Voting in municipal elections is important. It's a key way to influence what happens at City Hall. It's not the only way, but skipping it means you're trusting others to pick the person you'll be annoyed about for four years. Wouldn't you rather have someone you're only somewhat annoyed about, if you can?
My take is this: voting is like catching a bus. The bus might not go the speed you wish, and it might not go right to your door, but if it gets you closer to your destination, you take it. A bus that is taking you farther away, probably not the right bus.
Below I've posted information about where and when you can vote, and then if you're interested I also posted my picks. Note: they don't have to be your picks, that's the beauty of voting.
Right now! Advance voting is taking place October 6-11, from 10am-7pm each day. Go to https://myvote.toronto.ca to find out where. It's probably a community centre pretty close to where you live. That website also shows who's running, what ID you need, everything.
Election Day is October 26, and the polls are open from 10am-8pm that day, in more locations near you. Just check that website.
Now or Later? Voting early is way faster, but if you like the energy of election day that's cool, you do you.
Some helpful resources:
Listing of candidates and some endorsements from my friend and Toronto Star columnist Matt Elliott's "City Hall Watcher"
List of Progressive Champions from advocacy organization Progress Toronto
Transit-related survey responses from TTC Riders
Cycling Scorecard for current councillors from Cycle Toronto
Vote results for each sitting councillor from non-partisan WardWatch
City Hall Watcher's Council Scorecard (subscribers or free trial readers only)
Two organizations who I've seen post misleading and false claims on subjects I know well, so they're not on my list of helpful resources: ABC Toronto, IntegrityTO
Nobody who knows me would find this shocking I don't think, but I wanted to explain why I think Olivia Chow has earned reelection, and what I hope she improves in future.
I've followed municipal politics in Toronto very closely for over 16 years now. I always want people to know what's going on, but watching as closely as I do could cause some heartburn.
Here's what I've seen in those 16 years.
2010-2023
Rob Ford was elected mayor based on telling lies about transit and bikes and taxes. Then he cut transit service, took out bike lanes, and froze taxes (which means services had to be cut due to inflation). Plus there was the crack and lying and so forth.
John Tory was elected mayor next, but again based on telling lies about transit (remember SmartTrack?) and taxes. Then he cut transit service, and raised taxes so slowly there still had to be cuts due to inflation.
After ten years of service cuts and freezes, things were in rough shape. And then COVID-19. Tory reversed course and raised property taxes slightly, and added many new bike lanes including Bloor, University, and Yonge. This was a good change in the trend line!
In 2022 he discussed changes to mayoral powers in secret with the province, won reelection, used his new budget powers once, and then quit days later.
When Olivia Chow became mayor in July 2023, there were 13 years of low-tax budgets and 13 years of transit service stagnation, plus 3 years of COVID-related retail, restaurant, and transportation effects to deal with. Also by this point 5 years of provincial decisions encroaching on city jurisdiction and impacting city spending options.
2023 Context
If your salary shrank for 13 years, it would be hard to pay the bills, and that's what the city was dealing with. Property taxes mostly dropped, after inflation, over those 13 years, which means the city was always shrinking what it could accomplish just in terms of the dollars available. (visualization from Toronto Star)
Additionally, it's important to know that the city has to spend a lot of money on things it does not control. KPMG was hired to look at this, and found that "over 90% of the services reviewed are core or essential (required by the Province, or essential to the function of the city)." So spending can grow based on those provincially-mandated programs, even if the city is feeling budget pain.
2023-2026
Following Council races can feel like an entire separate job, especially if your ward has a lot of candidates. My ward has 18! But since I know a lot of the folks in council and some candidates too, I wanted to share who would be my pick in each ward if I lived there. Yes, I think of doing this sort of thing as "fun", why are you staring at me like that?
Not sure which ward you're in? Go to https://myvote.toronto.ca to find out!
Want more explanation? Just message me, happy to explain. I've included some notes, but to be clear I'm not endorsing everything in every platform - almost everyone mentioned has something that annoys me or I disagree with. But remember, voting is a bus!
