Without a Ford on the ballot, Etobicoke North faces uncertain election

Not having a Ford on the municipal election ballot after 22 years has left some voters in Etobicoke North unsure about who to support in the Oct. 24 election, but others say it is chance to elect a representative who will be more receptive and responsive to the complex needs of the diverse ward.

At a recent all-candidates meeting in Rexdale, several people in attendance told CP24 that they need someone at city hall who will work hard for them.

“It’s not an easy job we’re appointing someone to do. It’s a lot to take on this role of councillor,” said long-time area resident Kenny Uzoma, pointing to the struggles many people in Etobicoke North face to pay their rent and bills and buy food among other things.

“We don’t need a candidate who is making promises they can’t keep. … The person must be ready to face the challenges.”

Uzoma said he feels the Ford family did good work over the years in the ward, but said there’s now an opportunity to have a new champion in their corner.

“We need someone who is able to fight for difficult tasks and who understands the challenges faced by our community,” he said.

Local voter Yvonne Joseph said she’s ready for a non-Ford municipal rep in her ward, admitting things haven’t been the same in Etobicoke North since Rob Ford was the local councillor.

Following Ford’s election as mayor in 2010, Doug Ford served one term as the councillor for the ward before stepping aside for his younger brother to reclaim the seat in the 2014 election. Michael Ford was then elected in a byelection following Rob Ford’s death in 2016.

“It’s now an opportunity to have someone who can help us,” Joseph said.

“We need more support for seniors and better transportation.”

Long-time area resident Jacqueline Ambris said she was surprised to not see a Ford on the ballot this time.

“We just hope that who we get will offer what they say they’ll do. … There’s lot of false promises at election time,” she said, adding having a different municipal representative gives constituents a chance to “push for more listening.”

“We’ll have a candidate who really had to work to be elected,” she told CP24.com.

A total of 16 candidates are vying to become the next Ward 1 councillor, which is the highest number of names that will be on the ballot in any of Toronto’s 25 wards.

The list includes former city councillor Vincent Crisanti, who lost to now-MPP Michael Ford in the 2018 election after the provincial government reduced the number of municipal wards in Toronto from 44 to 25. Ford vacated his municipal seat last spring to run provincially in York South-Weston.

Crisanti said he decided to once again put his name on the ballot at the urging of people in the community, adding he’ll be the accessible, solutions-based representative people in North Etobicoke want.

“I’m someone who is hands on. I’ll show up at the front door and address issues,” he said, adding because of his previous experience as a local councillor he’ll “hit the ground running” once elected.

“I take this position very, very seriously. … I’ve been very active in the community and I know the issues,” he said. “I know this community very well. I live here and have been here for 40 years.”

A Forum Research poll that surveyed 220 randomly selected eligible voters across Etobicoke North last month suggested that Crisanti has the support of almost 47 per cent of respondents. Avtar Minhas, who served as a TDSB trustee in Ward 1, came in second with 26 per cent of voter support. CP24 made several attempts to contact Minhas for this article, but did not hear back.

Almost a dozen councillor candidates in Etobicoke North took part in an Oct. 5 debate at the Rexdale Hub near Finch and Kipling avenues. The event, which also included a meet and greet with both councillors and trustee candidates, was hosted in partnership with Rexdale Community Legal Clinic.

Yodit Edemariam, RCLC’s director of legal services, said they organized the all-candidates meeting to encourage local voters to “come out and engage” in the political process as in recent years it has been especially challenging to get people out to vote in Etobicoke North.

Edemariam said the event earlier this month was an opportunity for people to make their voices heard on important issues in their ward, notably the need for better transit, good, affordable housing, child care, employment, and poverty reduction.

“There are big issues of affordability in North Etobicoke,” she said, noting the social determinants of health are significantly disproportionate in Etobicoke North.

“We have lots of frontline workers, newcomers and racialized communities here. It is a ward that is very multi faceted.”

Doug Holyday, a long-time former Etobicoke councillor and deputy mayor, said change is a good thing and he’s hopeful the right person will be elected in Ward 1, but said he expects voter turn out will be even lower than usual in the ward as the Ford name is so well-known and trusted.

“Who ever wins I wish them all the best,” said Holyday, adding no matter who is elected he expects the Fords will continue to have “some sort of influence” on what goes on in Etobicoke North as Doug Ford remains the local MPP.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s another Ford in the wings somewhere. That wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility.”

With his own son as a Toronto councillor and running for re-election in Etobicoke Centre, Holyday said while name recognition helps, elected officials must put in the work, even before they run for office.

“People look further than a name,” Holyday said, adding he ran three times before being elected in Etobicoke as voters wanted to see his true commitment to their community.