Davenport candidate feels fifth time is the charm
After four attempts at winning Ward 9, Alejandra Bravo may have an opening this time
Alejandra Bravo says losing her first four elections in Davenport didn’t hurt.
She wasn’t upset in 2003 when she was defeated in her debut campaign by fewer than 800 votes, she claims, nor three years later when she ran again and was beaten by fewer than 300.
And last September, when as the federal NDP candidate she came up short by just 76 votes? Bravo insists that one didn’t sting either.
“No, it’s never been painful. I can’t say that I ever was sad or that I regretted it,” said Bravo, 51, said in an interview. “I think what I’ve experienced is that it’s worth it to put yourself out there, and speak to people about what matters to them.”
Bravo has run in four elections in Toronto’s Davenport district — three municipal and one federal — and lost every one, some by the narrowest of margins.
But for her, the fifth time could be the charm. She’s running again in Davenport in the Oct. 24 municipal election, and while she’s facing a crowded field that includes a candidate backed by Mayor John Tory, polling suggests she has a shot at finally reversing her losing trend.
“I’d love to say this was a 20-year plan to win,” joked Bravo while out door-knocking in Weston-Pelham Park late last month. But Bravo, a community organizer who until this month was a director at progressive think tank the Broadbent Institute, acknowledges her previous campaigns, along with years of local advocacy, have given her valuable name recognition in Davenport (Ward 9).
“After 20 years, people know who I am. They trust I’m going to be there, and whatever happens I’m not going anywhere,” she said.
Davenport is a wedged-shaped ward just west of the downtown core whose north end consists of traditionally working-class immigrant neighbourhoods, while its southern tip reaches a stretch of trendy Queen Street West. Candidates say the soaring cost of housing is top of mind for many residents, along with concerns about deteriorating city services and lack of high quality transit on routes like the TTC’s notoriously crowded 29 Dufferin bus.
The local council race was blown open in May when popular incumbent Ana Bailão announced she wouldn’t seek re-election. Among the nine candidates vying for the open seat is Grant Gonzales, a 33year-old public affairs professional and co-chair of Pride Toronto.
Like Bravo, he has strong roots in the community, and for the past seven years has held leadership roles at the Davenport-Perth Neighbourhood and Community Health Centre.
Gonzales says he admires Bravo’s “tenacity,” but claims her attempt to jump to federal politics by running for the NDP last year betrays her political opportunism.
“My commitment to voters is I’m not looking for the next office to run for,” he said. “If they elect me as city councillor, this is the job I’m going to be focused on ... And I’m not sure that’s the same commitment Alejandra can make.”
Bailão was an ally of Tory, who tapped her to be his housing advocate, and the mayor has endorsed Gonzales as her replacement in this month’s vote.
But the mayor, who has governed from the centre-right, isn’t as popular in Davenport as he is elsewhere in the city — he had 43 per cent support there in the 2018 election, compared to 63 per cent city-wide — and Gonzales, who frames his policies as progressive, has faced some blowback for accepting Tory’s support.
Gonzales dismisses that criticism, claiming it has mostly come from a small group of “NDP-aligned” people on social media.
He and Bravo share some political views. Both agree there is an urgent need to build more affordable housing, want to expand Toronto’s bike lane network, and believe police’s role in responding to people in mental crisis should be reduced.
But Gonzales charged that while Bravo is running to be the “opposition at city hall,” he’s agreed to work with Tory because reaching across political lines is “how we achieve results for the community” on issues like housing.
The lack of affordable places to live in Davenport is a problem Gonzales says he knows first hand. Not long ago he bought into a condo project that was later cancelled, and by the time he went house-hunting again the price of a comparable unit had jumped by $200,000. He now lives with his mom and sister.
Shaker Jamal, who is also in the running for the Davenport seat, has a similar story. He says he was priced out of Ward 9 during the pandemic when he was “renovicted” by his landlord.
Jamal, who attended the London School of Economics and works as a staff representative at United Steelworkers, predicted the mayor’s endorsement won’t be decisive in Davenport. He said he’s not hearing about it from voters when he knocks on doors.
“They bring up issues, they bring up housing,” he said.
Jamal, 36, concedes his politics are similar to Bravo’s, and the pair could be fighting for the same pool of progressive voters. But while he lacks the name recognition she has, Jamal said he was driven to run because he’s worried about the future of the city.
He said residents tell him that not only are high prices putting housing out of reach, but city hall is failing to deliver basic services like public washrooms, road repairs and transit. “It feels like we are living in a city where we’re paying premium prices, only to get discount services,” he said.
Jamal is proposing the city issue bonds to pay for housing construction, and reintroduce a modified version of a personal vehicle tax to raise revenue for services.
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After 20 years, people know who I am. They trust I’m going to be there, and whatever happens I’m not going anywhere.
ALEJANDRA BRAVO WARD 9 ( DAVENPORT) CANDIDATE