1 Etobicoke North - Current councillor Crisanti is not supportive of transit, not supportive of cycling, a car-focused anti-tax, anti-city councillor, and does not deserve reelection. Both labour-endorsed Ala'a Adib and two-time mayoral candidate Chloe Brown who got more than double the votes of Brad Bradford in 2023 would be an improvement, and they each have detailed plans and ideas to really build their community.
2 Etobicoke Centre - I've met personally with current councillor Stephen Holyday in my transit advocacy. While genial in person, he is not collaborative, does not support others' needs, and is quite against the city doing pretty much anything. Review any council vote results and you'll regularly find him voting alone against something every other councillor across the spectrum is supporting. He's holding his community back, and does not deserve reelection. There are only two challengers, and one touts the city as being overtaxed and requiring an overhaul, so the clear choice for me is Jennifer Alexander, who would be a fantastic upgrade for Etobicoke Centre.
3 Etobicoke-Lakeshore - Current councillor Amber Morley is a great contributor to collaboration and city-building and should be reelected.
4 Parkdale-High Park - Since Gord Perks has retired, but I know him and his beliefs, his endorsement carries a lot of weight with me. But even without that endorsement, Diana Chan-McNally has worked tirelessly to support the community for years and will be a very strong contributor to council.
5 York South-Weston - Current councillor Frances Nunziata has been in elected office since 1985. That alone is reason enough for fresh energy for this ward. Chiara Padovani is a social worker and works with the North York Harvest Food Bank and is my pick.
6 York Centre - Current Councillor James Pasternak has a very mixed record on transit and cycling, and prefers leaving streets high speed and dangerous. So I'd choose his only serious challenger, Conroy Irving, who has detailed ideas on his site and would be a fresh voice for York Centre.
7 Humber River-Black Creek - Both challengers to Anthony Perruzza, who has been in office 30 of the last 40 years, look like excellent contributors to their community. Lorna Antwi works in community advocacy and social services, including as a counsellor with Toronto Shelter & Support Services, and Amanda Coombs works with the Toronto Community Crisis Team and founded a non-profit organization dedicated to providing mental health, academic, employment, and justice-related support for youth.
8 Eglinton-Lawrence - This one is tough as I don't know the folks. Mike Colle, the current councillor, is good on cycling, but on transit he has to avoid every subject because his son (who I know and who has supported my work with CodeRedTO) works for the TTC. "Mostly harmless," reads his entry in the HHGTTG. Challenger Enzo Torrone looks like a slightly angry centrist ready to fight for better, which historically can go either way in terms of whether they end up a good addition to council. Similarly in that regard, challenger Jason McDonald is a local barber and community organizer who watched as Metrolinx construction damaged his neighbourhood, and has some amusingly angry pillars in his platform.
9 Davenport - Current councillor Alejandra Bravo was working hard to support her ward and the city for years before being elected, and hasn't slowed down. She deserves reelection.
10 Spadina-Fort York - Current councillor and deputy mayor Ausma Malik has a history of hard work to support her local schools and community, and has been a strong voice for the community on transit, cycling, and safety in public spaces around my workplace, and she'd be my pick if I voted there.
11 University-Rosedale - I've met personally with Mike Layton on transit, and trust his judgement. He will be a strong voice for the community and city-building if he returns to council. If you don't like the idea of reruns on council, then I recommend Diana Yoon, community organizer and advocate for affordable housing and climate action.
12 Toronto-St. Paul’s - I've met personally with Josh Matlow on transit - he wanted me to be more angry about transit! - and he's a very valuable member of council, and deserves reelection. He's an example of someone who came to council maddeningly centrist and neutral until he got the hang of the place, and then he realized how messed up so much of the city was, and now he pushes hard for better on many files.
13 Toronto Centre - This ward has 11 candidates, and one is trash who posts extreme right-wing lies, but mysteriously doesn't put the same content on his campaign website, so I'm not linking it. It's important for the health of downtown that he not succeed, so transparently I'd vote for the incumbent Chris Moise. Moise has disappointed some with his approach, and a challenger has received multiple endorsements from folks who previously endorsed Moise, but if the trashbag guy sneaks in the middle due to vote splitting it's going to be super annoying.
