The Ward 15 by-election set for Nov. 4, 2024, will decide on a candidate to succeed Councillor Jaye Robinson as our Ward 15-Don Valley West representative on City Council. That person will also be appointed as a member of North York Community Council and other Council committees. Covering a large and diverse area, Ward 15 extends to Highway 401 in the north; the Don River (including Thorncliffe Park and Bennington Heights) in the south; (parts of) Mt. Pleasant and Yonge Street in the west; and Leslie Street and Don Mills Road in the east. It includes more than 100,000 people.
Over a dozen active residents’ associations in Ward 15 have established a By-Election Planning Committee (BEPC) (full disclosure: Carol Burtin Fripp and I are members), in order to encourage and support informed discussion regarding the issues relevant to residents of Ward 15. The BEPC is politically neutral and will not be taking a position in favour of a particular candidate.
The BEPC recognizes that with the number of registered candidates (16 as of this writing, with nominations closed as of September 19), holding an All-Candidates Meeting (ACM) would represent a significant challenge, so we plan to hold a candidates’ meeting with a smaller number of registered candidates, to be held virtually on Oct. 16th. To help refine a select list of candidates we have devised a short questionnaire to be completed by all registered candidates:
1) Do you live in Ward 15?
2) Have you previously run and/or been elected for municipal office (school board trustee or city councillor)?
3) Have you engaged in community and/or city building activities?
4) Do you have any relationships with developers or labour unions which may represent potential conflicts of interest with the City?
5) Why do you want to be the City Councillor for Don Valley West?
6) What experience and accomplishments do you bring that you think will make you a good representative for Ward 15?
7) What are the key three to five issues you see facing Ward 15 and the City?
8) What is the first thing you will work on if elected?
LRA co-president Carol Burtin Fripp in her column this issue lists even more questions to consider. At the time of writing, responses from the candidates are trickling in. A summary of candidate responses from the completed questionnaire received by the September 23 deadline will be available via the Leaside Residents Association’s website (https://leasideresidents.ca) and those of other cooperating Ward 15 residents’ associations. The LRA will post registration information for the candidates’ meeting on the website and send out information to the mailing list. Also, you may submit questions to be addressed at the virtual candidates’ meeting to: .
Note that it is possible that some residents’ associations may hold in-person meetings in addition to participating in the ward-wide virtual meeting.
Here are the key events and dates:
- City’s election information brochure dropped at households across Ward 15 on Wed., Sept. 18.
- Candidates’ meeting (virtual, select candidates) on Wed., Oct. 16.
- Advance voting available on Sat., Oct. 26 and Sun., Oct. 27 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Election Day will be on Mon., Nov. 4, with voting locations open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
VISIT toronto.ca/MyVote TO:
- Check out the candidates running for councillor.
- Find out if you are on the voters’ list.
- Add, change or update your voters’ list info (until Oct. 10 at 4:30 p.m.).
- Apply for mail-in voting (until Oct. 10 at 4:30 pm)
- Find out where and when to vote.
- Find accessibility info about your voting place.
- View a sample of the ballot
- View, download or print your voter information card.
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