Paula Fletcher (born 1951) is a Canadian politician who has served on Toronto City Council since 2003. She currently represents Ward 14 Toronto—Danforth. Fletcher is regarded as an advocate for affordable housing, environmentally sustainable policy, social justice and good land use planning. She describes her views as ascribing to progressive values. Early life and family Fletcher was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario and moved to Toronto, then to Winnipeg, Manitoba, before again relocating to Toronto. She now lives in Toronto with her husband John Cartwright and their two children. Her husband is the president of the Toronto and York Region Labour Council. A carpenter by trade, Cartwright was formerly the Business Manager of the Construction Trades Council and co-chair of the Metro Jobstart Coalition. He has served on the Boards of the Waterfront Regeneration Trust, the United Way Toronto, the Toronto 2008 Olympic Bid, and the Labour Education Centre. Early career In Winnipeg, Fletcher worked as an educator in third world development, and became a community activist. She was a union organizer in a Toronto garment mill in the early 1970s. After working at the mill, she worked at the Downsview DeHavilland Plant. When she worked there, she went by the nickname "Rosie the Riveter". At the DeHavilland plant, she was involved in the women's committee of Canadian Auto Workers Local 112. In the 1990s, Fletcher worked at Toronto City Hall as executive assistant to city councillor Dan Leckie. Politics In 1980, she ran for the Winnipeg School Board for Ward 2, in the city's north end. In 1981, she was elected leader of the Communist Party of Canada (Manitoba) and served as leader for five years. She ran in the 1981 and 1986 provincial elections in the Winnipeg riding of Burrows. She garnered 144 and 131 votes respectively, less than 2 per cent of the popular vote. In the early 1980s, she sang with a group called Rank and File. In 1986, Fletcher left the Communist Party and moved back to Toronto. Toronto District School Board Trustee In 2000, Fletcher was elected as a trustee for Ward 15 in the Toronto District School Board (TDSB). During her time on the board, she was active in fighting service cuts by the Mike Harris and Ernie Eves Progressive Conservative governments, and helped prevent two school closures in her area. One of them was Bruce Junior Public School, which Fletcher helped