14 Toronto-Danforth - This is my ward, and it has the most council candidates running this election at 18. One is a rebel-news-type rabble-rouser and youtuber who I do not see as a collaborative member or positive contributor to our community, so I hope that she spends election night sad. There are four others though who could get some attention I think: Sara Ehrhardt has been endorsed by the previous councillor, the current MPP, Progress Toronto, and others. She was the TDSB trustee for years, and would be fine. But I'm a bit annoyed that she's not more aggressive on cycling improvements, which was also a negative for Paula Fletcher. Another candidate (who lives on my street!) is journalist Maria Voutsinas, and she's got detailed plans on multiple topics on her site for how to make city hall more responsive. Former councillor for the north half of the ward prior to Doug Ford merging them is Mary Fragedakis, who will also compete for those who vote based on apparent last name ethnicity. She's led multiple BIAs since leaving council, but it's been stormy and she's suing one of them. Finally, a surprising last-minute registrant in the ward was current downtown councillor Dianne Saxe. Seemingly to avoid running against Mike Layton, she switched to ward 14 on the final day, and is asking voters to "re-elect" her. Her votes have been inconsistent on transit support, and her last-minute switch rubs me the wrong way.
15 Don Valley West - Sheena Sharp is an architect focused on climate action and making buildings better, and wants to bring her climate crisis action to city hall. I've followed her work for years and she would be a fantastic addition to city council.
16 Don Valley East - Sinan Erdemir works with students, newcomers, and refugees, and has worked extensively in the community, could bring a fresh voice to council for Don Valley East over the inconsistent and car-centric councillor today.
17 Don Valley North - I've met personally with current councillor Shelley Carroll on transit and city issues, and she is an energetic voice for the community and for participatory budgeting, where folks get to really dig in and direct where funds go in their community. She is a successful and effective budget chief, supporting important progressive policies while also ensuring the city's finances continually improve, and she deserves reelection.
18 Willowdale - I'm not a fan of inconsistent current councillor Lily Cheng, whose approach to transit and cycling issues doesn't impress me. But her challengers don't impress me either. One quotes Warren Buffett, one mimics Bradford's impossible 1,000 polices officers promise, and one forgets to say anything about himself on his About page, and they all are very anti-tax, pro-police-spending, and focused on roads. I think my pick might be the guy who forgot to explain what else he's done? Yikes.
19 Beaches-East York - The federal MP who quit to try to become a provincial MP and didn't and then quit his provincial plan to try to become a municipal councillor would be fine, he's done good things, but I actually recommend my friend Jennie Worden, who has been volunteering in the municipal issues space for years and would be absolutely amazing on council.
20 Scarborough Southwest - Kevin Rupasinghe has fought for years for improved transit and supporting his community through volunteering, writing, and advocating. He'd be a strong new voice on council.
21 Scarborough Centre - Krissan Veerasingam co-founded the Scarborough Environmental Association, and was co-chair of TTC Riders, and would be a strong contributor to an updated council.
22 Scarborough-Agincourt - Current councillor Nick Mantas is almost non-entity on council, not advocating or even speaking much at all. And his votes this past term have been anti-cycling and anti-pedestrian at times, leading me to find him fit for the pit. High school teacher Dan Lovell has some reasonable platform planks and would at least speak up more for the community.
23 Scarborough North - Current councillor and TTC Chair Jamaal Myers is a strong advocate for the community, and is pushing for TTC improvements. His challengers include a former Liberal MP who boasts about wanting more suburban subway extensions (basically table stakes for running in Scarborough) and who I've met in person to discuss transit, and another former Liberal MP who lists as his first priority the removal of pedestrian safety features in his ward. No thanks. Jamaal should be reelected.
24 Scarborough-Guildwood - Current councillor Paul Ainslie outright refused to meet with me in my transit advocacy work, which has always rubbed me the wrong way, but he's generally a supportive and progressive voice on cycling, transit, and more. He's earned more time on council.
25 Scarborough-Rouge Park - Current councillor Neethan Shan has worked hard to support the community, and has bounced between trustee and council roles a bit. He's also frequently sought a provincial seat, so he gives me a bit of "wants power" vibes. Zakir Patel has been Vice-Chair of the TDSB and volunteered in the community and on campaigns for over 20 years, and could be an interesting new voice on council.