Twitter Canada executive, activist, and former Much Music VJ Jennifer Hollett announced Tuesday that she is running for a seat on Toronto city council.

Hollett is seeking a seat in Ward 21, a newly-drawn ward which encompasses the neighbourhoods of St. Lawrence, Moss Park, Corktown, the Distillery District, and the Canary District.

“We actually need new voices, new energy, optimism and people coming in with a different approach and that’s what I hope to bring,” she said during an interview with CP24 on Tuesday.

Some of the top issues impacting constituents in the ward, she said, are housing affordability, transit, and access to green space.

“People are being squeezed out of Toronto. Can you imagine a downtown Toronto without young people, without newcomers, without the working class, without artists, without entrepreneurs? And that I think is the biggest issue. That is ultimately why I am running,” she said.

Hollett, a former federal NDP candidate who was defeated by Liberal Chrystia Freeland in the federal riding of University-Rosedale in 2015, said politicians have an opportunity to make the most change at the municipal level.

“I was actually working at MuchMusic when I was assigned to cover a federal election that I thought imagine if we were to actually do a different style of politics, one that spoke with young people, one that was connected to the ground, one that was interested in engaging as many people as possible,” she said.

“Too often, we see it is like one group of constituents that are brought into the political process.”

Hollett has a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Harvard University and is currently the head of News and Government at Twitter Canada.

“Ultimately all the work I’ve done, whether it is in non-profit, tech, in media, it is to create a better world, both at the local level and at the global level, but it actually always come back to government,” she said.

“I’m very passionate about public policy.”

Hollett will face nine others who have thrown the hat into the ring to represent the ward.