There are a whole lot of elections coming up – first Provincial, then a Federal by-election to replace mayoral candidate Olivia Chow, and then in October, municipal elections.
The first one is upon us soon. June 12th is the day we head to the polls to elect a Provincial member of parliament for our Trinity Spadina neighbourhood, and that helps determine our provincial leader – the race between Tim Hudak for the PCs, Kathleen Wynne for the Liberals and Andrea Horwath for the NDP.
In our region we have a few competitors for this provincial election, some with a chance of winning, some less so. We encourage you to click through to each of their websites (if they have them) and read up on your local candidate. We also asked each of the candidates how, if elected, it would affect the Ossington area, and we’ve posted the responses we’ve received below. We will post more if they come in.
Here’s our quick outline of who’s running.
Our incumbent is Rosario Marchese from the NDP, who has led this riding for 15 years since winning the new district created in 1999.
“Obviously, people in Ossington share the same concerns about health care, education and transit as other Torontonians, but the issue of development is particularly relevant to Ossington. Last year I introduced Bill 20 to free Toronto from the OMB, and I am the only candidate in Trinity-Spadina who has made OMB reform a top priority. My other priorities include stronger protections for condo owners and tenants, defending the waterfront from jets, funding for cycling infrastructure, and immediate funding for the Downtown Relief Line and Clean Trains to the airport.” – Rosario Marchese
If street signs in our area are any indication, the biggest competition to Mr Marchese will be the Liberal candidate, Han Dong.
Given this region’s left leaning tendencies as a downtown urban district, Green Party candidate Tim Grant may have a chance of gaining share of the vote.
The provincial PCs are running candidate Roberta Scott.
Libertarian Andrew Echeverria, is also making a play in this riding.
“I love the cultural diversity Ossington Village offers, it’s one of my favourite parts of the city. If elected, I would cut the red tape to starting and running a business, so that Ossington Village can continue blooming as a centre for small business and entrepreneurship.” – Andrew Echeverria
Other candidates include Vegan Environmental (there’s a party called that?) Paul Figueiras, Party for People with Special Needs, Dan King, who ran last election as a Green Party Candidate.
Get out to vote June 12th. Check the Elections Ontario website to check if you’re on the list and for where to vote.