Ward 16 Karen Stintz vs. Terry Mills

Horserace is incumbent Stintz’s to lose
But candidate Terry Mills makes big push
Kris Scheuer
(Written for Town Crier Oct. 7)

Councillor Karen Stintz seeks re-election in Ward 16. Francis Crescia/Town Crier.

Ward 16 candidate Terry Mills may be giving Councillor Karen Stintz a political run for her money, but the incumbent still has the advantage in this race for Eglinton-Lawrence.
Mills, a professional planner with an architectural background is tapping into the key issue in this ward: development. Mills has the backing of Patrick Smyth, a member of the Avenue Road Eglinton Community Association. Smyth said he’s unimpressed with Stintz despite having supported her in 2003.
He’s specifically unhappy with Stintz’s decision to support two Riocan developments: A retirement residence at Avenue Road and Willowbank Boulevard, and Riocan’s plan to cover the open square at Yonge and Eglinton.
While Smyth claims Stintz hasn’t met a development she doesn’t like, her voting record shows otherwise.

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Toronto Vital Signs good and bad

Toronto Community Foundation’s annual report on Toronto
(Column written for Town Crier Oct.7)

If we took the city’s pulse, what would it tell us?
Would we get a healthy, hopeful prognosis for Toronto’s future or would we hear a faint heartbeat indicating the city is a mere shadow of its former self.
In some ways, it depends on who you ask. Pricewaterhouse Cooper has chosen Toronto among its top international cities. However, the Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey ranked us 215^th out of 272 as the least affordable city.
These are just two of the findings highlighted in Toronto Community Foundation’s Toronto Vital Signs report released just 20 days before Torontonians go to the polls to elect a new mayor and council.
The charity tells a good news, bad news story of this city.
Good news: Crime is down and has been declining for a decade and most of us feel safer in our neighbourhoods.
Bad news: This June, there were 160,000 people on social assistance representing a 12 percent rise compared to the same time last year.