Month: October 2018

As we indicated in our recent blog post, DECA posed the same questions to every Ward 19 City Councillor candidate with a published email address (on the city election website). We are publishing their replies in the order that we receive them. 

Meet: Matthew Kellway

1. What makes you the best person to represent the Danforth East area?

My experience as a community advocate and elected representative for the new Ward 19 makes me the best person to represent the area. I have deep roots in the community, having lived and volunteered here for 20 years,and I have a profound understanding and appreciation for the people and issues present in all of our neighbourhoods in Ward 19.

As a community advocate, I founded and chaired organizations focused on protecting the natural environment and addressing climate change. I served as Chair and dedicated myself to Out of the Cold at St. Aidan’s Church because no soul should suffer without shelter. I co-chaired the Upper Beach Refugee Resettlement Committee because I believe our community should be a place where those who need a new home are welcome. From Peanut Lacrosse to Bantam hockey, I have coached, managed and supported kids’ recreation and fought for more recreation facilities in our ward.

As the Member of Parliament for Beaches – East York, I advocated for our community in the House of Commons when funding cuts threatened our environment and well-being. As Urban Affairs and Infrastructure critic, I engaged community leaders across our city to put forward an agenda for all cities. Our action plan called for public infrastructure to be built into our neighbourhoods – from transit to housing to childcare – to ensure that we have a resilient city and a prosperity more equally shared.

I have a strong understanding of urban issues and the challenges of our neighbourhoods and I am keen to foster collaboration – with neighbours, community leaders, other councillors, elected officials and the Mayor to ensure that our city and our ward are caring, prosperous, sustainable and inclusive.

 

2. What do you think is the most pressing issue for this area, and what is your plan to address it?

The most pressing issue in our area is keeping all our neighbourhoods affordable, accessible and sustainable for current and future generations. The lack of affordable housing, accessible and affordable child care and transit is eroding the diversity and liveability of our neighbourhoods and driving families, artists and entrepreneurs out.

Organizations such as DECA and our BIAs are doing important work connecting people, animating public spaces and investing in our local economy- making this a great place to live. But we have to find new ways to address the affordability crisis, both locally and city-wide, to keep our community a place where people of different incomes, ages and abilities, languages and cultural backgrounds can flourish.

I will work to:

• Advance the city’s affordable housing strategy, using city lands to build more new units and inclusionary zoning to require affordable units in new developments.
• Speed up the city’s child care growth plan, to build more spaces and lower parent fees in all neighbourhoods.
• Increase rent subsidies and advocate for meaningful rent controls.
• Keep recreation user fees and permits affordable.
• Improve the reliability and affordability of existing transit (end short-turning of streetcars and bunching of buses) and invest in new transit infrastructure with an immediate focus on the downtown Relief Line.

 

3. Who do you support for mayor, and why?

Speaking with residents about our ward over the past several months, I have heard the pride that residents have in Beaches East York. I’ve also heard their frustration with the lack of progress on important issues like transit, childcare and housing. Tackling these issues will be priorities for me, regardless of who is mayor.

I believe a Councillor’s primary duty is to serve the residents of their ward and the City, and to be accountable to those who elected them. Too often we see mayors use influence or inducements to secure the votes and loyalty of councillors. I do not want to be bound by, or benefit from an endorsement, and I will not be supporting a mayoral candidate in this election.

I am committed to work collaboratively and productively with our community, my council colleagues and whichever candidate wins the mayor’s seat. I’m determined to move this ward and city forward, and ensure it’s a city that’s responsive and welcoming of everyone – a place where everyone thrives. That is my commitment.

 

4. DECA took the position that changing the ward boundaries during the election was undemocratic. What do you think about that?

I wholeheartedly agree and appreciate DECA taking such a strong position. I think Doug Ford’s assault on our city has been deeply anti-democratic and many Ward 19 residents agree. I spent a number of weeks working with our MPP Rima Berns-McGown canvassing residents with a petition to Queen’s Park opposing Bill 5.

The 47 Ward structure was determined through an extensive consultation process and found to demonstrate “effective representation,” and was upheld by the Ontario Municipal Board and Divisional Court. It bothers me greatly that our representative model has now been compromised.

I firmly believe that the province should not determine our governance structure – the people of Toronto should.

