Toronto Council meets today! It’s a very special meeting to appoint a replacement councillor in Ward 1, vacated after Michael Ford jumped to Queen’s Park. I am one of just 27 people watching this stream. My career choices are sometimes QUESTIONABLE! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEa4QT5z76I
Our first candidate is Charles Ozzoude. “Do I see myself — a young immigrant, a Black man — represented on this Council? That’s the question I’m asking today.” A researcher at St. Michael’s, he points to the social determinants of health, and their impacts in Ward 1. Good speech.
Up now: Denise Walcott, a marketer and business owner. She knows this is a caretaker role, and commits to keeping the Ward 1 office running smoothly.
Edward Thompson is our third of 21 candidates. He’s a “wine agent”, selling wine to restaurants. He says the last couple of years have been very challenging for the industry. “I believe worse awaits in the fall” — even without lockdowns — due to inflationary costs.
Thompson wants the backyard chicken program expanded to Ward 1 and the rest of the city. Warns that there could be food shortages if not. End of speech. (Councillors have the right to ask questions after candidate speeches, but they aren’t.)
Carol Royer is candidate #4. She’s got lots of experience working in provincial government and has run an IT consulting biz, and has done community work delivering food. Wants the job so she can continue to serve the public.
A familiar face: Christopher Noor. He’s registered to run in the race this fall and has run twice before. He says he got into politics as a blogger. He points to recent storm damage that saw branches and wires left strewn about streets for days, and says city must do better.
Candidate number #7 Dev Narang starts by congratulating the mayor and council on doing a great job protecting people from COVID. He says he has decades of business experience. He’s also an actor and performer, with a long list of credits on his website. https://devanshunarang.com/films/
Candidate Anand Dave does gig work for Uber Eats and Skip the Dishes, and also works for Amazon. He’d like to see council do more to support gig workers and better protect tenants.
John Genser has worked for Woodbine for 25 years and praises the various Ford family members who have repped the area. He says he plans to run in the fall, because he’s worried about inflation. He wants the city to pass a budget that is “easy on the people.”
Joe Martino, who is a Catholic Board Trustee, has also put his name forward for the job, making his pitch via video conference. He says he knows Robert’s Rules of Order and understands conflict of interest issues. Always important.
A question! Mayor John Tory asks Martino if he’d be allowed to continue to serve as a TCDSB trustee if appointed to council. Martino says he would resign from the trustee job if selected. Also says he has no intention of running in the fall.
Abraham Abbey points to his long experience doing community work. He focuses on the issue of paid parking in TCHC buildings, arguing it’s wrong to charge people a lot for parking spaces in affordable housing developments.
Another familiar face: it’s frequent deputant Miguel Avila. As a Regent Park resident, he says he knows he has zero chance of winning today, “but let’s have fun!” He wants to sit on the police board so he can work to, well, read the t-shirt.
Avila points to a Regent Park program that provides free therapy visits, prioritizing mental health services. “That is one of the real ways to address gun violence in Toronto.”
Rosemarie Bryan, who says people joke that she “never leaves Etobicoke” because she loves it so much, makes a pitch based on her volunteer and charitable experience, including starting an organization that helps orphaned children in Jamaica.
Our final candidate is electrician Tyler Herle, who previously worked for VIA Rail. “I have no real plans to change anything in Ward 1. I’m just looking to be a steward for five months and gain experience in city council.” Straightforward!
Both Holyday and Tory thank everybody for coming. Councillors will now vote, via NON-SECRET balloting. If no candidate gets 50%, they’ll go to subsequent rounds, because electing people to an important office like city council via first-past-the-post would be ridiculous.
The results are IN. Toronto Council votes Rosemarie Bryan are your new, temporary councillor for Ward 1, getting 21 of 23 votes cast.
The two non-Bryan votes went to Tyler Herle (Minnan-Wong) and Charles Ozzude (Matlow).
The mayor moves for Bryan to take Ford’s old spots on the Audit Committee and the Economic & Community Development Committee. That carries unanimously. Meeting adjourned.