Municipal councillors are supposed to be independent.  Officially, there are no "party politics" at City Hall, but this is starting to change, in a back-door kind of way.

 

This race to be Councillor of Ward 25 Scarborough-Rouge Park is an important one. There are over 17 candidates as of the time I am writing this. Nominations have not closed yet. 

 

I am Independent of any political party.

There isn't any political party running my campaign. There is no one organising for me behind the scenes.

Quite literally, it's just me.

 

Municipal By-Elections are expensive. We are having one because the last councillor ran for a Federal Riding during the federal election and ran in Ajax. 

 

I am running because I want to work and serve as councillor for this area, Ward 25 Scarborough-Rouge Park and only for this area.

I have zero intention of "making a profile" for myself to run for another office. 

 

In this race, there are past candidates for the NDP, Liberal Party, and Conservative Party, and some may have a professional organisation behind them, which begs the question.....Are they in it for you? Are they in it for the party?

 

There are also TDSB trustees running. The province has taken over various school boards across the province, including  TDSB and TCDSB, due to allegations of financial mismanagement. Typically, running for trustee is a stepping stone for larger political ambitions. 

Many are groomed by political parties at this level, and it is where they accumulate a database for future use.

 

Another aspect of this race is the dynamic of a possible "Power Couple Vote".  What does this mean? Well, it means that one couple/family could have two votes. If this happens, and there is an issue that is detrimental to this area but beneficial to the other area where the spouse/family member is also on council...how can Ward 25 be assured that the councillor will vote in this Ward's best interest?

That question will always linger in my mind.

 

I feel it is necessary to remain independent of political party influence so I can be critical of:

1. Mayor Chow's wasteful spending on renaming streets, subway stations and in general items like that.

2. Be critical of Premier Ford moving the Science Centre so he can make way for developers at that intersection. 

3. Be critical of Premier Ford wanting to spend $100 billion for a tunnel under the 401. (yes, it will be that expensive)

4. Be critical of the Liberal MP for this area in his role as public safety minister, who has to recuse himself from conflicts of interest on particular overseas groups. See news article here

 

Give this Ward a true independent voice at city hall.

See this section about how I intend to communicate with Ward 25

 

Thank you,

Brian Matthews