Worse still, Ford’s Bill 5 compounds a pre-existing democratic deficit. I am concerned that fewer Councillors could result in less scrutiny of important issues, rushed decision-making and a loss of meaningful consultation with residents. And, worse, greater influence by developers and private interests.

I will work tirelessly to ensure that Ward 19 receives strong and collaborative representation. I will be present in all parts of this ward and I will be a leader on City Council to ensure that we implement innovative governance to bring council and city services closer to the community.  I will work to ensure that in the interim 311 is fully staffed and that the East York Civic Centre provides a full suite of city services, so that people can get their municipal matters resolved here in the east end close to home.

 

5. We expect that our area will see a lot of development in the next four years. What do you think about that?

Our city is growing and changing and so will our community. New development is important and can revitalize neighbourhoods, create new employment and more affordable housing. Planning for this change must be collaborative with community at the centre of the process.

I support our official plan policies which focuses development on our avenues and along transit corridors. Redevelopment on Danforth and O’Connor Avenues will bring new investment in our public spaces and new housing opportunities. The Eglinton LRT expansion and new GO service along the rail corridor will bring more intense development. It is vital that we are engaged as a community to shape our future communities.

The pace of development has often outstripped the growth of public infrastructure and services and have not been integrated with development. Neighbourhoods have been left short of adequate transit, schools, parks, child care and recreation facilities. I will make sure that community service plans are part of development approvals and community service agreements offer opportunities for local employment during construction.

We must also make sure that new housing offers a range of affordability and types. Our city must adopt new “inclusionary zoning” that requires developers to include affordable rental and ownership units for both low and middle income families in all development projects. And it should be protected for the long-term.

New development can undermine the viability of our main streets. Assembly of land and increasing property values can drive up rents beyond the means of independent storefront businesses. I believe the city needs new policies to keep rents affordable for local businesses and protect second floor commercial office space. Our BIAs are doing a great job promoting and helping our local businesses, but they need more strategic support from the city’s Economic Development department to address larger economic forces and changing retail trends

Our residential areas are intended to remain stable and infill development should be compatible and preserve the character of the neighbourhood. I will also push to protect our local heritage assets through the planning process. The Danforth and other neighbourhoods, like Sunshine Valley, Dawes Road and Beach have important history that should be captured and preserved through thorough study and community engagement.

 

6. How will you contribute to a more diverse and representative Council?  

While I am not a member of any equity-seeking group, I believe in ensuring that all voices are heard, all communities are seen, all perspectives considered and accounted for. People of all ages, genders, abilities, religions, races, countries of origin, sexual orientation should be well-served and represented by their councillor and in their city.

I believe in the importance of creating communities where everyone is welcome and I recognize the responsibility of elected representatives to be leaders in creating communities where this is the case. Recently, I served as the co-chair of the Upper Beach Refugee Resettlement Group where we helped welcome a Syrian refugee family to the area and help them build a life here, as so many of us have.

In my time in office as the Member of Parliament, I worked to support local leaders, build community engagement and create space for others. For example, for International Women’s Day, I worked with strong women leaders to create events –hosted by women and for creative women, young women, women of colour and indigenous women.  I also created an award for a Beaches – East York youth of the month to recognize and celebrate the extraordinary things that young people are doing each and every day.

I also worked with the Bangladeshi community to organize events of great significance culturally and politically, including International Mother Language Day. Over time I integrated other cultural voices – eg. Afghan, Celtic etc. – into the IMLD celebrations to overcome the isolation of communities and allow for the sharing of culture, experience and heritage.  I also put forward a unanimous consent motion in the House of Commons for federal recognition of International Mother Language Day as well as a Private Member’s Bill.  I travelled to Bangladesh, as a Member of Parliament but self-funded, to commemorate the loss of over 1,100 lives in the Rana Plaza collapse and to show respect for the people and the homeland of this large, vibrant and important constituency in our ward.

Finally, I support equity criteria for city-appointed positions (boards, commissions etc) so that at least half of all appointments are women and ensure that our appointments are representative the full diversity of our city.

Contact information:

Phone: 647-479-4080

Email: hello@matthewkellway.ca

Twitter: @MatthewKellway

Facebook: facebook.com/matthewkellway

Office: 152 Main Street, Toronto

Website: www.MatthewKellway.ca

As we indicated in our recent blog post, DECA posed the same questions to every Ward 19 City Councillor candidate with a published email address (on the city election website). We are publishing their replies in the order that we receive them. 

