent on the office holder to reflect on whether or not they’re exercising their privilege in a way that’s fair to the people who elected them.”

In close contention for third and fourth most absent were Councillors Shelley Carroll (30.6 per cent) and rookie councillor Justin Di Ciano (30.3 per cent), followed by Frank Di Giorgio (29 per cent). Carroll’s office said she had the flu during the December council meeting and missed a meeting in October while at a conference in Hong Kong. Di Ciano and Di Giorgio did not respond to a request for comment.

Best in class

Councillor Perks (Ward 14 Parkdale-High Park) did not miss a single council vote in 2016. He topped last year’s record of missing just three votes and bested his colleague Stephen Holyday (Ward 3 Etobicoke Centre), who missed a single vote last year. The two tied in 2015.

“Public service is an incredible privilege,” Perks said in a message to the Star.

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Apart from Councillor Frances Nunziata, who is council’s Speaker, top marks also went to Ward 2 (Etobicoke North) by-election winner Michael Ford, who missed just one vote which he abstained from in December because it related to misconduct of his uncle and former councillor Doug Ford.

Parkdale-High Park’s other half, Councillor Sarah Doucette (Ward 13), missed just three votes, while rookie Councillor Jon Burnside (Ward 26 Don Valley West) missed just four.

Executive split

While some of Mayor John Tory’s hand-picked executive were incredibly attentive — Councillor Mary-Margaret McMahon (Ward 32 Beaches-East York) missed just eight votes — others were out of the chamber more often, like Councillors Michelle Holland (Ward 35 Scarborough Southwest), who missed 28.4 per cent of the votes; James Pasternak (Ward 10 York Centre), who missed 26.5 per cent; and David Shiner (Ward 24 Willowdale), who missed 18.2 per cent.

Tory, while still fulfilling a breakneck schedule as the city’s leader, was in his chair more often in 2016, missing 17.6 per cent of the votes compared to 22.5 per cent in 2015).

Most improved

Denzil Minnan-Wong (Ward 34 Don Valley East), who was named Tory’s deputy mayor at the beginning of this term, was firmly in his chair in 2016, missing just 7.6 per cent of the votes compared to 24.4 per cent in 2015.

Executive member Councillor Michael Thompson (Ward 37 Scarborough Centre), who is often travelling internationally as part of his role as chair of the economic development committee, was also present more often last year, missing just 13.8 per cent of the votes compared to 33.8 per cent in 2015.

Quorum call

Several key votes last year saw noticeable council absences.

Nearly a quarter of councillors were missing for votes on a strategy to improve the lives of Toronto Community Housing residents and a late night vote on the city’s poverty reduction strategy, which included approval of a low-income pass for the TTC.

A quarter missed votes approving the city’s budgets for water and solid waste in December.

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