Parkdale-High Park Ward 14 is as large and diverse as any in the City of Toronto.

With a population of more than 50,000, the ward is comprised of neighbourhoods that boast strong identities including: West Bend/Junction, Parkdale, Roncesvalles, Sunny Side and High Park – all of them represented by residents’ associations. From safety and security, parks and recreation, education and city services, area residents’ associations have a difficult time identifying any single issue as the most important.

However, whether it’s the development of businesses along Queen Street West in the southern part of the ward, the waterfront to the west or implementing the proper policies and planning to guide growth in the Bloor Street and Dundas Avenue area in the north, development seems to be top-of-mind during this municipal election campaign.

The field of 10 male candidates is vast and includes incumbent councillor Gord Perks, who was first elected councilor in 2006 when he won with a seven per cent margin.

“I am very proud of telling people that Ward 14 is the only ward in the city where we have at least one postal code in each of (Statistic Canada’s) five income groups,” Perks said. “I think that is the model for how the rest of the city could work. Instead of moving people into enclaves of wealth or enclaves of poverty, making all the different folks in the neighbourhood work together is some of the most
exciting work I have ever done.”

For a well-working city, Perks said there needs to be more neighbourhoods like those in Ward 14. He says the ward boasts committed community leaders who work across different cultures, incomes and life experiences.

“The most exciting part of doing this job has been working with all the different folks and really letting the neighbourhood take control of the planning process,” said Perks, who has seen first-hand the dedication of his constituents through various developments, applications, studies and with the Waterfront master plan.

Also on the ballot this year is Michael Erickson, a schoolteacher who said his job has given him a real sense of what matters to people.

“When people have a question or a concern they just want a response and they want that response to be respectful,” Erickson said. “When new people come into our area we need to begin that relationship in a spirit of good will and conversation.”

Whether it is business, homeowners of different cultures, Erickson said he believes people should be given a chance to see what they will do with opportunity.

“Hopefully as a city councillor I will have time to sit down and bring folks in the community together and have a conversation about what our values are and how we see ourselves and what our expectations are.”

When asked about development, candidate Ryan Hobson, who currently lives in the Keele Street and Dundas Avenue area, said good development comes through empowering people, in particular tenants.

“When there are less broken windows and less dark stairways for people to hang out in and do crime in, the neighbourhoods become safer, people feel safer and people become less transient,” Hobson said. “When people feel safe and they like a neighbourhood they settle down and it makes it a better place with a better sense of community.”

That leads to more businesses coming into the area including new and inventive shops that, in turn, draw visitors.

Hobson proposes empowering people by engaging them by visiting door to door to seek feedback.

“The priority has to be your community,” he said. “We have to make it convenient for people to be involved.”

Barry Hubick is an Internet café owner who used to run a breakfast program in south Parkdale. From his life experience and experience running the breakfast program he has learned the most important thing for a councillor to do is respect the residents and to treat everyone equally.

“This is about the whole ward, it is about everybody – development will help us grow and help us prosper,” Hubick said. “My job is to help guide it along and make the streets safe and make infrastructure and sidewalks inviting.”

Jules-Jose Kerlinger, a 24 year old from the Keele and Dundas streets area said as councillor he would do his best to offer realistic solutions to concerns around all manner of development.

“We need to work with local residents to respect the character and the identity of Parkdale because it isn’t the same as the Junction or the Roncesvalles area,” Kerlinger said. “By working with local residents of all backgrounds we can try to preserve that separate identity and try to boost business investment in the area and try to make sure issues are addressed.”

Gus Koutoumanos, owns a bar in the Junction, lives at Keele Street and Lawrence Avenue. From access to the waterfront to Queen Street in Parkdale, he said wants to apply his experience in running a business in the Junction to the other areas of the ward.

“The flavour that Parkdale is so famous for has left a pretty sour taste in a lot of people’s mouths,” he said, adding he would like to see the ward grow with businesses and residents while he managed the development.

“Residential stuff and condos and townhomes will be welcome because it means more taxes for the city and more work for labourers,” he said. “When it comes to bars and restaurants, one by one I would like to sit down with the bar owner and figure out what their experience is.”

In terms of access to the waterfront, Koutoumanos said there is only one way into the junction and people use it, what is needed in the waterfront is something to draw people through the existing access points.

Cullen Simpson, a 26-year resident of south Parkdale, has plans for the area that hinge mainly on his transit plans.

Simpson wants to make King Street one way headed east and Queen Street one way headed west and have the streetcars operate in a circle around the loop, which he believes will help business, tourism and the quality of life for residents.

“The way you get people around can solve a lot,” Simpson said. “How do we change the movement of people using public transit and the best of the best.”

If this Queen/ King transit loop proved to be successful then it could be replicated in other areas of the city, Simpson said.

“If we change King and Queen’s flow and it fixes this intersection and it works then we can apply that same principal to fixing the next one,” he said.

Jimmy Talpa, who lives in south Parkdale, has run in nearly every municipal election for the past 30 years and has some concrete plans for the area. At the top of his list is to construct a pier out into Lake Ontario at Sunnyside beach, where he says people could sit and fish if they like.

“It’s called a trade-off, that’s how we do it in politics,” Talpa said. “You go to other councillors and make a deal. I’ll give you what you want in your area and you give me what I want in my area.”

He’s got plans for the old factory on Wabash Avenue and for battling bedbugs.

“But, the most important thing is what the residents in the ward want because they might have better ideas than me,” Talpa said. “My responsibility is to represent the people of Ward 14.”

Tar Istvan, who also lives in the Bloor Street and Dundas Avenue area, is a political refugee from Hungary. He said has developed an extensive plan for his time in office, should he be elected, but points people to his website to know more.

“I am not here for streets or the sidewalks, that is not a politician’s work,” he said. “To fix a sidewalk or order cement doesn’t require a politician… I am here for social issues.”

Although it wasn’t his career plan from the start Bill Vrebosch, who is the son of a longtime mayor of North Bay, said he found himself wanting to run after finding city hall unresponsive. The base of his platform will be to represent the people at city hall and give them good customer service and honest answers.

Vrebosch, who lives at Queen Street West and Lansdowne Avenue, said he wants to create more inviting crossings and reasons to want to cross the waterfront in the south and incorporate an artistic element for the railpath in the north.

“We need to complete the West Toronto Railpath that goes right up through the (West Bend) neighbourhood; I think that is a major part for our neighbourhood and one thing I want to incorporate is the artistic thing of Parkdale by adding independent sponsored art pads where we can put art installments along the railpath.”

For more on Ward 14 candidates visit www.insidetorontovotes.ca

- Erin Hatfield

Posted in Bloor West - Parkdale, News