Joe DiPaola - Local & Regional Councillor

Joe DiPaola has been electing to represent Richmond Hill residents for five times on Richmond Hill City Council. Currently as Regional Councillor, he has also served previously as the Ward 6 Councillor (1997-2006). During 2018-2022, he also served as the Deputy Mayor of City of Richmond Hill, and was appointed as Acting Mayor from 2021-2022. He was first elected in 1997.

Mr. DiPaola has been a proud resident of Richmond Hill since 1979. At the age of 8 he first moved with his family to Bryson Drive. He purchased his first own on Northern heights, and later owned property on Hacienda and Pexton Avenue. He now lives in Oak Ridges with his family near the Oak Ridges Community Centre. While attending school in Richmond Hill he played a number of sports including hockey and baseball representing Richmond Hill on different teams. He is known as a strong family-oriented individual, and a caring and concerned member of the community. Mr. DiPaola has sat on numerous town committees, including the Chair of the Budget Committee, York Housing Inc., York Region Planning Advisory Committee, Oak Ridges Library Board, the Committee of the Whole, the Road Watch Committee, the Grid Lock Task Force and the Canada Day Committee. During his tenure as Acting Mayor, he sat on the Boards of Directors of the Toronto Region Conservation Authority and York Region Transit Authority.

A notable achievement during last term of office, and while serving as Budget Chair, Regional Councillor DiPaola continually stressed the need for efficiencies across the corporation to reduce costs and the tax burden on residents. In doing so he asked staff to prepare their 2021 budget such that the city could achieve a zero percent tax rate increase, particularly during the COVID pandemic. Many said to him that this could not be done but he insisted” it had to be done”. Through the direction of the Budget Committee staff were able to prepare a zero percent tax rate increase. As a result Richmond Hill now has the third lowest tax rate of any municipality in the GTHA. To learn more about the 2021 budget go to: http://joedipaola.ca/budget-community-news/

A long time advocate and champion of the Yonge-North Subway extension he was committed to making sure the end point subway station was built in Richmond Hill while he was the Ward 6 Councillor. Regional Councillor DiPaola was excited to see this development come to life in the recent Metrolinx announcement of two stations to be located in Richmond Hill by 2030.

Over the years, Regional Councillor DiPaola has been very active in the community, assisting with numerous organizations and events. He has helped plan the Canada Day celebrations, Richmond Hill’s 125th Anniversary, and the Santa Claus Parade. He has also assisted the Sick Children’s Hospital Foundation, the Canadian Spinal Research Organization, Messinesi Club of Ontario, and Lake Simcoe Conservation Authority. He is also a former member of the Richmond Hill Chamber of Commerce.