WEBSITE: www.mikelayton.ca

EMAIL: mike@mikelayton.ca

PHONE: 416-573-0204

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1. What key issues define your campaign platform?
My priorities as your councillor will be to expand transit, protect services and preserve our unique neighbourhoods and environment.
Our neighbourhoods and Toronto will work better when we expand transit. We must invest in fast and affordable transit, promote cycling and reduce traffic congestion. We need to keep the TTC affordable and ensure TTC service is world class.
We can work together to protect and improve public services. We can make public services more effective and efficient for ourselves, our neighbours and our families.
We are all proud of our unique neighbourhoods. We can work together to keep our community vibrant, safe, creative and green.

2. Why are you the best candidate for this position?
I love Toronto and this neighbourhood. I grew up in Trinity-Spadina, I live in Ward 19 and it’s where I want to make a difference. I want to work together with Ward 19 residents to improve our neighbourhoods and our city. People here know what makes neighbourhoods work and what makes Toronto work – great parks, good jobs, effective public transit, efficient pubic services, vibrant, unique neighbourhoods and safe streets.
I have a track record of mobilizing people to make change happen. In my job at Environmental Defence, I brought people with differing perspectives together to push for the Green Energy Act: some of the best environmental legislation in the world.

3. What specifically do you plan to do for your ward, if elected?
I will join with the residents of Ward 19 to create a community that works by:
- Making sure there is high-quality transit to support our needs.
- Defending our public services and making them effective and efficient.
- Keeping our unique neighbourhods vibrant, safe, creative and green.
- Bringing jobs to Toronto by making our city a leader in the green energy economy.
The best communities are those that work together to find solutions to common problems. As your city councillor, that will be my approach.
I will be a strong, progressive voice on city council.

4. Please provide details on your personal bio.
I am the deputy outreach director for Environmental Defence, a national environmental organization. I act as coordinator of the Green Energy Act Alliance, which helped pass a new, world-class Ontario program that invests in renewable energy and supports the creation of 50,000 new jobs. I have a strong track record of mobilizing communities to achieve change.
While still a teenager, I organized fundraising events for the White Ribbon Campaign to end men’s violence against women.
I graduated from York University with a master’s degree in environmental studies, with a focus on urban planning and public participation.

5. Who do you plan to support for mayor?
I have endorsed Deputy Mayor Joe Pantalone as mayor and Joe has endorsed me as his successor in Ward 19.