Meet: Brad Bradford

As we indicated in our recent blog post, DECA posed the same questions to every Ward 19 City Councillor candidate with a published email address (on the city election website). We are publishing their replies in the order that we receive them. 

Meet: Josh Makuch

1. What makes you the best person to represent the Danforth East area?

My personal integrity and commitment to public service. I was an infantry officer in the Canadian Army for years and led a platoon of soldiers on a combat tour in Afghanistan in 2009. Since then, I obtained an MBA and have worked on Bay Street. But, the same strong commitment to public service that brought me into the military is guiding me back, this time, towards municipal politics. I’m not afraid to take hard positions; I have been vocal, clear, and consistent about my views on the need to put all options on the table to address significant problems with the Woodbine bike lanes, and on the need for meaningful gun control. I have been pointing to the revitalization on the Danforth as an example of what we need to do for other parts of the ward, including sections of Queen, O’Connor, and St. Clair.

 

2. What do you think is the most pressing issue for this area, and what is your plan to address it?

Crime and safety. In addition to stricter gun control, I am a proponent of immediately hiring more Toronto Police officers to enhance police presence and enforcement ability in the area. I have also heard from residents across the ward about local concerns regarding street safety. We need to reduce the red tape associated with measures to slow and control traffic in specific areas of concern, and especially in and near school zones.

 

3. Who do you support for mayor, and why?

I support Mayor John Tory for a second term. While I do not agree with every decision the Mayor has made, overall, I think the City of Toronto will be best served by the consistency of a second term.

 

4. DECA took the position that changing the ward boundaries during the election was undemocratic. What do you think about that?

I am concerned that the Provincial Government made the change to the ward boundaries and number of wards in the City of Toronto without consultation and so close in time to the election. Concerns about the impact of the change on democracy, given the manner in which it was done, were well-founded. That said, I acknowledge that municipalities are statutory creatures of the Province of Ontario. The bottom line now is that City Councillors will have a bigger job going forward because each ward is larger and more diverse than before. I am committed to meeting that challenge.

 

5. We expect that our area will see a lot of development in the next four years. What do you think about that?

I support responsible development and increased intensification in the ward. Beaches-East York is a desirable place to live. There is a consistent influx of people who want to move into the area and a limited amount of geographic space. This organic demand and limited supply drives up housing prices and creates challenges for transit, but it also presents opportunities for greater local economic development. The goal is to manage development to maximize the benefits to the area and mitigate any negative impacts. To me, this means ensuring that development is net-neutral on parking increases and is accompanied by plans to improve and increase capacity of transit.

 

6. How will you contribute to a more diverse and representative Council?

I am a strong proponent of diversity. I will support the implementation of a gender equity strategy at City Hall. I will also ensure that staff in my office are diverse and representative of the ward.

 

For more info:
www.votejosh.ca
Facebook Page
Twitter

As we indicated in our recent blog post, DECA posed the same questions to every Ward 19 City Councillor candidate with a published email address (on the city election website). We are publishing their replies in the order that we receive them. 

Meet: Paul Bura

1. What makes you the best person to represent the Danforth East area?

I was a resident of the Danforth East community, in a family home on Dawes Road, and as a first generation Greek Canadian, I always appreciated the cultural vibe of the area. I moved back to Beaches-East York a few years ago, to start a family in this great neighbourhood. Over the past 15 years I have worked as a public servant at the federal level. I have great experience navigating through government policy and guidelines in order to get the needed service to people. For a community that will see much development in the next 4 years, I think it’s imperative that the city councillor take the interests and concerns of the people living there with greater value than the interests of the developer.

 

2. What do you think is the most pressing issue for this area, and what is your plan to address it? 

Development and the gentrification of an evolving neighbourhood that will still support an inclusive community. I would ensure there is affordable housing, programs, and services for everyone.  I would look at options such as public-private partnerships that we have seen prove successful in other areas of the city such as Regent Park.

 

3. Who do you support for mayor, and why?

I would support whichever mayor is elected by Torontonians.

 

4. DECA took the position that changing the ward boundaries during the election was undemocratic. What do you think about that?

I agree with position DECA took.

