Welcome to my new website

City Council just keeps getting harder and harder to watch. It gets harder and harder to be there let me tell you. My favourite part of the job is most definitely Ward 33 itself. Keeping appointments with you at Fairview Library, visiting with your neighbourhood  and condo associations, working on improvement projects with my Ward 33 team or meeting with university and college students as they design the future of our great community. These are the best bits.

What I try to remember when I'm in 'The Hall' are the concerns you shared with me on the 2010 campaign trail. You were hoping we would get along down there. You were worried about your bottom line and hoping we would work together down there to protect it, protect your investment in your property and your investment in this City. I think I've demonstrated that.

I was an implementer of the Personal Vehicle Tax in 2007 but I voted to eliminate it when Mayor Ford brought the motion because I heard you. Many of you think there are more fair ways to collect those revenues. Many suggested that GTA commuters have to be made to contribute to our inner city highways. They certainly contribute to our traffic and Metrolinx will, no doubt, propose a regional solution one day.

At Budget time, our local community lost some evening bus services and any of our homeowners on the waiting list for free downspout disconnection lost out when the list of 7000 outstanding disconnects promised was cut. I spoke against these cuts. I attended every Budget meeting to search for other, less impactful cuts. I also voted against spending the entire property tax stabilization reserve in one year.

Since this term of office began, I have made two attempts to bring this Council together around motions that support the need for fiscal restraint in the long term and that address inappropriate spending and these were both carried. One was a motion to have the City Manager draft a 5 year reduction plan including, division by division targets for downsizing in each area of the City's services. This time 35 councillors voted in favour. They understood that fighting each other year after year will not help. Seeing which divisions are targeted in the long term allows us to work together to re-prioritize, re-structure and plan if we want to protect key services while saving in other areas. Mayor Ford, and his Brother Doug voted against, as did 8 others.

Earlier this month, an Auditor General's report exposed inappropriate expenses and bad procurement practices at our arms-length Toronto Community Housing Corporation. The Mayor took steps to remove Staff, Citizens, Councillors and Tenants from every area of governance in the corporation. The one thing he didn't do was address immediately, the inappropriate practices themselves. I moved that all Board Member and Senior Staff members' expenses be posted on the TCHC Website and Procurement be overhauled and all purchases over $1000.00 be Board approved until then. The Mayor, his Brother Doug, his Deputy Mayor and his Budget Chief voted against this.

Fortunately, there are 22 Councillors who vote on the basis of Accountability Practice and Transparency. They did the right thing. They didn't vote based on a name. They voted according to the intent of my motion, to protect the dollars of Taxpayers and TCHC Rent payers and their support for me means this WILL happen. If this were the one TRUE Agenda in the Council Chambers these days, Council would always be unanimous. But alas, it becomes clearer each day that there is a much darker agenda at work.

I will continue to work hard for you every day. My Team and I will continue to promote health and wealth in our part of this great City.  Please call my office whenever you need us, or whenever something gives you pause in our Ward 33 community and you feel the need to discuss.