Chin Lee re-elected in Ward 41, Scarborough—Rouge River
First elected to Toronto council in 2006, Chin Lee is known as a centrist who has made transit, fair taxation and improved infrastructure some of his key priorities.n Facebook
RENE JOHNSTON / TORONTO STAR Order this photo
Chin Lee was elected on Monday night with about 50 per cent of the vote.
An east-end Malaysian restaurant erupted in cheers Monday night as Ward 41 incumbent Chin Lee was elected to Toronto city council for the third consecutive time.
“Thank you very much to all of you, especially the volunteers who came out,” Lee, a 25-year resident of the community, told the crowd at Gourmet Malaysia, a restaurant on Sheppard Ave. East. “I hope we can work together to build Toronto and make it better for all of us.”
First elected to Toronto council in 2006, Lee is known as a centrist who has made transit, fair taxation and improved infrastructure some of his key priorities.
Last term, Lee, who supported John Tory for mayor, served as a member of Toronto’s budget committee and the Toronto Police Services Board. In 2010, Lee was elected with nearly 71 per cent of the vote.
With a population of about 68,000, Ward 41 is an ethnically diverse riding, with a large number of Chinese, Tamil and Filipino residents. Taxes, garbage collection and better city budgeting emerged as major election issues during the race.
But it was transit that dominated the campaign in Scarborough-Rouge River, with citizens calling for better TTC and GO train service for the ward. In October 2013, city council, including Lee, voted to scrap a planned seven-stop Scarborough LRT in favour of a three-stop extension of the Bloor-Danforth line — a move that will cost city taxpayers $1 billion over the next 30 years.
Lee says he also wants to preserve the $1.1 billion in funding currently allocated to the Sheppard East LRT.
Ward 41’s other main contender, Cynthia Lai, seized on Lee’s relatively low profile on council, saying stronger leadership was needed to tackle the ward’s issues.
“Obviously Ward 41 residents have chosen to remain status quo,” said Lai, a realtor and past president of the Toronto Real Estate Board whose platform targeted the elimination of the land transfer tax and advocated for better recreation programs for youth and seniors, among other things.
“I feel that I sent a strong message that Scarborough deserves better and we deserve a better voice on council,” Lai said Monday night.
The other candidates running for councillor in Ward 41 were John Kladitis, Sivavathani Prabaharan and Sandeep Srivastava.
Kristyn Wong-Tam easily wins Ward 27, Toronto Centre-Rosedale
DAVID COOPER / TORONTO STAR Order this photo
Kristyn Wong-Tam, Ward 27 councillor, cruised to her second victory in Toronto Centre-Rosedale.
After squeaking to a first-place finish in her first term by less than 500 votes, Toronto Centre-Rosedale Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam is returning to city hall four years later with a convincing win.
“We ran a strong campaign. Tonight’s results are a testament to the commitment of Ward 27 residents to a stronger, better city that welcomes all people. I am proud to continue to represent Ward 27,” said an elated Wong-Tam.
“I congratulate John Tory and all my colleagues elected tonight, and I look forward to working with all of them,” she added.
Ward 27, possibly the city’s most urbanized ward, runs the gamut from rich to poor.
Covering a large swath of downtown Toronto, Ward 27 encompasses the wealthy enclaves of Rosedale and much of Yorkville as well as a section of Bay Street that has seen a boom in upscale condo development over the past decade.
The ward also includes the Church-Wellesley neighbourhood, where much of the city’s gay/lesbian community is concentrated, in addition to a large population of students attending Ryerson University.
There’s also a large percentage of Toronto’s homeless population concentrated in the ward, where some of the city’s largest homeless shelters are located.
Statistics Canada figures show the ward’s population is booming, growing 13 per cent between 2006 and 2011. The population is younger than the city average — though with fewer children — with the largest group of adults in the 25-44 age range, at 40 per cent — much higher than the citywide average of just over 30 per cent.
Ward 27 also has a very high concentration of apartment dwellers, with 78.7 per cent living in buildings of five or more storeys, compared with 41 per cent citywide. Statistics Canada also found that only 8.6 per cent of residents live in houses, compared with the citywide average of 37.6 per cent.
Singles — or one-person households in Statistics Canada parlance — represent 54.7 per cent of the ward population, compared with 31.6 per cent citywide.
Wong-Tam faced nine challengers in her bid for re-election, including investment management adviser Kamal Ahmed; non-ward resident David Byford; Alain D’Amours, who runs a general contracting company; Benjamin Dichter, who operates a digital print business in the ward; ward residents Susan Humfryes and Robin Lawrance; Megan McIver, who runs her own consulting business; ward resident Jordan Stone and Rob Wolvin, who works in the film industry
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