 

5. We expect that our area will see a lot of development in the next four years. What do you think about that?

I think development is a positive for the area as long as is conforms to the set city guidelines and takes into account the needs of an inclusive community while maintaining the character of the neighbourhood.

 

6. How will you contribute to a more diverse and representative Council?

I bring with me a fresh new perspective of a vested and caring community member. I am nonpartisan which I believe is important when making decisions because I feel everyone’s view point is valid no matter how they sit politically. I am also not in any way affiliated with a developer, so I could ensure that the plans and initiatives for development truly meet the needs of the neighbourhood.

(No contact information was provided)

As we indicated in our recent blog post, DECA posed the same questions to every Ward 19 City Councillor candidate with a published email address (on the city election website). We are publishing their replies in the order that we receive them. 

Meet: Frank Marra

1. What makes you the best person to represent the Danforth East area?
As a lifelong Toronto resident I have watched the City grow in spurts but never until recently have I witnessed such deep internal divisions on City Council to the point where political platitudes are the rule and residents suffer and the City bogs down. I don’t have any fixed political affiliation or inclination, which is exactly what I think residents of the Ward need, someone without a fixed agenda, someone willing to listen to, learn from and act on all of the concerns of residents, from the minor to the momentous.

It is my pledge that I am your representative first, last and always and I will not let ideology get in the way of serving residents. That is what I believe makes me the best person to represent Danforth East, a willingness to engage in and promote community input and idea sourcing from residents.

 

2. What do you think is the most pressing issue for this area, and what is your plan to address it?

It isn’t entirely clear which is the most pressing issue in the area but clearly there is great concern with gun violence, housing affordability and development as well as transit in its numerous forms.

I would rank development and transit as topmost as they are more directly impactful issues to more residents on a daily basis. Improvements in public transit in our ward have been mostly pinned to a Downtown Relief Line which can’t come soon enough to the area, however that is a long way away and more immediate solutions are needed. If elected, I would be pressing the TTC to advance and complete the improvements to track signaling which are touted to provide decreased travel times and capacity at peak hours as congestion is frequently raised as a concern in our community. With four subway stops within our Ward, the operation and continued improvement of service schedules is a great interest/concern to area residents. I would support the TTC in maintaining and expanding transit improvements that affect our ward residents.

In tandem with that is the Avenue designation of the Danforth for increased density which will not only bring increased numbers of residents into the community but also more pressure on our already stretched infrastructure, including the TTC and our road network. I am proposing that we step back from headlong development along Danforth to better examine what the infrastructure capacities can reasonably sustain or what investments need to be in place in advance to avoid unmanaged growth in
our area which can only lead to the degradation of the quality of life that may be had. Social housing has to be a vital part of that plan also after too long a period of neglect by the City.

3. Who do you support for mayor, and why?

This election brings with it a brand new dynamic between Council and the Mayor due to its reduced size and increased workload. For that reason alone the Mayor should be someone who can and does more directly engage with Council and residents in an open and transparent manner. This is not what we have seen from John Tory on most issues and I can’t honestly support him this time around. The City needs a new style of leadership that will both stimulate and challenge Council to dig in and get things done, the days of a less than a full time commitment of Council and the Mayor are gone. Delay upon delay is what we’ve seen from John Tory and I see no way for that to improve in this election.

I think Jennifer Keesmat is the better choice although she too has some baggage that is of concern, namely her time as the Chief Planner of the City. All in all though I think she has more energy and commitment to advancing matters in the City that does not involve the many distractions our current Mayor engages in such as the giant downtown park proposal and the frequent junkets out of country which bring little to nothing back with him.

4. DECA took the position that changing the ward boundaries during the election was undemocratic. What do you think about that?

I’ve expressed numerous times that I feel that the move to a 25 seat Council was very poorly timed and bound to rather needlessly cause concern among residents as an undemocratic attack on proper and effective representation of residents. However, as the process unfolded I became rather more optimistic that it is good for the City but not for the usually raised reason of being money saving. I don’t believe it will actually save money at all but it is a great opportunity for residents to really weight the worth of
their vote and to whom it shall go this election. Because of the increased size of the new wards, more people will come to be represented by one voice alone and no voter should now be casually casting their vote for anyone who stands behind ideology alone. Ideological rigidness and sloganeering is exclusionary and divisive and won’t serve the City or residents at all and is something I don’t practice.

