{"id":14406,"date":"2010-10-06T10:00:08","date_gmt":"2010-10-06T14:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spacingtoronto.ca\/?p=14406"},"modified":"2013-01-21T13:11:39","modified_gmt":"2013-01-21T18:11:39","slug":"election-council-turnover-ward-36","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2010\/10\/06\/election-council-turnover-ward-36\/","title":{"rendered":"ELECTION: Council Turnover \u2014 Ward 36"},"content":{"rendered":"

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It\u2019s not often that candidates for City Council are given the opportunity to run without an incumbent in the ward. This year there are nine wards with seats ripe for the picking. This post is the sixth in a series on the candidates in these contested wards, and the key issues in the neighbourhoods they seek to represent.<\/em><\/p>\n

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\nWard 36 <\/strong>Scarborough<\/strong> Southwest<\/strong><\/p>\n

This ward runs along the Scarborough Bluffs with Lake Ontario in the south, the Canadian National rail lines in the north, Victoria Park Avenue in the west and extends east to where Kingston Road meets the train tracks. It encompasses the Birchcliff, Cliffside, Cliffcrest, and Scarborough village neighbourhoods.<\/p>\n

The Candidates:<\/strong><\/p>\n

With Brian Ashton announcing his retirement after 22 years as councilor for Ward 36, a number of candidates have emerged to represent this area.<\/p>\n

Vicki Breen<\/a> is a longtime Scarborough whose platform and views include opposition to LRTs (she wants to investigate subways), ambivalence on wind turbines, and opposition to the vehicle registration and land transfer taxes.<\/p>\n

Gary Crawford<\/a> brings experience with budgets to the table as trustee and former vice-chair of the Toronto District School Board. Crawford wants to freeze councillors salaries and make councillors more accountable to taxpayers. He also proposes to turn Kingston Rd. into a complete street \u201cwith flowers, restaurants and other amenities, making it safer and more livable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Roman Danilov<\/a>, the self-proclaimed professional vows to become the worst nightmare for profit-hungry parties acting against residents. With a PdD, BSc and Msc, Danilov has worked in psychology, natural and environmental sciences, as well as business and has taught a variety of courses at universities for the last eight years. He vows to make the TTC an essential service and prevent the space along the CN rail tracks from being developed, instead proposing to build green spaces.<\/p>\n

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Sean Gladney<\/a> is the principal for two Toronto based companies, The Investigators Group Inc. established in 1995 and Edge Mechanical Inc. established in 2008. He’s also an AirVac and Medivac volunteer pilot and a member of the Toronto Party.<\/p>\n

Diane Hogan<\/a> is the co-ordinator of a non-profit housing co-op in Scarborough and has worked tirelessly on behalf of people in need of non-profit affordable housing. She vows to continue her work in the housing sector as well as prevent developments that are unsuitable for the community and make free eco-friendly car parking spaces at City parking facilities.<\/p>\n

Local realtor Robert Mcdermott (whose only Internet presence is found on Craigslist and Kijiji) has endorsed Rob Ford for mayor and proposes to clean up waste at City Hall, while abolishing taxes such as the Land Transfer Tax and Personal Vehicle Tax and contracting out public transit.<\/p>\n

Coming out of a six-year retirement is local resident Tony Ashdown<\/a>. He worked on the Liquor Control Board of Ontario as the director of human resources and plans on supporting what residents want when it comes to the quarry lands development and wind turbines. He also proposes building a new detention centre in Toronto and getting helicopters for the Toronto Police Force to better combat gang crime. A training and development professional, Ashdown has been teaching management development at a Toronto College for the past few years.<\/p>\n

Eddy Gasparotto<\/a>, a last-minute entrant and second place candidate for the Ward in 2006,\u00a0 has worked for the Department of Public Health as well as other City departments and unions and is currently a court officer with the Toronto Police Service.<\/p>\n

University of Toronto instructor and Marvin Macaraig<\/a> is a Filipino immigrant who’s completing his PhD in metropolitan governance. He is a member of community organizations such as Friends of the Rouge Watershed and Our Community Speaks and is calling for the implementation of the revitalization of Kingston Rd.<\/p>\n

Robert Spencer<\/a> has been an elected trustee and has served multiple roles in the TDSB for the past 11 years. He has been an education director for Pollution Probe, the executive director of the Ontario Association of Food Banks, and a member on the fundraising committee for Hong Fook Mental Health Association, and has a multitude of college and university governance experience at U of T and George Brown. He proposes to resell energy from public buildings under the Green Energy Act to pay for more solar installations.<\/p>\n

The Issues:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Wind Turbines on the <\/strong>Scarborough<\/strong> Bluffs<\/strong><\/p>\n

There has been air quality testing as close as five kilometers off the shore of the Scarborough Bluffs for the installation of as many as 100 wind turbines. Community and environmental groups are sharply divided on this proposal.<\/p>\n