Marco Martins

The Mayor and City Council

My first and most important thing I’d act upon as councillor for Davenport is to go out and listen to the residents in the ward and hold meaningful consultations. Many feel unheard and unrepresented. I want them to know I’m here to answer their calls and emails and find solutions that work for them, whether that be policy work that helps with affordability and gridlock or day-to-day issues like snow removal. I grew up and live in the ward and am a local business and community leader who has advocated and helped both residents and businesses.

Housing

I support housing growth that offer a variety of affordable places to live, including apartments, condos and houses, while respecting existing communities. We should build more housing and affordable housing on main roads with access to good transit. We have vacant land and empty properties we aren’t using properly. Development must improve neighbourhoods, not overwhelm them. We shouldn’t allow blanket approvals that can affect the character of areas & I’ll ensure infrastructure and transit keeps pace with development. We need better planning.

Cost of Living

Residents are working harder, paying more and receiving less from their city and need a councillor to make life more affordable. To help, I will support a property tax freeze while we review spending, identify unnecessary costs and push for real accountability. Property taxes have risen over 25% under the current council and residents wonder what value they are getting. Our ward is near the bottom of the list when it comes to planned capital and businesses struggle with red tape. I will fight for residents, small businesses and our fair share.

Safety in Public Spaces

We all deserve to feel safe in our neighbourhoods. Residents and businesses on the ground know best about where the trouble spots are and what is going on around them, so I will consult with them and work with community leaders to help deliver real security for people. I’ll advocate for visible, community-friendly policing, better lighting, effective crisis prevention services, etc. so people feel safer, and push for faster response times and demand measurable public safety results.

Getting Around the City

We need to get people moving and reduce time-wasting gridlock. We all deserve to travel safely: pedestrians, cyclists, transit users and drivers. I’m a big supporter of safe, connected cycling infrastructure and I cycle myself. I will advocate for more transit and practical data-driven solutions to congestion. I’ll push for better regulation over e-bikes, etc. to support pedestrians. We have to reduce frustrating traffic and improve everything from timing of lights to time-of-day lane usage, balancing the needs of businesses and the community.

Confronting Hateful and Hostile Behaviour

Everyone deserves to feel safe on the street, in their places of worship and at events. Hateful behaviour is at an all-time high and can’t continue. We must stand against racism, antisemitism and hate-motivated violence. We must create a welcoming place for all regardless of people’s backgrounds, and police need to take hate-motivated crimes even more seriously. I’d prioritize community-level policing and intelligence gathering to give police more tools to tamp down this behaviour. We are a multicultural city and must remain a peaceful city.