Housing affordability is my urgent priority. Finding solutions requires seeing problems facing Toronto as interconnected. We can’t talk about housing without talking about homelessness and human rights. We can’t talk about neighbourhoods without talking about transit and development. We can’t talk about human rights and racism without talking about policing, housing and the climate emergency. I will stand up for solutions with the inclusive approach that they require, and to be a champion for workers and communities in Davenport and Toronto.

Housing is a human right. Toronto must invest in solutions so everyone has a safe, stable, affordable home. Build more affordable housing with Inclusionary Zoning. Use city land for new housing and non-profit housing models. Build new developments that enhance neighbourhoods, including more family-sized units and a variety of buildings, like multiplexes. Protect renters using city powers to fight renovictions and rent hikes, and set maximum temperature standards. Repair and revitalize Toronto Community Housing putting tenants’ voices first.

Fully fund TransformTO, Toronto's visionary climate strategy to cut emissions to net zero by 2040. Stop fare increases to encourage TTC use, moving to free transit for all. Expand bus/streetcar priority lanes for better service. Accelerate TTC transition to a zero-emission fleet. Cut building emissions with easier retrofits and expand proven programs. Protect against severe weather events by charging polluters a fair stormwater fee to re-invest in community flood proofing. Subsidize cooling Davenport and Toronto with more tree canopy coverage.

We need real public accountability for policing in Toronto. With the TPS acknowledging its history of systemic racism and the over $1 billion dollar police budget eating into other city services, there is not enough public accountability about how policing is conducted. We need a more open police budget, focus on how crisis responses can be better handled by other first responders, enhancing road safety, and more community care. We must also stop funding private, for profit, security to patrol parks, when that money is better spent on housing.

Fares and reliability are real barriers to transit. I will fight to lower fares and will never vote to increase the cost of riding the TTC. And I will work to expand transit service, including dedicated bus lanes on Dufferin Street. As a cyclist I know how much more there is to do to make streets safe. I will fight for more separated bike lanes and cycle tracks. We also have areas where roads just aren’t working, with speeding or congestion. Many of these areas already have plans to address the problems, but the City needs to implement them.

Good public services are essential for the local economy. People rely on public services daily, whether it’s a walk through a park or a trip to the library. When water fountains and pools aren’t running or the bus is late again, our collective sense of dignity and respect is cut down along with services we rely on. We need to look at new and expanded funding sources to support, not cut, public transit and services like libraries, community recreation, and seniors’ and newcomer programs. Our local economy and the city’s health demands this.

My main priority as Councillor is ensuring the efficient delivery of municipal government's infrastructure and service obligations and building an affordable city while keeping intrusions on citizens' private lives to a minimum. This means significantly loosening zoning and development rules to allow residential and business growth to happen organically. It means emphasizing cost-effective deliverables on transit instead of getting bogged down in petty details, and going through the Municipal Code with a red pen to reduce over-regulation.

The housing affordability crisis is a function of too little supply to meet growing demand. There is artificial scarcity of housing. Council needs to upzone all Residential Semi-Detached areas to Residential Multiple to allow for the development of multiplexes and low-rises in most of the city and eliminate height restrictions entirely on development around major transit nodes. Barriers to residential property owners modifying their land to add more dwelling units (basements, accessory units, subdivisions, etc.) must be significantly reduced.

Much of Toronto's greenhouse gas emissions result from its car dependence. Improving the speed, reliability, and frequency of transit would help greatly. This means expanding BRT networks and adding more buses to routes. It also means more supply, security, and integration of bicycle parking at transit hubs, and more efficient, collision-proof cycling routes. The City needs to aggressively plant trees on municipal property and provide incentive to property owners to plant trees on their property through tax rebates and red tape reductions.

See my response on climate action. The two are interrelated. If transit and cycling are safer, more efficient, and more reliable than driving, more people will use those travel modes which move larger numbers of commuters using less space and cost. Simplifying road design is important. All intersection turn restrictions should follow the same time frame and roundabouts should be installed wherever feasible. Signs should be larger and clearer and cycling routes should be free of chicanes and blind spots and have clear passing opportunities.

The City to alleviate the tax burden on residents should aggressively pursue commercial real estate investment. In much of the world transit agencies lease retail and office space to businesses; as these are natural high-traffic areas there is a reliable and plentiful return on investment. Retail spaces should be leased at every subway station and once the investment capital is available, office space. To not do so is a missed opportunity. The City needs to get more creative in pursuing revenue streams from methods other than taxation.

