June Rowlands
June Rowlands was the 67th mayor of
Toronto, Ontario, and the first female to hold that office (beginning in
1991). Rowlands is probably best remembered for banning the Toronto pop group
Barenaked Ladies from performing at a City Hall function, claiming that the group's name objectified women. The band shrugged it off good-naturedly, but the issue became a bit of a
cause celebre among many Toronto voters, who felt it an example of
political correctness run amok.
In the end, Barenaked Ladies went on to great national and international success; after one term in office, Rowlands was defeated in 1994 by Barbara Hall, and retired from politics.