A dynamic four-way race is underway in Scarborough Southwest as incumbent Coun. Gary Crawford, who has represented the ward since 2010 and is running for the fourth time, takes on local TDSB Trustee Parthi Kandavel, former Scarborough Centre (pre-amalgamation) councillor and ex-MPP Lorenzo Berardinetti, and community builder/advocate Kevin Rupasinghe.
Malik Ahmad, Sharif Ahmed, Corey David, and Philip Mills are also running to be the next Ward 20 councillor.
Residential development, notably along Kingston Road, is a significant issue in the ward, which is home to Birch Cliff, Cliffside, Cliffcrest, Oakridge, Clairlea as well as parts of Scarborough Village and the Golden Mile.
Some of the other issues that have come up during the campaign in the ward so far include road safety, traffic congestion, public transit, housing affordability, and the legalization of rooming houses,.
On rooming houses, Crawford voted earlier this year to delay their legalization and instead seek more input from city staff, essentially shelving the proposal for the time being.
Endorsed by John Tory, the former TDSB trustee is running on a platform centred around affordability, community safety, traffic and transit, seniors’ care, and maintaining the integrity of single-family residential homes.
Kandavel, meanwhile, said he’s committed to responsible planning, better public services, and protecting the ward’s neighbourhoods and green spaces.
Berardinetti, a lawyer by trade, is calling for property taxes to be frozen and more and better consultation for development proposals. He’s also wants to attract new, high tech and well-paying companies to the ward.
Vowing to “bring (his) love of (his) hometown and (his) expertise in building communities to (his) neighbourhood,” Rupasinghe said he’s running for councillor to make streets safer for everyone, build more housing and local transit, fight the climate crisis and rebuild social connections that have been “damaged” by the COVID-19 pandemic.
SCARBOROUGH SOUTHWEST AT A GLANCE
Population: 110,280
Average number of people per household: 2.61
Median age: 40.6
Population growth over the last decade: 9.9 per cent (Toronto-wide average is 9.1 per cent)
Visible minorities: 56 per cent of population (Toronto-wide average is 51 per cent).
Average household income: $78,561 (Toronto-wide average is $102,721)
