Ambitious candidates square off
The Star identified several “Wards to Watch” in a 47-ward election. Now that new legislation has made it a 25-ward election, we have determined all of the wards are worth watching. This is one in a series of articles. The election is Oct. 22. Advance voting begins Oct. 10.
Premier Doug Ford’s decision to cut Toronto’s wards almost in half caused many candidates in the October municipal election to question if they should still run.
Doubting they’d even have a shot in a suddenly much more competitive race, about 75 decided to drop out.
Cheryl Lewis-Thurab was not one of them.
The non-profit professional is sticking by her decision to throw her hat in the ring in the new ward of Scarborough— Rouge Park, challenging incumbent Neethan Shan, even as her competition swelled from four candidates to 10.
“I am more determined than ever to make a difference,” she said.
“And to continue to see this through to the end because I believe the residents of my community and of Toronto deserve
Incumbent facing 10 challengers running for council in sprawling east-end ward
to have strong voices at city council.”
Lewis-Thurab is a graduate of Women Win TO, an organization that offered special training to encourage women to run for municipal office. The 2018 election was seen as an opportunity to get more diverse candidates elected, as there were several open races without returning councillors.
While that’s not the case under the 25-ward model, for Lewis-Thurab, seeing people decide not to continue running has made her more committed than ever.
“We can’t say we need to have more diversity, we need to have strong voices and then when the going gets tough, we turn around and walk away.” The sprawling Ward 25 — which stretches from the Pickering border to the east, Steeles Ave. to the north, the Rouge River, Neilson Rd. and Morningside Ave. to the west, and all the way south to the lake — includes Rouge National Urban Park, Centennial College and the University of Toronto Scarborough.
Its diverse residents have a wide variety of needs, from seniors programs to daycare. But they all desperately need better transit connections to downtown and within Scarborough, Lewis-Thurab said. Amanda Cain, another Women Win TO grad, has done longtime advocacy work with the arts and young parents.
Cain also sees the No.1issue as transit and said she would work for more affordable housing and better-paying jobs.
Candidates should also pay attention to the need for youth programs, so young people can be encouraged toward “productive behaviour” and away from crime, she said.
Environmental scientist Jennifer McKelvie is also running, and, with the shakeup of wards, went from being a candidate in an open race to one with an incumbent.
But she said she hasn’t wavered in her decision and is committed to her platform of a better-integrated transit system and safer school zones.
Jasper Ghori, a trained marine engineer from Pakistan who is also running, sees gun violence as the biggest issue. He’d like to expand scholarships for young people to keep them out of trouble and stop the “unnecessary deaths.”
Transit is also on his mind, especially in areas around the U of T Scarborough. He proposes building overhead walkways on the Scarborough campus and more bike lanes.
Shan was elected to the old ward of Scarborough—Rouge River in February 2017 in a byelection. Originally from Sri Lanka, he became the first Tamil-Canadian city councillor and was later appointed Toronto’s newcomer advocate.
Unlike several other councillors, he doesn’t have to face off against another incumbent in the new ward.
Shan said during his time on council, he’s proud of installing traffic lights and stop signs to make streets safer, organizing park tours of green space and advocating for the proposed Eglinton East LRT to be extended into Malvern.
The ward is one of the most diverse in Toronto, with 72 per cent visible minorities, the 2016 census found, including large South Asian, African, Caribbean, and Filipino populations. Scarborough—Rouge Park candidates: Amanda Cain, Paul Cookson, Daniel Cubellis, Jasper Ghori, Reza Khoshdel, Cheryl Lewis-Thurab, Dave Madder, Jennifer McKelvie, Christopher Riley, Neethan Shan (incumbent) and Joseph Thomas.