Heated Ward 26 debate

Don Valley West race a hot one and it shows
Debate in Leaside drew laughs, shouting and boos
Kris Scheuer
(Written for Town Crier Oct. 20)

WARD 26 CANDIDATES Salim Nawab Khan, left, Shaukat Malik, Yunus Pandor and John Parker answered questions from a packed house at the Leaside Memorial Gardens. Photo by Kris Scheuer/Town Crier.

A Ward 26 all-candidates debate was hot last night and not just because 250 people packed a room inside Leaside Memorial Gardens.
There were questions on job creation, heritage, the arts, transit among others, but things got quite heated when resident Lise Lareau asked who distributed anonymous literature denouncing Mohamed Dhanani’s record.
The one-pager, accuses Dhanani of inflating his resume, being involved in the billion dollar e-health spending scandal when he worked for former health minister George Smitherman. It also questions what Dhanani has promised in exchange for an endorsement of the Toronto York Labour Council.
Lareau asked each candidate to own up or denounce it.
“I had nothing to do with it,” joked Dhanani later adding the info was all lies.

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Politics, campaigns, election and rumours

Rumour mill includes falsehood I’m working for candidate
Someone spreads lie I’m on communication team for Dhanani
By Kris Scheuer

As a journalist for a dozen years including nine focused on politics, I am accustomed to interviewing politicians about rumours.
But I am not used to political rumours about me.
Yesterday, I got an email from  Satinder Sahota who’s working on Jon Burnside‘s election campaign in local race in Don Valley West Ward 26.
She’d heard I was a communications person for Ward 26 candidate Mohamed Dhanani’s campaign and wanted to know if this was true.
Of course it’s 100 percent false and I emailed and called her right away to say so.
I have never worked or volunteered on anyone’s political campaign, ever. And certainly would not do so at the same time as being employed as a political reporter who is interviewing candidates during the current 2010 election race.

Mohamed Dhanani rematch with Parker

The two battled for  in ’06 election and Coun. Parker won
This time Dhanani looking to beat incumbent in 2010 race
By Kris Scheuer
(Written Feb. 26 for Town Crier)

Candidate Mohamed Dhanani running in ward 26.

Mohamed Dhanani is ready for a rematch against Don Valley West Councillor John Parker.
Dhanani came within 214 votes of Parker in the 2006 election. At that time, there was no incumbent as then councillor Jane Pitfield ran for mayor instead leaving the ward wide open.
Then, 15 candidates ran but it was the top three contenders who had the best shot with Parker garnering 3,369 votes, Dhanani gathering 3,155 and Abdul Ingar gaining 2,940 votes.
The third place finisher Ingar is not running in 2010 and is instead throwing his support behind Dhanani.
“Between him (Ingar) and I, we had 40 percent of the votes last time. Parker won with 20 percent,” said Dhanani.
But 2010, councillor Parker has incumbency on his side.
Dhanani is taking this re-run seriously.