Toronto Police needs to expand its Mobile Crisis Intervention Team program to be available 24/7 everywhere to respond to crisis calls and de-escalate those situations peacefully. They also need to make clear through communication and policy that public safety is paramount; random destruction and petty crime by people with addictions will not be permitted. Appropriate actions will be taken to get them into comprehensive and sustainable treatment programs, and Council should work with the Province to ensure such programs are available as needed.

As a lifelong resident of Davenport who is being priced out of my own community, housing affordability is my top priority. We need to build more housing fast. I will • Support the construction of co-ops and purpose-built rentals, reduce TCH's state-of-good-repair backlog, and advocate for strong protections for renters. • Allow more mid-rise buildings on main streets, and streamline permits for high-rises near transit hubs. • End exclusionary zoning by allowing multi-tenant homes, multiplex homes, and low-rise apartments in neighbourhoods.

To build on my response to the first question, I am committed to other opportunities to expand housing. I will: • Expedite the construction of more housing, and permit added density, with the requirement that developers plan in an inclusive and community-focused way. • Support transit oriented communities around future GO Stations in Davenport at Bloor-Lansdowne and Old Weston-St. Clair. • Continue investing in modular supportive housing to help people experiencing homelessness transition to housing stability.

I commit to: • Secure dedicated, sustained, and equitable climate funding by implementing new revenue tools to fund climate action. • Review the City’s building code to ensure the inclusion of standards that help reduce climate change impacts and promotes sustainability of buildings. • Review and overhaul Toronto’s heating and cooling bylaws for landlords to protect tenants from heat waves. • Examine regulations to eliminate unnecessary single-use items and require a shift to reusable containers.

Mental health is health, and we must treat mental health crises and emergencies as a public health issue. I am committed to expanding the Toronto Community Crisis Service, allowing community agencies to respond to mental health emergencies instead of the Toronto Police Service. I bring a strong track record as Co-Chair of Pride Toronto, where we prioritized community agency-led responses and the delivery of harm reduction on the 2022 Festival footprint.

We must carefully consider any changes to property tax rates, development charges, and the exploration of other revenue tools to increase much needed resources to fund the City's programs and services. While some may push for increasing property taxes across the board, we must consider the impact on working class families who purchased their homes decades ago. While they may be "house rich," they otherwise continue to earn modest annual income and cannot sustain the pressures of increased taxes, especially in the face of current inflation.

I commit to: • Expand transit in Davenport by moving ahead with the construction of the Bloor-Lansdowne and Old Weston-St. Clair GO Stations. • Champion the Davenport Diamond public realm improvements and mitigate Bloor GO construction impacts on the West Toronto Railpath. • Promote road safety by prioritizing speed cameras on major roads and around local schools and expand Toronto's cycling network with emphasis on protected bike lanes.

Elected as Ward 9 City Councillor, would be about maintaining a Clean, Thriving Community, where individuals, and Families, can call 'Home'. Where one feels Welcomed, Respected, Included and Safe regardless of a per-conceived Identity. Addressing these concerns would require A Councillor to be involved in the Everyday concepts of the Heart beat of the Ward they Serve. Establishing regular town-halls whether in-person/virtual. Ensuring that Street Maintenance; TTC Logistics, Street-Sweeping, and Alley/Laneway Maintenance is a Priority

Housing Cost, whether buying or renting is OUT of Control...If not addressed Toronto, could follow the paths of Many major City's that allowed Prices to get out of Control...Crime Rates Go Up with overcrowding...Families Migrating Out due to Cost...Ghettos developing, because socially, environments become decrepit/depreciated. City Council needs to find measures and have the Courage to establish housing Standards, where excessive Greed does not triumph the moral compass of ensuring people of all walks of life have access to affordable living.

Education is the Key..Ensuring that constituents are educated on how their Carbon footprint hinders/helps the planet is the Key...Ensuring literature is circulated, whether electronically or with renewable/reusable resources, to provide information/suggestions, based on scientific research, that individuals can use to make better choices..one of the best ways is through leading by example. As a City Councillor I will do my best to ensure the choices I make are mindful of the example I set for Others.

The Toronto Transit Commission, alongside, Traffic Management needs an Overhaul on how it perceives its approach to how it services the Constituents of the City. City Street Lights are unevenly timed. Travelers in our City spend more time waiting to get to a location, than the actual time it takes to travel to a location...Something needs to give.

