THE ROOKIES

Ausma Malik Ward 10 Spadina—Fort York Amber Morley Ward 3 Etobicoke-Lakeshore First elected 2022

This is not the first council term that they expected.

When Ausma Malik, Amber Morley and other progressives, including Alejandra Bravo and Jamaal Myers, entered city hall for the first time, Tory was in charge and they were joining the opposition. Now, they’ve been catapulted into some of council’s top positions, with Malik and Morley both appointed deputy mayors.

“You could literally not have convinced me this time last year that this would be my reality,” said Morley in an interview. For an organizer-turned-politician, a background similar to Chow’s, it’s a dream come true.

For Malik, who is the first Muslim person elected to city council, the honour of her new role lies in both the exciting work to be done, but also in breaking barriers to change the face of the city’s leadership “so that everyone can see themselves reflected.”

These new councillors are among Chow’s closest allies but they are also on a steep learning curve. Some observers have said this makes them less useful when it comes to the strategic machinations needed to wrangle votes across the political spectrum — though they are catching up fast.

Perhaps the most notable example was a failed attempt by Myers, now chair of the TTC board, to suspend TTC CEO Rick Leary pending a probe into allegations of workplace misconduct.

With the new roles comes the weight of new responsibilities.

As a suburban councillor dealing with a rapidly developing ward torn over bike lanes, and as an advocate for police reform who now sits on the Toronto Police Services Board, Morley has had to find balance.

She was the councillor tasked with bringing forward a motion to grant a further $12.6 million in funding to police following a public media campaign by the force. While seen as a walk-back for Chow, Morley said the decision was a tough but practical one to deal with the prob- lem of long response times. But now there has to be results, she said.

Police reform, including address- ing racism and sexism, “none of that stuff happens overnight,” she said. “It’s not a budget cut that’s going to make it happen … It’s rela- tionship building, it’s trust build- ing.”

That challenge became more acute in recent weeks, with Morley and other progressive councillors, including Malik, facing attacks from the Toronto Police Associa- tion over how pro-Palestinian pro- tests are policed.

During the budget debate, Malik was among five councillors who voted against the police funding motion, breaking from the mayor. While she shares the mayor’s vision for Toronto, and says it is important to be aligned on getting there, the kind of approach she wants to see at council does not mean having to always vote the same way.

“There has to be space to make different choices,” she said.

What to watch The two women are among a group of ambitious first- term councillors appointed to high- profile roles by Chow. But a big pro- motion from the progressive back- bench comes with new challenges and high stakes.

‘‘ It’s not a budget cut that’s going to make it happen … It’s relationship building, it’s trust building.

AMBER MORLEY ON POLICE REFORM WARD 3