Toronto Votes 2026: Residents share concerns, questions at Beaches-East York councillor candidates’ meet and greet

By MATTHEW STEPHENS

In the crowded hall of Beach United Church, hundreds of residents checked in to share concerns they’re hoping to have addressed by the next Ward 19 Beaches-East York city councillor.

“It was interesting to hear one candidate say, ‘the challenge will be getting the right people to prioritize our particular issues’,” local resident Gale Moutrey told Beach Metro Community News in an interview during the meeting.

Hosted by Beach Metro Community News and the Balmy Beach Residents Association,  the open house meeting on the evening of Monday, Oct. 5 saw  10 of the 13 candidates registered tor run for the council seat responding to residents’ questions and concerns in an informal setting as candidates set up tables and chatter with potential voters.

The Beaches-East York council seat is open as incumbent councillor Brad Bradford is running for mayor in this year’s municipal election.

Questions and concerns raised by voters at the meeting included residential flooding, housing, affordability, transportation, and welcoming density while preserving neighbourhood character.

Candidates at the meeting were James Dann, Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, Natalie Johnson, Kevin Morrison, Karsten Riedel, Mohammad Shabani, Adam Smith, Jeff Wahl, Devin Wilkins, and Jennie Worden. Candidates unable to attend Syeda Janna Ali, Fatima Ibrahimi, and Austi Vieira.

Dann told Beach Metro Community News that he’s heard from many concerned residents who are hoping the new councillor will address the ward’s ongoing flooding issue, and that his former experience working for the city gives him the upper hand to address the issue at Toronto City Hall.

“The top three 311 calls that were coming through for complaints with city services were: garbage, weather, snow, and in this area, flooding,” explained Dann. “As a city services specialist and expert on these things, this puts me in a very unique position to actually address the top three concerns that citizens have – as someone who has lived it, knows how to get things done, and is solution based in their approach.”

Erskine Smith said that residents have expressed a need for improved city services such as faster transit and increased housing options.

“Some are big city issues around affordable housing, how are we addressing homelessness – and both ensuring we deliver dignity for folks while ensuring our public spaces are welcoming,” said Erskine-Smith.

“There’s also a need for faster transit; more reliable transit, as well as cleaner and greener homes.”

With many of the ward’s residents falling victim to the city’s housing and affordability crisis, Johnson spoke about the importance of preserving neighbourhood character while increasing housing options for Beaches-East York residents.

“Many people move here because it feels like a small town within a big city, and yet, we’re in a housing crisis,” said Johnson.

“I think we should be offering a range of options across the housing spectrum, so that young families can afford to live here, seniors can stay in the community while living in a downsized unit. And we also can’t lose sight of the fact that we need to build affordable housing for people as well.”

(Editor’s Note: Morrison was at Monday night’s event but Beach Metro Community News was unable to chat with him at the time. Beach Metro has reached out to him for comments on the event and will add them to this story when we receive them.)

Reidel said residents are feeling skepticism about the possibility of bringing back an a Gardiner Expressway ramp for East End residents. “I heard lots of skepticism about bring back the Gardiner Ramp. Lots of optimism about proper traffic management such as properly timing traffic lights,” said Reidel.

He said he’s also heard “lots” of concern about flooding.  “Given that I have lived at the bottom of Waverley Road, the primary flood zone, for the past 27 years, I am well aware of the problem. Lots of optimism about free TTC for 25 and under.”

Shabani said many of the concerns he heard from residents were also related to housing and affordability, with many expressing an interest of implementing his “bold ideas” at the municipal level.

“They were happy to see a grassroots candidate, independent thinker not endorsed by the system,” said Shabani.

“A few said they hope some of my bold ideas happen sooner. Specifically, a ‘highrise hub’ a ‘Community Investment Bank’ and a ‘Gender parity voting system’.”

Smith also said he received many complaints regarding flood mitigation measures, as well as concerns related to vacant storefronts and affordability.

“The residents I spoke with at the event were very concerned with flooding and how the city can help residents who can’t afford to take more flood mitigation measures, and derelict storefronts and vacant lots,” said Smith.

“Affordability and property taxes came up regularly too.  Generally, there seems to be a feeling that the city isn’t helping residents enough, but many of the issues mentioned are mostly out of the city’s hands.”

After spending 20 years working in retail operations, Wahl said he is focused on building better infrastructure and providing a stronger sense of communication between city council and residents.

“Across every single issue that people were coming to me, they mentioned a lack of communication and clarity,” said Wahl. “Twenty years in retail operations, retail leadership, literally my job has been to solve problems. It is to create infrastructure around delegation; around properly bubbling up information and funnelling it; connecting people to subject matter experts to help solve problems. If I wasn’t able to do those things, I wouldn’t be successful in my career.”

Worden said Ward 19 residents’ concerns are not isolated solely to the Beach area, and that many of the ward’s other regions have often been overlooked by past councillors.

“The north end of the ward is Sunrise Avenue, almost all the way up at Eglington. This ward goes way far north, and the profile there is very different,” explained Worden.

“Part of what’s happened in the past eight years is that politically, we have focussed on the Beaches and the concerns of residents south of Danforth Avenue, and our neighbours up at Parma Court or on Dawes Road do not get a lot of political attention.”

As a young 23-year-old candidate, Wilkins said he’s focused on building a better city for future generations to come by tackling issues like rent caps and housing.

“I spoke with residents about raising the floor to help the homeless get out of homelessness. I spoke with one lady who is on the front lines of this issue; she has people encamping by the back door of her home, and it’s not fair that the system is failing her,” said Wilkins.

“I believe I’m the only one with a different perspective. I grew up in a completely different time and raised in a completely different world; the world that the current generation is changing into. I want to help build towards the future of 2050.”

For more information on the Ward 19 councillor candidates, including Beach Metro New’s Q and A feature with them, please visit https://beachmetro.com/?s=%22toronto+votes+2026%3A+beaches-east+york%22