Sandra Bussin’s 2010 campaign

Beach councillor faces hot issues in election year
Kris Scheuer
(Written June 11 for Town Crier.)

Beaches-East York Councillor Sandra Bussin.

Beaches-East York Councillor Sandra Bussin has come under fire lately over a series of hot button issues in her Ward 32.
There’s the firestorm over 204 Beech Avenue, where the owners bought the property with the intention to tear it down and build an accessible home only to find out it is a candidate for heritage protection.
Bussin got caught up in heated meeting on that issue. A clip depicting her as unsympathetic to the owners subsequently ended up on video streaming site YouTube, and made the rounds via Twitter.
And there’s the controversial 20-year, sole-source contract that awards a lease extension to Tuggs owner George Foulidis for his Boardwalk Café at Ashbridges Bay. Some feel Foulidis got too sweet a deal.
Though she removed herself from any city staff discussions surrounding the Boardwalk Café in 2009, Bussin was a vocal supporter of the sole-source contract for Foulidis back in 2006.
And this is now an election year.
“I am a strong person. I represent this community with integrity,” she told the Town Crier referring in to the criticism she is facing lately.

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Robert Walker Ward 31 candidate

Toronto can offer something for everyone: Walker
Candidate running in East York against Coun. Janet Davis
By Kris Scheuer
(Written May 13 for Town Crier.)

Ward 31 candidate Robert Walker. Photo courtesy of Robert Walker.

Beaches-East York candidate Robert Walker says he’s got some ideas to helping Torontonians get the most out their city.
The first-time candidate is running in Ward 31 where he lives with his 14-year-old son and 17-year-old daughter.
“I’m a homeowner and single dad,” the 48-year-old said. “I pay taxes like everyone else. I feel I could do a better job allocating taxes to help everyone.”
On his website, he laments about the rifts between drivers and cyclists, left versus right, downtown against the suburbs and so on.
“I think there’s enough of this city for everyone to have the city they want,” he said. “There’s enough room for people to travel across this city in any manner they want.”

Bruce Baker takes on Councillor Bussin

Beach resident running in area Sandra Bussin reps
Bruce Baker a former TTC driver is a council candidate
By Kris Scheuer
(Written  Feb. 10 for Town Crier.)

 

Bruce Baker is running for council in Beaches-East York Ward 32. Photo by Kris Scheuer/Town Crier.

 

Bruce Baker wants to be Ward 32’s next councillor.
Not surprisingly, the former TTC bus driver names transit as a key issue he’d like to tackle if elected.
“(The TTC) can’t even solve the problem of the Queen streetcar,” said Baker, who worked for the commission in the 1970s.
After years of customer complaints, the TTC implemented different solutions to curtail short-turning streetcars including splitting the Queen Street route in half. As well, he was not impressed that current councillor Sandra Bussin secured $400,000 from the TTC as a community benefit for a local skateboard park in exchange for a new streetcar storage yard being housed in the ward.

Sandra Bussin to seek re-election

Councillor Bussin plans to run again in Beaches East York
Toronto Danforth Councillor Paula Fletcher already registered
By Kris Scheuer and Karolyn Coorsh
(Written Jan. 14 for Town Crier newspaper.)

Councillor Sandra Bussin will register for re-election in ward 32.

She may be in no hurry to formally register but make no mistake: Beaches-East York councillor Sandra Bussin is seeking re-election in her ward this year.
“Yes, I will be registering sometime in the future,” the ward 32 rep said in an interview at a Danforth Avenue restaurant. “There are a number of projects I am still interested in pursuing.”
One of the issues dear to her heart is ensuring incineration was not brought back to Ashbridges Bay Treatment Plant.
In December, she successfully had council remove a certificate for approval for incineration at the treatment plant. This means burning the residue from water treatment is no longer an option as part of the approved Biosolids Master Plan, said Bussin.
She would like to be back to steer the completion of the Beach Skateboard Park and the new TTC streetcar storage and repair facility at Leslie Street and Lakeshore Boulevard.
She hasn’t decided on an election strategy yet.
“Every campaign is different,” she said. “Something (always) happens where there’s a new challenge of some sort.”

Marilyn Churley appointed as a JP

Former Toronto politician now a Justice of the Peace
Churley will work at Ontario Court of Justice in the Toronto Region
By Kris Scheuer
(Originally written Oct. 15 for Town Crier.)

Former east end politician Marilyn Churley is now a justice of the peace in Toronto.
Her Worship Churley confirmed to the Town Crier that Attorney General Chris Bentley appointed her as a full-time JP on Oct. 2. She said she’s not permitted to do media interviews in her new role on the bench, which started on Oct. 14.
Churley was an MPP for Toronto-Danforth for the Ontario New Democrats for 15 years, and prior to that a city councillor. She also ran unsuccessfully for a federal seat in Beaches-East York.
Recently there were rumours she was running for city council in Toronto-Danforth’s ward 29 in the 2010 election.
That is not the case as she will not be running for political office of any kind now that she is serving on the Ontario Court of Justice in the Toronto Region, she said.

Burning biosolids in the beach?

Incineration was one of three options to dispose of wastewater sludge
But it’s not being recommended for Ashbridges Bay Treatment Plant
By Kris Scheuer
(Written  Sept. 10 for Town Crier.)

If you read the draft of the biosolids treatment plan for Ashbridges Bay you could be forgiven for thinking incineration maybe coming back to the Beach.
Incineration, also known as “thermal energy”, is listed in the report as one of three possible options but officials tell the Town Crier that burning biosolids at the site is no longer on the table.
“All the options for each plant site were evaluated,” said Deborah Ross with consultant firm AECOM, which is producing Toronto’s Biosolids Master Plan. “Thermal energy ranked high, but it’s not being recommended.” 
Instead, the plan is recommending the waste be converted into biosolid cake and used as fertilizer or, as a second or temporary option, sending the material to landfill.

501 Queen streetcar route split in two

The 501 Queen streetcar. Photo by Francis Crescia/Town Crier.

Pilot project aims to cut number of short-turns on city’s longest streetcar route
By Kris Scheuer
(Originally written Aug. 15 for Town Crier)

The 501 Queen streetcar route will be split for a trial period from Oct. 19 to Nov. 20 in an attempt to reduce the number of short-turns that have been plaguing the line. 
The TTC wants to see if their experiment improves the line’s current service.
Streetcars originating at Neville Park going west will end the route at Shaw St. Meanwhile, streetcars coming from Humber or Long Branch heading east will wrap up at Parliament St. 
Rocket riders who want to continue their journey along Queen will need a transfer to another streetcar travelling in their desired direction.
Beaches-East York councillor Sandra Bussin said she is very pleased the TTC has agreed to the solution. “I’m convinced this is probably the only option that will work,” she said. “It’s the longest streetcar route in Toronto.”