Fewer candidates for Toronto City Council a ‘warning signal’
Posted August 5, 2022 9:39 pm.
There are two weeks left for citizens to get their name on the list of candidates for the municipal election this fall. But a quick look at the latest list reveals a lack of interest and/or choice in some wards.
As of August 5, at least four wards – Etobicoke Centre, Don Valley North, Scarborough Centre, and Scarborough-Guildwood – did not even have a challenger for the incumbent while 14 other wards had three or fewer candidates running. According to at least one political observer, that’s not healthy.
“I think this is a warning signal about the state of public interest, engagement, participation in democracy and political institutions,” said Myer Siemiatycki, Professor Emeritus at Toronto Metropolitan University.
Political analysts point to a number of factors at play – one of which was the reduction in council seats during the last election – and the amount of work involved in taking on the job.
“What we’re seeing is a lot of people frustrated with how the city is running,” Robin Buxton Potts tells CityNews.
A political staffer for several councillors, Buxton Potts was appointed to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of Kristyn Wong-Tam in Toronto Centre. Despite saying at the time she had no intention of running for a seat on council, she has decided to step up and fill the vacancy in Ward 11, University-Rosedale.
“My intention was to never run as a full-time councillor but when Mike Layton announced that he wasn’t running my fear suddenly became that the entire downtown core was going to have brand new councillors,” she said.
Three other people have also registered to run including Norm di Pasquale, a catholic school board trustee, who welcomes the challenge.
“This is what democracy is all about. Let’s all come in here and put our best vision and have a great discussion together and really bring people into the discussion and see where we end up,” he said. “Let’s bring people along with us as we discuss the future of University Rosedale.”
When it comes to the race for mayor, 15 candidates had signed up as of August 5 to challenge incumbent John Tory.
The deadline to file a nomination paper is August 19 at 2 p.m.
