By Kelly Aizicowitz and Jeffrey Kroeker, A Better City Toronto
When people learn that we are working together, the most common descriptor we receive is “odd couple.” Kelly is a Liberal who worked for a former Liberal Premier, and Jeffrey is a Conservative who has worked with the federal and provincial Tories.
What brought us together was simple: a love of Toronto and a shared concern that the city is in a downward spiral. At a recent debate, Mayor Olivia Chow said that she believes that Toronto is living up to its full potential. We vehemently disagree.
Take congestion. Torontonians have told us that this is their most important quality of life issue. The people sitting behind a sea of red lights on the Gardiner or watching three packed buses pass by are losing both productive hours that build the city’s economy, and quality time with their family and friends.
Look at safety. While the Mayor tells us that crime is down, many Torontonians report feeling unsafe. Home invasions and car thefts happen regularly across the city. Our subways and buses are used by people, who desperately need help, for open air drug use. The parks and playgrounds that Toronto’s families and children use are often left littered with garbage.
Or affordability. The Mayor and her council raised property taxes by 25%. It doesn’t matter if you’re a shift worker or a small business owner, everyone is feeling the squeeze as we are asked to pay more and get less.
Municipal government touches our everyday lives. It’s taxes, potholes, permits, transit, policing budgets, and whether a new development gets a park or a parking lot. None of it sorts neatly into left and right, rather it sorts into one question: is this working or not?
At A Better City Toronto, we support candidates who have acknowledged that the status quo, under Mayor Chow, is not working. Those who understand that economic development, mobility, safety, affordability and accountability should be prioritized in order to reverse the city’s current decline.
As we head into advance voting, we have weighed the candidates, their records and their promises, and we are endorsing Brad Bradford for Mayor.
Toronto’s Liberals, Conservatives and moderates lose because we have split our municipal vote. On one side are voters who want housing built and transit that runs. On the other are voters who want safe streets and a city hall that respects a dollar. A candidate who speaks to only one of them can win a faction. They can’t govern a city.
Bradford speaks to both. He’s a trained city planner who talks about permit timelines and housing supply in a way that lands with a Liberal in Davenport. And he talks about safety and spending discipline in a way that lands with a Conservative in Etobicoke.
The alternative is four more years of the same. We’ve seen how our city has fared under Mayor Chow, and do not believe in her vision of continued decline. We are inviting Liberals, Conservatives, and moderates to join us in voting for Brad Bradford during advance polls and on October 26.
