Toronto Votes 2026: Beaches-East York councillor candidate James Dann answers our questions

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Beaches–East York voters will cast their ballots on Monday, Oct. 26, in Toronto’s municipal election. Along with voting for mayor and school trustee, local voters will be looking to elect a new councillor for Ward 19 Beaches-East York.
There are 13 candidates running for the council seat in Beaches-East York. The seat is open as incumbent councillor Brad Bradford is now running for mayor in this municipal election. For this Question and Answer feature below, Beach Metro Community News reached out to the candidates who we could find contact information for and asked them to send their answers in by a set deadline. We are only printing the answers of the 11 candidates who responded by the deadline. Please note the candidates’ answers to the first two questions in this feature are also appearing in the Sept. 22 print edition of Beach Metro Community News.)

QUESTION 1: Tell us a bit about yourself and why your are running for city councillor in Ward 19 Beaches-East York?

I am a third-generation resident who has lived in the ward my whole life and raised my three kids here. Ward 19 is home and I care about it deeply. I didn’t set out to be a politician, but our ward is at a turning point.

Big changes are coming and you deserve a responsive councillor who will be straight with you and is fully dedicated to Ward 19. Someone who can walk into City Hall on day one and get things done. Knowing how makes the difference. A new councillor often spends the first two years learning this, but we can’t afford to wait.

Main and Danforth is being rebuilt; major thoroughfares are being rezoned; and the control of the Gardiner Expressway is moving to the Province. I already know how City Hall works: where things start, stop, and break down. For over two decades, I worked for the City of Toronto, managing the waterfront parks, ferries, Islands, and eastern and western beaches with a team of 200 and a $29-million budget. Some of the most rewarding and successful projects I managed took place in Ward 19: I rebuilt the Leuty Lifeguard Station, the Woodbine Bathing Station, and the Boardwalk; brought Blue Flag certification to our beaches; launched the Winter Stations at Woodbine Beach; and led the response to the 2017 and 2019 lake floods.

I have the operational experience, knowledge, and expertise needed for the job and I’m excited to get to work for all of Beaches-East York.

QUESTION 2: What changes, if any, would you advocate for at city hall to balance the need for more housing while preserving neighbourhood character?

Let’s start with what’s already been approved and isn’t going to change: the Province has made density mandatory around transit; City staff have approved developments on Queen Street that surpass the six-storey guideline; and more than 6,700 housing units are being built within 400 metres of Main and Danforth. Growth is coming, so one of the first things I’d prioritize as your councillor is bringing in the proper infrastructure to support these existing projects.

Moving forward, I’d advocate for three things:

1. No new blanket development zones without a funded infrastructure plan. I’d work with City staff to identify existing needs within a community before new zones are approved so that we don’t have a repeat of the development at Main and Danforth, a neighbourhood already deficient in schools, community centres, and libraries, now having to accommodate thousands of new residents without a plan to improve access to these services.

2. Enforcing zoning rules on the streets that give our ward its character. Mid-rise buildings on Queen Street or Kingston Road can work if the City holds developers to the guidelines: real setbacks, transitions to the houses behind, and ground-floor retail that stays retail. Preserving character isn’t about stopping new buildings, it’s about how they integrate with the existing neighbourhood.

3. Strategic growth in the spaces that make sense. I’d advocate for gentle infill in residential neighbourhoods, while directing mid-rise buildings to be built on the avenues, and towers to only land where there is the transit and infrastructure to support them.

QUESTION 3: As city councillor, what specific actions would take during your term to make Beaches-East York affordable for all residents?

A councillor can’t set rents or grocery prices, and I won’t pretend otherwise. What a councillor can do is make sure City services are managed efficiently. Specifically, I’d focus on the following:

1. A safe, reliable, and clean public transit system is one of the easiest ways we can make life more affordable. The more we can increase our use of the TTC and GO, the less we spend on the high costs of driving.

2. Half of Ward 19 residents are renters, and the tools exist to preserve their rights. They need and deserve a councillor who will use them. When a building like 500 Dawes Road falls apart, the City should do the repairs and bill the landlord.

3. Free accessible services that work. City parks, rinks, pools, libraries, and community centres are services that cost families nothing. I’d push to keep the funded Main Square Community Centre on schedule, and I’d continue to be an advocate for parks having year-round access by ploughing the trails – a simple, low-cost change.

4. Supporting local businesses. I’d work with the BIAs to access grants and funding so that main street shops survive redevelopment. New buildings on our avenues should be required to deliver usable retail space, not empty glass boxes.

5. Maintaining access to affordable grocery stores. When they close, costs go up for everyone nearby. None of this is glamorous, but it all shows up in your monthly budget.

QUESTION 4: As city councillor for Beaches-East York, how would you ensure infrastructure near Main and Danforth/Dawes can support the area’s major residential growth while minimizing pressure on transit and community services?

The development at Main and Danforth is the biggest change coming to this ward in our lifetime.

Here’s where things stand. Water and sewer upgrades on Danforth started this year, and a replacement for the Main Square Community Centre is in the capital budget. But the pace doesn’t match the growth. Design on the community centre isn’t coming until 2028; the City is considering hundreds of millions in capital deferrals, and there is no funded plan for a new school.

As councillor, I’d push for four things:

1. Sequence it. The community centre, parks, and road commitments need to get locked in and funded before the towers are occupied.

2. Prioritizing a new school. The Province turned down a replacement for Secord PS, a school with 14 portables and close to 800 students in a building built for 590. I’d work with our MPP and school trustees to advocate for reversing this decision.

3. Fix the access to the Danforth GO station. There is no proper access on the west side of the bridge or from Dawes Road, and no designated pick-up/drop-off area. These are easy fixes for Metrolinx, Hydro, and the City to collaborate on, and I have experience working with all three.

4. Keeping the money local. Community-benefit contributions from these towers must be spent on services within walking distance of them and ready for new residents on day one. I’ve delivered infrastructure successfully around growth before, and I can do it again.

Beaches-East York council candidates’ open house slated for Monday, Oct. 5

A public meet-and-greet with candidates running for council in the Ward 19 Beaches–East York municipal election will take place on Monday, Oct. 5, at Beach United Church.

The Beaches–East York Municipal Candidate Meet and Greet is being co-hosted by Beach Metro Community News and the Balmy Beach Resident’s Association. It will run from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the church, 140 Wineva Ave., in the fully accessible Main Hall.

There are 13 candidates seeking the Ward 19 city council seat in the Oct. 26 municipal election. 

Twelve candidates have confirmed they will participate in the Oct. 5 event: Syeda Janna Ali, James Dann, Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, Natalie Johnson, Kevin Morrison, Karsten Riedel, Mohammad Shabani, Adam Smith, Austin Vieira, Jeff Wahl, Devin Wilkins and Jennie Worden.

The event will be a meet-and-greet, with candidates at individual tables, allowing residents to circulate and speak with them directly.