Rachel Chernos Lin

Rachel Chernos Lin
Toronto City Councillor for Ward 15 Don Valley West
Incumbent
Assumed office 4 November 2024
Preceded by	Jaye Robinson
Chair of the Toronto District School Board
In office 15 November 2022 – 6 November 2024
Personal details
Residence	Toronto

Rachel Chernos Lin is a Canadian politician. She is currently a Toronto City Councillor and previously was the chair of the Toronto District School Board (TDSB).^[1] On 4 November 2024, she won a by-election to replace the late Jaye Robinson on Toronto City Council.^[2] She represents Ward 15 Don Valley West.^[3] In 2018, her political career started when she was elected as a TDSB school trustee for Ward 11.^[4] She was re-elected as the Ward 11 trustee in the October 2022 municipal election.^[5] On 15 November 2022 she was elected as the TDSB’s chair.^[6] While a school board trustee, she led the board to join a class-action lawsuit against social media companies because of how their products can potentially affect students negatively.^[7] Chernos Lin lives in the Don Valley West riding with her husband and two children.^[8] She is Jewish and her husband is Asian.^[9]

2024 Ward 15 by-election

Ward 15's previous councillor, Jaye Robinson, was diagnosed with breast cancer and took a temporary leave of absence from council on 29 October 2019.^[10] She returned to council meetings in November 2020, although her attendance was done remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[11] Robinson died – while still serving as a city councillor – on 16 May 2024, at the age of 61.^[12][13] Following her death, City Council – on 26 June 2024 – approved the 4 November 2024 by-election to fill her seat.^[14] Her son Sam Robinson ran in the by-election, and came in third.^[1] Near the end of the campaign progressive candidates Dhruv Jain and Evan Sambasivam suspended their campaigns – too late to remove their names from the ballot – and endorsed Chernos Lin due to fears of splitting the vote and enabling an Anthony Furey victory.^[15] On election night, Cherson Lin won almost 55 percent of the vote, and her closest competitor, Furey, came a distant second with roughly 31 percent of the vote.^[16] Voter turnout was slightly better than the 2022 general election at 31 percent, which was somewhat unusual for a municipal election.^[15]

2024 Toronto municipal by-election, Ward 15 Don Valley West
Candidate	Votes	Vote share
Rachel Chernos Lin	12,899	54.76%
Anthony Furey	7,343	31.17%
Sam Robinson	1,271	5.40%
Sheena Sharp	575	2.44%
Lesley Stoyan	345	1.46%
Shakhlo Sharipova	301	1.28%
Evan Sambasivam	186	0.79%
Habiba Desai	137	0.58%
Syed Jaffery	124	0.53%
Dhruv Jain	123	0.52%
Calvin Xu	72	0.31%
Jason Stevens	70	0.30%
Cleveland Marshall	37	0.16%
Peter Handjis	36	0.15%
Mario Lamanna	31	0.13%
Daniel Trayes	5	0.02%
Total	23,555	100%
Source: City of Toronto[17]

References

1. Spurr, Ben; Cohen, Ben (4 November 2024). "Rachel Chernos Lin beats Anthony Furey in Don Valley West byelection". Toronto Star. Toronto: Torstar. Archived from the original on 5 November 2024. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
2. Passifiume, Bryan (4 November 2024). "Rachel Chernos Lin former school board trustee wins Ward 15 byelection". Toronto Sun. Toronto: Postmedia Network. Archived from the original on 5 November 2024. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
3. CBC Staff (4 November 2024). "Rachel Chernos Lin wins race for Ward 15 council seat: unofficial results". CBC News. Toronto: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 5 November 2024. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
4. Teotonio, Isabel (22 October 2018). "Toronto District School Board poised for major turnover". Toronto Star. Toronto: Torstar. Archived from the original on 5 November 2024. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
5. Teotonio, Isabel (25 October 2022). "Wave of new trustees elected for TDSB". Toronto Star. Toronto: Torstar. p. A9. Retrieved 5 November 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
6. Scarborough Mirror Staff (17 November 2022). "Don Valley West trustee Rachel Chernos Lin elected chair of the Toronto District School Board". Toronto.com. Toronto: Metroland Media Group. Archived from the original on 17 November 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
7. Stober, Eric (31 May 2024). "Social media lawsuit: Why school boards are raising red flags over use". Global News. Toronto: Corus Entertainment. Archived from the original on 5 November 2024. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
8. "Rachel Chernos Lin Re-Elected Chair of the TDSB" (Press release). Toronto: Toronto District School Board. ENC – Education News Canada. 17 November 2023. Archived from the original on 7 November 2024. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
9. Leung, Wendy (29 October 2024). "How a By-Election in Don Valley West Became a Contentious, Partisan Fight". The Local. Toronto: The Local TO Publishing. ISSN 2817-4720. Archived from the original on 5 November 2024. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
10. Wilson, Codi (29 October 2019). "City councillor Jaye Robinson undergoing treatment for breast cancer". CP24. Toronto: Bell Media. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
11. Rider, David (25 November 2020). "Jaye Robinson returns to city council after 'very dark days' of cancer treatment during the pandemic". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
12. Spurr, Ben; Hasham, Alyshah; Habibinia, Mahdis (17 May 2024). "Toronto city councillor Jaye Robinson, the four-term North York representative, has died". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 18 May 2024. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
13. Jones, Ryan Patrick (17 May 2024). "Toronto Coun. Jaye Robinson dies at 61". CBC News. Toronto: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 17 May 2024. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
14. Lavoie, Joana (2 July 2024). "Byelection to be held in Toronto's Don Valley West on Nov. 4". CP24. Toronto: Bell Media. Archived from the original on 3 July 2024. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
15. Roy, Inori (4 November 2024). "Rachel Chernos Lin Wins Don Valley West By-Election". The Local. Toronto: The Local TO Publishing. Archived from the original on 5 November 2024. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
16. Aguilar, Bryann; Freeman, Joshua (4 November 2024). "Former Toronto school trustee Chernos Lin wins Don Valley West byelection". CP24. Toronto: Bell Media. Archived from the original on 5 November 2024. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
17. Elvidge, John D. (6 November 2024). "Official Declaration of Results 2024 Councillor Ward 15 By-Election" (PDF). Toronto City Clerk's Office. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 November 2024. Retrieved 18 November 2024.