Since Inflation is out of Control...Inflating Taxes might not be the most favourable approach. It would be Great to see City Hall be Creative with the Budget as it currently stands. Find ways where the City is not being efficient with its spending and be efficient...treat Spending the Tax Payers dollar as if it was their own, and Respect how it is Spent...Taxpayers...would per-fer to see their monies spent in their best interest.

City Council should always ensure Policing reflects the community/City it Serves. This should be seen in its personnel and policies. The Policing of our City should be a Transparent/Mirroring Effect. The Respect for the Profession of Policing should be a mutual beneficial Respected relationship felt by the community it Serves. More Foot Patrol to encourage interactions within the Communities being served would go a long way in bridging defenses, and establishing respected communication.

My top priority would be housing. I want the City of Toronto to issue over $1 billion in Housing Bonds. The revenue from these bonds will be used to build affordable housing. In particular, $600 million of the $1 billion raised will be used to build co-ops, the other $400 million will be utilized to build a mix of purpose-built rentals, as well as homes for sale at 70% of the average price and only to those making the median income in Toronto, or less. There is no reason why Toronto can't do this. Portland, a city 1/4th the size of Toronto has.

It’s clear we need a new social contract on housing, one that ensures that our right to housing here in Toronto is upheld. That’s why I will lobby to create an independent Housing Commissioner. The Commissioner will be responsible for independently assessing the implementation of the Housing Bonds (see my answer above) ,Toronto’s Housing Charter and the HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan.

The lights on major streets like Dufferin, St. Clair and Landsdowne are a disaster. How many times have you gone from one red light to another to another? This doesn’t have to be the case. Studies have shown that signal re-timing is one of the most cost-effective ways to improve traffic flow along corridors. It can significantly reduce delays and unnecessary stops —thereby improving safety, fuel consumption and emissions. I will push to have a thorough review of our signal lights and have them re-timed to better serve our neighbourhoods.

At a staggering $1.1 billion, Toronto’s police budget is bloated, and needs to be right-sized. For instance, why are we spending nearly $6 million dollars a year on police horses in Toronto? I plan to support motions to reduce the police budget and re-fund our communities. By finding efficiencies in the police budget, we can redirect funds to relevant social services that meet the needs of the city. It’s time to refund our communities: water fountains anyone?

The city is becoming increasingly addicted to hiring overpriced consultants for everything. Since 2011, we have spent nearly $300 million dollars on consultants. The quality of work offered by some of these consultants is questionable at best, and has supported a mandate to slash and burn city services to the detriment of you and me. I recommend we reduce the reliance of consultants and move more city work in-house to be completed by staff members with a vested interest in improving our communities and not the bottom line of firm partners.

Toronto currently issues green bonds, but we can expand that program and use those funds to improve our city even further. I will push to have revenue from green bonds earmarked for green initiatives, including more EV charging stations in the city, as well as for rebates to residents to purchase electric cars.

If elected, my top priority would be to bring more housing to Davenport. We have great community projects currently being built like Galleria On The Park and future projects like Bloor & Dufferin and more. I want to continue these developments and introduce a first-time homebuyer initiative project, plus affordable rentals. This can be accomplished by working with non-profit builders and builders who express interest in developing and working with us to bring these initiatives to life. Let's make Davenport a place to live, work and play.

City Council has done a great job of introducing garden suites to assist with the missing middle, but more has to be done. Changing outdated zoning and land use regulations and speeding up the process of getting building permits is one way to address this issue. Another would be to allow more mid-size & highrise projects along the main streets to progress. Housing is a regional issue which Toronto cannot tackle alone.

The City currently has a plan in place to address this issue. The next City Council will need to follow through with the program and make changes when new information becomes available.

Currently, there are projects like the Ontario Line, Eglinton Crosstown LRT, and more in the future. We must build out transit, bike lanes and streets to allow pedestrians, bikers and commuters to move around the City. We cannot always be in the studying/planning phase. City Council needs to make sure that shovels get into the ground.

I believe we need more Community Policing. There is a disconnect between the general population and the police, We need to bridge that gap, or we risk the disconnect growing further.

It will all depend on where we are in terms of our economy. We all have to suffer the burden of our choices, and the City should be no different. We can't raise taxes for the sake of raising taxes; we need to find a way to balance our services with our budget, and sometimes it will require making difficult choices. We need to all be in it together.