Council candidate takes on current rep Joe Mihevc
Kris Scheuer
(Written for Town Crier Sept. 16)
Candidate Beth McLellan decided rather than complain to challenge incumbent Councillor Joe Mihevc. Photo courtesy of Beth McLellan.
St. Paul’s resident Beth McLellan felt compelled to run for council despite warnings the odds are stacked against her.
“I threw my hat in the ring September 3,” said the Ward 21 candidate. “So many people are complaining in our ward saying they were unhappy and (yet) they said absolutely no one could beat Joe Mihevc.”
While aware that beating any incumbent is no easy task, McClellan said she’s ready for the challenge.
“I have been handing out flyers,” she said. “I am going to businesses and homes and talking to people.”
McLellan said she’s not happy with the way city hall spends money, including allowing city employees to ring up millions in credit card charges with little accountability. She noted the price tag for the St. Clair Right-of Way grew exponentially during construction.
Then, there are additional taxes such as land transfer and vehicle registration taxes, she said.
“It seems unfathomable that all these councillors voted for all these taxes with no consultation in the ward,” McLellan said.
She’d rather see the millions the city hands out in grants put to expanding sustainable energy instead.
However, McLellan said she’s not against spending in other areas of municipal service.
“I think all three — EMS, TTC and garbage — should be essential (services). I think it’s worth (higher costs).”
And she’d like to see additional revenues and a Toronto Lotto with prizes such as Metropasses used to pay down the city’s debt.
McLellan sais she is also a proponent of a two-term limit for councillors.
She worked as a teacher at the elementary and high school levels as well as an engineer for Bell Canada. As an engineering associate for 16 years she also helped prepare budgets of $400 million.
“I feel my background in teaching makes me a good communicator,” said McLellan, who is quite fluent in French and Italian.
“I’m a person of integrity and honesty. I would be there for constituents,” McLellan said.
She has volunteered and fundraised for many organizations including the United Way, her children’s schools and the Daily Bread Food Bank.
McLellan is one of six candidates running in Ward 21 along with incumbent Mihevc, Marius Frederick, Alex Freedman, Peter Nolan and Shimmy Posen.
Kris Scheuer 
its time for a Change every one is telling me this my second time offing my self to the people of St. Paul’s this time I am seeking to unseat veteran councillor Joe Mihevc in St. Paul’s (Ward 21). I am a GO Transit bus driver ran as an independent in last year’s by-election to fill the provincial seat vacated by former Attorney General and Economic Development Minister Michael Bryant.
Hey, Statement of Support
Marius saw you on TV debate and said wow doesn’t surprise me to see you pursuing a political career. If everyone knew what a sincere and honest guy you are you will win hands down.
All the Best
Don Bannan
Your Past Principal
http://mariusfrederick.com/ http://www.youtube.com/user/MARIUSFrederick#p/u/6/HeRBZxreOuIhttp://www.youtube.com/user/MARIUSFrederick#p/u/7/Igj5ALnZM7w
There must be a reason for Ford winning at the polls. Mihevc, not only endourses Smitherman but advises to vote against Ford. Yet never addresses why Ford is so strong at the polls.
Should tell you something about the man and his thought process with regards to satisfying his constituents.
Good post!
I needed this information after getting this email from Councillor Joe Mihevc this afternoon;
Dear friends and neighbours,
Over the past several months, I have had countless conversations in various settings with folks around the issue of the next mayor of the City of Toronto. I can tell you that I have struggled deeply with this question. I have committed to residents in Ward 21 that I would make a decision around who I will be endorsing for mayor before Thanksgiving. Now that the advance polls are open, I feel today is an appropriate time to announce my decision. I hope my decision will provide some food for thought for those of you who are also struggling with this question.
From my point of view, it is absolutely imperative that I/we do everything possible to stop Rob Ford from becoming mayor. This is a powerful driver for me. Rob Ford and his associates would destroy so much that we value about our city – its diversity, animated neighbourhoods, care for the newcomers and the poor, our quality of life. Very simply, and without getting too personal, I have watched him for the last 10 years as a colleague on Council, and Rob does not have the skill set required to lead a complex city hall and its agencies. Simple one-liners, an angry persona, a divisive disposition is not leadership and will only hurt Toronto. Under Rob Ford, City Council will not function, our city agencies will be in disarray, economic development will be hurt and our city will suffer in many ways.
I know some residents are supporting Joe Pantalone. I do feel that Joe would make a fine mayor and that he has the skills, smarts, and experience to lead the city. The stars, however, have not aligned for Joe as revealed in the polls. Given the strength of Rob Ford in the same polls, and given the need to have all hands on deck to defeat him, I believe that this is a time for Torontonians to rally around a single candidate who has the best chance of defeating Ford. Joe Pantalone’s standing in the polls requires us to look elsewhere. To say this frankly is very difficult for me as I have known and worked with Joe for 20 years and can affirm that he is a person of integrity and that his work has really built the city. It is not Joe’s moment right now and he is not in a position to defeat Ford. Thus people of good will who are committed to community values have to speak up and act in a very pragmatic way.
I have known George Smitherman for over a decade and do believe that he has the skill set needed to make a good mayor. Further and key to my position, he is in the best position to win. In endorsing George, I am not endorsing everything in his platform, though there are many pieces of his platform (around public transit expansion, commitment to the arts, commitment to neighbourhoods, support for community groups, economic development and support for environmental initiatives) that I find attractive. I believe that Council will be able to work with George, agreeing on many issues and disagreeing where appropriate. He will need a good Council to work with him, and an active citizenry to build the city. I am open to that work. I have spoken to George personally in preparation for my endorsement and am convinced that he has the city’s best interests at heart.
I make this endorsement with the best interests of our community, Ward 21, and of our city in my heart and mind.
Sincerely,
Joe Mihevc
http://www.joemihevc.ca
I do not feel that I can vote for a councillor who will not work for a candidate I am voting for as mayor.
Hi UrbanDaddy,
you say you don’t think you can vote for a council candidate, in this case Joe Mihevc, who will not work for the mayoral candidate of your choice. I take it Rob Ford is the mayoral candidate of your choice?
By the way, Mihevc’s endorsement of Smitherman and not Joe Pantalone is big news in the ward and at the CBC debate tonight, and in news stories…at least for now until we move onto the next story.