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A power struggle for the chairmanship of the Etobicoke-York Community Council ended late Tuesday with Ward 11 (York West) Councillor Frances Nunziata and Ward 1 (Etobicoke North) Councillor Suzanne Hall in the chair and vice-chair positions.

But the fight continued on Wednesday - and likely will into the new year - after Ward 7 (York West) Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti stood up in council and accused Nunziata of misleading council into having the vote at a time when he, Ward 17 (Davenport) Councillor Cesar Palacio and Ward 13 (Parkdale-High Park) Councillor Bill Saundercook were out of the chamber.

"It's underhanded," said Mammoliti Wednesday morning. "I think that councillors have the right to know both sides of any position, and councillor Nunziata said, 'I move that we break to hold the vote,' knowing that some people had left with the understanding we were going to have the vote today."

Mammoliti said he had been "considering" challenging Nunziata for the job of chair of the community council, and Palacio believed he had the votes to oust Hall as vice-chair.

The Etobicoke-York Community Council was the last of four community councils to select its chair and vice-chair this week, as council finished the mid-term shuffle of its committee appointments and selection of chairs.

The other three community councils met Monday to pick their chairs and vice-chairs, but the west-end elected to wait until council had dealt with another agenda item, that would lift a ban on having chairs serve two consecutive terms.

As it turned out, that vote happened late Tuesday. Saundercook and Palacio were gone from the chamber, off to a community holiday celebration for a local food bank. Mammoliti said he was at a community meeting, although when pressed by reporters, said the meeting was taking place in his office at Toronto City Hall.

Nunziata was also invited to the food bank event, but elected to stay and said the meeting could go ahead.

Ward 6 (Etobicoke Lakeshore) Councillor Mark Grimes, complaining about the process, refused to attend the special community council meeting where remaining councillors elected Nunziata.

Ward 3 (Etobicoke Centre) Councillor Doug Holyday said Grimes along with the other three councillors was simply trying to create an issue of quorum to block the election of Nunziata.

"Those people should have come to that meeting and put a motion to recess," said Holyday. "If it had been put by somebody who had a concern, we would have entertained it. They chose the other strategy and it was the wrong strategy. They were supporters of Mammoliti."

For her part, Nunziata said she behaved appropriately and echoed Holyday's point, that if anyone wanting to question the process could have made time to attend the meeting.

"If it was important to (Mammoliti) he should have been there," he said. "The bottom line is if you really want it, you be there. He's just so bitter because he wanted to be chair. Well, I'm sorry. That's the way it went. Nobody did anything underhanded."

However, the matter could come up again. Grimes said he'll petition to re-open the appointment. And Palacio said there might be some discussion as to Nunziata's co-chairing the west-end anti-crime task force the community council established earlier this year.

"What I'm saying is we should have a meaningful discussion on that and other members as well," he said.

And he said he'd welcome seeing the matter re-opened.

"I think there's going to be some changes, that's my guess," said Palacio.

Holyday, meanwhile, said he'd be willing to see some changes on the community council.

"I'm almost to the point where I say, to heck with both of them (Mammoliti and Nunziata), let's have somebody else," he said. "I might support the re-opening on the agreement that neither of them run for chair."