St. Paul’s trustee race

Young volunteer Adam Chaleff-Freudenthaler a candidate
So far three people vying for the trustee seat in Midtown Toronto
By Kris Scheuer
(Written Feb.25 for Town Crier.)

Candidate Adam Chaleff-Freudenthaler.

The race to replace outgoing St. Paul’s school trustee Josh Matlow is starting to heat up.
Matlow is running for city council leaving no incumbent in the school board Ward 11. So far three people have registered as candidates.
The latest to sign up is community volunteer Adam Chaleff-Freudenthaler.
“This is going to be a competitive race, so I want to make sure I can talk to as many people in St. Paul’s as I can,” said Chaleff-Freudenthaler. “The only way to do that is to register early.”
He is no stranger to the ward as he has lived here for over 20 years and volunteered for a decade.
If elected, he would like to help implement a broader approach to how schools are used.

“We need to move to a community hub model,” said the strategic communications professional. “People don’t want to have to go to nine
different offices to get services.”
The idea is that schools would be used from 6:30 a.m. until 9 p.m. at night, he said, for a variety of uses beyond student learning. This could include
government services such as employment help, daycare and continuing education.
While some of this is being done now, he would like to see it expand.
Chaleff-Freudenthaler also serves on the Toronto Public Library board with a $200 million budget.
“We have to make difficult decisions about how we can nip and tuck the budget,” he said. “It’s great experience in terms of looking at the school
board budget.”
He also helped create the St. Clair West Aquatics Club, which helped save the Winona PS pool from being closed.
The pool wasn’t being permitted by the community and now it will be, which will bring in revenue to keep it operating.
And he serves as chair of the Wychwood Open Door, which served more than 16,000 meals to homeless and socially isolated people last year.
As a student he was part of the Campaign for Public Education, which fought cuts to education under then premier Mike Harris.
When it comes to campaigning, he is getting his name out there through Facebook, Twitter and a website http://adamcf.ca. But it really comes down
to speaking to people face to face.
“I will talk to parents, students, teachers and residents across the ward,” said Chaleff-Freudenthaler. “This is local politics at its core. It’s about
meeting people.”
Chaleff-Freudenthaler is not the only candidate seeking to become the next St. Paul’s school trustee.
Mike Wiener and Maya Worsoff are registered candidates in this political
race. And there may soon be more. Former school trustee Shelley Laskin is considering running here and was
profiled in a Town Crier article last November.
“Since your article appeared, where the community heard for the first time that I was seriously considering running for school trustee again to
represent St. Paul’s, I was contacted by a number of folks expressing their support including potential candidates themselves,” Laskin wrote in a Feb.
23 email.
She said she’ll make her decision at the end of March. Educator Phil Egginton said he is seriously considering running if Laskin
doesn’t run.
“My experience with the TDSB would be an asset as a school trustee, as I am familiar with all the current issues, and believe strongly that we need the
expertise of a seasoned educator to make a significant impact for our students,” Egginton wrote in an email to the Town Crier. “I have served in
the St. Paul’s riding in a number of schools as an administrator, and know the communities in the riding really well.”
He plans to make his decision in March, but doesn’t plan to run if Laskin outs her hat in the ring.
Parent Heather Johnston was thinking of running but said she has decided not to run this time.
Global Pet Food president Jim Walker was also contemplating running here, when interviewed last year and could not be reached for an update.
The Town Crier intends to interview all candidates in this race before the fall election.

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