Background Questions
1) Do you live in Ward 15?
I live directly across the street from Ward 15 at the corner of Davisville and Mount Pleasant and the boundary goes right through my front “yard” (Mt Pleasant Road). Before amalgamation, my condominium complex was part of the ward.
2) Have you previously run and/or been elected for municipal office (school board trustee or city councillor). Please provide details.
I have been asked to consider running several times for both positions, but I have always declined, feeling my efforts were better spent engaged in civic action outside of City Hall and the TDSB.
3) Have you engaged in community and/or city building activities? Please provide examples.
I have nearly two decades of experience in community activism and public betterment initiatives. Below is a short list of some of my projects and programs:
- Helped establish Evergreen Brickworks and the Farmers’ Market in 2007
- Established the first farmers’ market in North Toronto in 2008
- Launched The AppleTree Group in 2008 – a registered NPO dedicated to building stronger, healthier communities and improving public spaces through accessible, fresh-food initiatives and free, family-friendly programs
- Became an ambassador for SPRINT (Senior People Living in North Toronto), POINT (People and Organization In North Toronto), and Central Eglinton Community Centre, teaching life skills programming to older adults in the midtown communities
- Established the first family-friendly “Eco Fitness” initiatives alongside the City of Toronto in 2009
- Lobbied for better use of public space to calm city traffic in 2011 alongside then-Councillor Karen Stintz to establish the first outdoor urban food court closed to traffic at Yonge and Orchardview Boulevard
- Created “Fresh Schools” – an outdoor educational program designed to support elementary, middle, and high school Students and equip them with life skills such as cooking, home economics, and fresh air fitness programming in 2010.
- Petitioned for cleaner classrooms and ventilation audits for all TDSB schools to help prevent viral and bacterial illness through Public Health and private funding in 2011
- Created “Better Business” entrepreneurial programs for high school students to prepare for university and beyond in 2011
- Established the Davisville Farmers’ Market in 2012
- Worked with then-Ryerson University/TMU to permanently close Gould Street allowing for the official Gould Street Square and AppleTree Market to open in 2012
- Redesigned the Davisville Junior Public School Kindergarten Green Space – including an eco-friendly playscape and outdoor, raised-bed gardens 2013
- Established the “Farm Fresh Fare” food program at Davisville Junior Public School in 2013
- Lobbied to save the Murray Newbigging Funeral Home inlet garden/green space in 2013; it received over 1000 signatures to maintain the space, only to have it demolished by developers. It remains an abandoned lot in 2024.
- Began lobbying for better special needs support in TDSB schools and applied to open a Midtown Alternative School (k-8) to lessen the strain on our mainstream school system in 2015
- Lobbied for better use of public space at June Rowlands Park and designed the Sharon, Lois, and Bram Music Garden, eco-friendly playscape, and Davisville Educational Garden 2009-2016
- Founded the Davisville Pumpkin Parade in 2016
- Founded the Easter Party in the Park in 2016 – 2019, midtown’s largest Easter egg hunt with over 3000 chocolate eggs and free movies at Regent Theatre
- Built the Davisville Natural Skating Rink to give residents a place to skate during Hodgson Construction
- Established the Thorncliffe Park “Fresh Food Give-Back” program through Davisville Garden 2018
- Established the Music at the Market outdoor concert series in Davisville Garden 2016-present
- Implemented public art initiatives via underutilized baseball scoreboards and utility boxes 2016-present
- Launched the #littlegreenshed youth mental health initiative incorporating public art, gardening, and mindfulness to support school-aged children during the pandemic with Leaside Rotary Club 2020-2023.
- Launched #ReGrowTO to help support small businesses during the pandemic
- Launched Story Time in the Garden and The Living Library Series with the Toronto Public Library 2022-present
- Founded the Ringing in Spring and Good Vibes Street Festivals 2022-present with Central Eglinton Community Centre
- Worked with Times Group, Shiplake, Tridel, Fitzrovia, Oxford
- Property Management amongst others to secure funding for privately owned public spaces and social infrastructure in both Ward 12 and Ward 15
- Playground consultation – Trace Manes Park, Manor Road United Church Park
- Community garden consultation – Alexander Muir Park, Thorncliffe Park, Sunnybrook Hospital
- Winner of Everyday Political Citizen Award, 2 Outstanding Neighbour Awards, and Mike Colle’s Community Giveback Award
4) Do you have any relationships with developers or labour unions who may have potential conflicts of interest with the City?
No.
Qualifications Questions
1) Why do you want to be the City Councillor for Don Valley West?
I have been asked to run for City Council several times, but, as mentioned above, I always felt I could do more as a lobbyist working from the outside in. But something shifted in me during the pandemic, and it is time to change the political landscape in Toronto.
