Diane Dyson’s first run as city councilor wasn’t what she expected. She doesn’t know her ward, her competition or her budget, but she does know one thing about this election — “it’s making voter’s heads spin.”
Rob Ford swept into power as Toronto’s mayor in 2010 on a platform of ending the city’s “gravy train”. That scared Meaghan Davis. She saw social services and the arts pitted against each other in a fight to prove their worth. It spurred her to act.
If a picture’s worth is a 1,000 words, then the worth of a painting spanning a busy multi-lane road must be priceless. Councillors Michelle Berardinetti and Gary Crawford joined artist De Anne Lamirande, her team and others to celebrate the completion of the Warden Underpass Mural on Oct. 20 with a community celebration and ribbon cutting.
The fate of a line of century-old trees, the city has voted to cut down on Chine Drive in Scarborough, remains on hold. City plans along Chine Drive, where members of the Group of Seven artists met at one time, have called for the installation of sidewalks. And with a school located at the end of the street, city officials worry about the safety of travelling students beneath such elderly trees.
Natasha Morris has owned her home since 1983, but has not slept in her own bedroom since July 14. She is currently sleeping on a couch in her Scarborough Ward 36 home after a storm left her basement bedrooms flooded on July 15. Her roommate is sleeping on the floor.
Of Toronto’s 44 wards, 10 are in Scarborough. Here’s a cheat sheet of some of the basics on each.
Change is inevitable. The only way to move this city forward is to bulldoze the old and build up the new. Talks of redeveloping Kingston Road may become a reality, according to Councillor Gary Crawford. In getting rid of the unappealing buildings and concrete, Crawford wants to make this area a lot greener — and I couldn’t agree more.
Gary Crawford’s opposition to the proposed wind turbine project in his ward is making him popular with local environmental groups. Wind Concerns Ontario, a coalition of dozens of anti-wind turbine groups from across the province, welcomes the Ward 36 councillor’s take on Toronto Hydro’s plans to erect the turbines off his ward’s shore
Daredevils on the Scarborough Bluffs don’t get much sympathy from residents or politicians. “There’s always an idiot who wants access to the Bluffs,” said outgoing Ward 36 councillor Brian Ashton.
Gary Crawford is the new councillor of Ward 36. He won with 25 per cent of the vote.