With exactly two weeks to go until voters mark their ballots, the highly competitive race to represent Toronto-Danforth at city council is an intriguing one with Dianne Saxe, Mary Fragedakis and Sara Ehrhardt among the 18 candidates duelling it out to win over voters.
Ward 14 covers the area from the Don Valley Parkway to Coxwell Avenue, and from Lake Ontario to O’Connor Drive, including neighborhoods like Riverdale, Leslieville, and the Danforth. Paula Fletcher represented the ward since 2003 but in August, following some reflection while paddle-boarding on Lake Ontario, she decided to withdraw from the race just two days before candidate nominations closed.
The 23-year public service veteran decided to endorse Ehrhardt, a former TDSB trustee who says she has worked closely with Fletcher the past four years.
“What I bring is a real passion for the role, strong work ethic and a real commitment to working with the community to deliver results,” she tels CityNews, adding she is committed to bringing a progressive voice to City Hall, setting her sights on a big-ticket issue for residents: road safety.
“Metrolinx Ontario line construction is happening in our community, we are right there in the thick of it. So, it’s a real commitment to make sure that all of these construction projects can happen, while we stay safe in our neighbourhood, and so that we can also get from point A to B, safely and in a reasonable amount of time.”
But the competition is stiff.
From 2010 to 2018, Mary Fragedakis represented a portion of Toronto-Danforth prior to the boundary changes. She then went head-to-head against Fletcher in 2018, losing by over 6,000 votes. Since then, she has represented multiple Business Improvement Areas (BIAs), including as the Executive Director of the GreekTown on the Danforth BIA – a role she has since left, launching a lawsuit against the organization. She now serves as the Chair of the Withrow Park Farmers’ Market, a role she says has given her a deeper understanding on how to build strong local institutions. She says there are several issues she’s looking to take on in Ward 14.
“There’s the issues around unreliable transit traffic congestion, concerns about safety in public spaces, pressures on the local economy, those are top of mind,” Fragedakis tells CityNews. During her previous council term, Fragedakis served as a TTC board member, advocating for the agency’s two-hour time-based transfer – a policy she says has been her greatest legacy.
“It’s had a lasting impact, not just on Toronto-Danforth residents, but on Torontonians. I think we need more solutions like that, game-changing solutions for people.”
Fragedakis, and the others on the ballot, were not expected to face a sitting councillor in the race, but that changed when Saxe jumped wards from neighbouring University-Rosedale moments before the registration deadline to run closed.
“One of the key skills any good lawyer has to have is to know when to fight and when to pivot. And when the mayor’s stepson at the last minute entered the race in University-Rosedale, it changes the numbers,” explained Saxe, referring to Mike Layton, who is looking to return to city council in University-Rosedale, which he represented from 2010 to 2022.
After being in the University-Rosedale seat for the past four years, Saxe calls moving into Toronto-Danforth an opportunity that would utilize all of her strengths.
“It’s I think the most environmentally conscious ward in the city or certainly one of the top,” says the once Environmental Commissioner of Ontario. “And it has the largest affordable and workforce housing opportunity in North America, not just in Toronto. With the new community that’s going to be built on the Portlands, plus the transit-oriented communities that are going to be built along the Ontario Line at the stations, there’s an opportunity for 20,000 or more new homes in those areas in the next few years. It’s a generational opportunity.”
Political observers say whomever emerges as the winner in the ward could potentially boil down to one thing: name recognition.
“A lot of people go to vote because they feel it’s a civic duty but don’t know that much about what the issue is or who the people running are. So name recognition tends to meet a lot more at the municipal level of politics,” explains Nelson Wiseman, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Toronto.
“Fragedakis has the advantage of having been the counselor for that riding, so many more people may be familiar with her name rather than Diane Saxe’s. On the other hand, Saxe has, I would say, a higher profile generally, so that’s to her benefit,” he says.
Voters head to the polls to cast their ballot on October 26th.