This election cannot be a proxy for the last Provincial election however strong that temptation may be in a voter’s mind. This election demands that your representative be committed to the community, engaged and available and practice a true spirit of fraternity with voters.

5. We expect that our area will see a lot of development in the next four years. What do you think about that?

As touched on above I think development in the area needs to be tempered with a thorough examination of potential development sites and projected densities against the existing and/or required infrastructure. Doing less than that promises to bring problems and community upset that would be fruitless. As has been seen with the Woodbine Bike Lanes, true consultation is a worry and not always performed well by the City. I would insist on the widest possible level of community engagement/consultation for all major development matters in the Ward so that any development is thoughtful and considerate of the community. Most development should be geared toward the suggested scale of 6-8 storeys, perhaps a bit less, and no more as that would detract from the feel of the
street, setbacks as they currently stand should be maintained. Structures that encroach on the sidewalk like the LCBO on Coxwell are out of scale with the street and are not necessary to any foreseeable development in our ward. Our sidewalks are our greatest asset on Danforth and elsewhere in the ward and should be preserved whatever future development may bring.

 

6. How will you contribute to a more diverse and representative Council?

As a straight white male I can’t claim to be “diverse”, either racially or sexually, but I can say that having come from a large ethnic family of 8 children I do have a strong sense of the challenges and struggles that diverse people face, the greatest being ignorance and fear. My upbringing was not privileged and that has led me to be open to relating to others point of view and experience. My outlook is that everyone starts out as an equal and has the right to be who they are. This is what I defend and practice as a core value everyday and that will inform the decisions that would come before me as Councillor. I
support City programs and policies that promote diversity in all its forms. As to being representative, it is not about symbols for me but about the reward of service to the community and the City in being fully informed and invested and to making smart decisions both in the ward and on Council. As stated earlier, a smaller Council means there is no place to hide and our smart electorate will see through anything that is disingenuous or distracting.

Being representative to me means being a facilitator of the community’s wants and desires, being objective, honest and informed on the basis for a decision being sound or not, in short, being a sincere positive contributor on Council.

 

(No contact information was provided)

As we indicated in our recent blog post, DECA posed the same questions to every Ward 19 City Councillor candidate with a published email address (on the city election website). We are publishing their replies in the order that we receive them. 

Meet: Morley Rosenberg

1. What makes you the best person to represent the Danforth East area?

I believe I am the most qualified and experienced candidate running for city councillor in ward 19. I have 35 years of public service experience including serving as City Councillor in the City of Kitchener for 9 years and Mayor for 6 years. I was also a member of the Ontario Municipal Board for 20 years. I want to use my expertise to serve the residents of Danforth East.

2. What do you think is the most pressing issue for this area, and what is your plan to address it?

I think the key issue affecting residents of Danforth East, is the lack of affordable housing.

If elected I will campaign for the increased construction of rental apartments and require developers to make 10-25% of new units available for low-income Torontonians.

3. Who do you support for mayor, and why?

I would feel comfortable working with either John Tory or Jennifer Keesmaat so long as they supported my efforts to help the residents of Danforth East with their constituent concerns.

4. DECA took the position that changing the ward boundaries during the election was undemocratic. What do you think about that?

I strongly agree that changing the number of wards in the City of Toronto during the election was undemocratic. I believe city councillors won’t be able to handle the additional responsibility of looking after the increased number of residents in the new wards. Communication between the constituents and council members will be severely limited. Each council member will not be able to spend as much time with concerns of individual constituents.

I will push for the formation several community associations within Ward 19 to hear neighbourhood concerns on a monthly basis. With the new 25-ward model, effective delegation will be the key to listening to the concerns of the 110,000 residents of Ward 19, including those that reside that reside in the Danforth East area.

5. We expect that our area will see a lot of development in the next four years. What do you think about that?

I think that it would be great to see new development along Danforth East. Getting rid of commercial vacancies and attracting new small business into the area would be beneficial for the entire community. I would particularly focus on bringing together the Danforth East BIA, storeowners, tenants and city staff to work out comprises that satisfy all parties. I strongly believe new transportation routes will be integral to successfully tying in these new developments into existing neighbourhoods.

6. How will you contribute to a more diverse and representative Council?  

As a senior myself, I can identify with the needs of the growing senior population in the Danforth East area. I am the most qualified candidate to speak on behalf of the seniors of Ward 19 at city council.