My civic action portfolio is vast and diverse. I have the necessary experience to be an asset to City Hall. I have worked collaboratively and collegially with all levels of government and several past and acting city councillors, including Jaye Robinson, on both Ward 15 specific and city-wide projects. Because of my extensive background in community initiatives, I have a deep understanding of the processes and administrative practices at City Hall – many of which need to be evaluated and refined to ensure operational efficiency.
Also of significant note, I am one of the few candidates not affiliated with any political party – and that is how municipal politics should be. I am determined to keep our council independent, and not succumb to big party bullying with larger agendas to move forward. City Councillors should govern based on one simple question: what is best for our city and its residents?
My ideas are fresh. As an award-winning lobbyist, I have been part of successful operational strategies that help our city function optimally but have also witnessed numerous ineffective and costly initiatives that repeatedly fail. The current municipal model is outdated and doesn’t truly reflect the vibrancy and diversity of our city. Don Valley West is a perfect example of this. With over 100,000 residents, the ward needs a nuanced approach to governance – and my #nineneighbourhoods vision highlights the unique characteristics of each area, giving community champions a voice at City Hall to make their needs known.
I love my city…cracks and all. As a lifelong Torontonian, I am determined to preserve its beauty, services, amenities, and heritage as much as possible. Toronto has a wonderful story to tell – but without thoughtful government, we are at risk of losing it.
2) What experience and accomplishments do you bring that you think will make you a good representative for Ward 15?
My robust list of accomplishments in the previous section showcases my experience and expertise, but what makes me an ideal candidate for City Councillor is my profound passion for my city, and my fierce drive to fight to keep it independent from partisan politics, and complicated provincial and federal agendas. For far too long, Toronto has been governed by ego, with Councillors making important and often detrimental decisions based on how it will affect their popularity, versus how it will ultimately affect our city and its residents. For far too long, community champions, advocacy groups, and public service specialists have been left out of municipal conversations, regardless of the excellence of their solutions for our city’s complex problems.
At the beginning of my career, I developed a formula for change, and it is still infallible when slotted into any challenging issue: connect with the people affected by the issue; communicate with the people, organizations, policymakers, and government officials who know this issue best, and are affected by it most; and creatively design new strategies for dealing with the issue. Thinking outside the box. Extrapolating data from past concepts. Implementing new solutions to bring about the desired change. By using this tested method, we can effectively manage the complicated issues that face both Ward 15 and the city.
3) What are the key 3-5 issues you see facing Ward 15 and the City?
- The size of Ward 15 is too large to effectively govern using the current broad-strokes model of management by City Hall. By switching to my #nineneighbourhoods approach, and conducting area-specific needs assessments with voluntary community champions, we can highlight specific issues and address them collectively at City Hall (for example, Mount Pleasant East is concerned with pedestrian safety and development; Thorncliffe Park is concerned with food security, the Ontario Line displacement, and the housing crisis)
- Transportation Safety is a major issue – in both Ward 15 and the City at large. Road safety and traffic congestion affect almost every part of Toronto at present due to a matrix of municipal messes (thoughtless and excessive condo development, mismanaged road improvements, outdated traffic bylaws). Bike lanes are a controversial issue, especially now that the province is getting involved. Thoughtful conversations between cyclists, delivery drivers, urban planners, and residents living in areas impacted by bike lanes are imperative. Unfortunately, these conversations rarely take place before costly decisions about permanent infrastructure are put in place. Vision Zero is not working and must be overhauled. Too many pedestrians are getting hurt and dying because of traffic-related accidents and reckless vehicular use.
- Support for small businesses is key in all areas of the city but is crucial for neighbourhoods like Bayview Avenue in Leaside, Mount Pleasant Road in Davisville Village, and Yonge Street in Lawrence Park where both residents and visitors alike are keen to support an independent economy and maintain the mom-and-pop shop feel to their main streets. In neighbourhoods like Thorncliffe Park and Banbury-Don Mills where towers abound, community organizations, festivals, and public marketplaces need support to unite residents who don’t have the luxury of quieter neighbourhood streets and backyards.
- Green space – everywhere – must be preserved.
4) What is the first thing you will work on if elected?
Ironically, I am currently working on municipal issues for constituents, in the absence of both a city councillor and school board trustee for Ward 15 (over the years residents have assumed that I already work for the City given the volume of community outreach I do!) So, I will officially close the 9 active cases I have opened with official answers from City Hall. But one of the first, small projects I will begin working on is changing the culture at City Hall – making it an exciting and inviting place to work and visit, and breaking down administrative silos that prohibit true connection, communication, and creativity. When I registered my candidacy, it was a message I heard multiple times from our hard-working civil servants, and it is something I have heard and personally felt many times in the two decades of working with permit officers, parks and recreation facilitators, and program coordinators. City Hall needs to be accessible, inclusive, celebrated, and decorated with local art and culture, as befits its reputation as a world-class city. The heart of our city — City Hall — should be beating strongly, proudly, a beacon of inspiration for its residents, and the people that work there. The result – a happier, healthier, and more functional city…just with a few small tweaks.