London, Ont. voters will head to the polls on Oct. 24 to decide who the city’s next mayor, and who their next city councillor, should be.
Ten candidates are vying for the mayor’s office, while 61 others are running in 14 ward races across the city.
Six council seats are guaranteed to see new occupants in the next term, with London Mayor Ed Holder and five councillors opting not to seek re-election.
Among the departures are Ward 3 Coun. Mo Salih, Ward 4 Coun. Jesse Helmer, Ward 5 Coun. Maureen Cassidy, Ward 7 Coun. Josh Morgan, and Ward 11 Coun. Stephen Turner. (In the case of Ward 7, Morgan is instead running for mayor.)
A full list of mayoral and ward candidates can be found on the city’s website, along with other election-related information.
To help voters ahead of election day, Global News reached out to those running and asked that they complete a short, five-question survey.
Global News will publish the responses received, ward by ward, over the coming days, with candidates listed in alphabetical order.
You can find all of the published ward candidate responses on this page.
Below are the responses received by candidates running in Ward 11, one of five without an incumbent running. The ward includes the neighbourhoods of Manor Park, Old South, Southcrest, The Coves, and Wortley Village.
Paul-Michael Anderson
Q.1: Over the summer, the group The Forgotten 519 put out a call to action to come up with urgent solutions to address London’s homelessness crisis. If elected, how would you tackle homelessness, addiction and mental health issues in London?
Start with ending the cruel dismantling of camp housing. A broken promise made to the forgotten 519 group that ended a hunger strike. City bylaws are there for reason, but being homeless is not a crime. We know how to fix this problem, more aggressive actions are needed to shorten the London housing backlog. Poverty is not a crime, But the moral dereliction of our elected officials to do what is right certainly should be.
Q.2: London business owners have recently highlighted some of the economic challenges they’re facing particularly in the downtown core. What strategies do you propose to revitalize London’s downtown core to help businesses thrive?
Build more public housing, build a modern public transportation system, business will thrive if we give newcomers a reason to stay in London. If we continue to not seriously invest in our future infrastructure. Business will continue to fail in the core. Decades of half measure fixes are now unacceptable. London makes very smart people, smart people that start business. The business will not get off the ground if we don’t give workers the tools to make business successful.
Q.3: Affordability in the housing and rental markets is the most pressing issue for many Londoners. If elected, what changes would you push for to ease the burden on Londoners when it comes to the cost of living?
Build more public housing in every neighbourhood. Housing with the specific focus of not building homogeneous socioeconomic islands. Make public transit free for people making under 50k a year and tax multi vehicle households, create intercity toll roads. The city can add teeth to the public private partnership models to ensure affordability is mandated and delivered. Elected governments should care more about people than money.
Q.4: London is in the process of building three legs of bus rapid transit, but challenges remain for the north and west end of the city. What is your vision for the next phase of public transit in the city?
Spend the money, build LRT, end NIMBY obstructionist nonsense. This city is great for some it can be great for more if we want it to be.
Q.5: What is your vision for London in the next 10 years and how do we get there?
Invest in infrastructure that will keep our young people here. Open broad band WiFi and modern public transit system. London is not a small city anymore its time for us to put our big boy pants on to be competitive with cities of our size. If we don’t our city will continue to fail. Our young people deserve more of our focus and respect. We can make it happen if we elected people with vision and end the perpetuation of status-quo politics.
Cole Fobert
Q.1: Over the summer, the group The Forgotten 519 put out a call to action to come up with urgent solutions to address London’s homelessness crisis. If elected, how would you tackle homelessness, addiction and mental health issues in London?
In order to properly deal with homelessness in London, the first thing that the city needs to do is eliminate the wasteful spending that is currently being approved by the council. One prime example of that in the past was the large multi-million dollar brick road that was approved and built on Dundas St. Given the state and safety of London’s city center, this is nothing less than ignorant. As a city councillor, I would not approve projects like these and advocate for such money to be reinvested in organizations that help feed and shelter people in need.
Q.2: London business owners have recently highlighted some of the economic challenges they’re facing particularly in the downtown core. What strategies do you propose to revitalize London’s downtown core to help businesses thrive?
The reason that businesses in our downtown core are struggling is because of the safety concerns related to the massive rise in homelessness. To fix these businesses and revitalize downtown, we have to do three things. Begin by being harsh on other cities that intentionally send their less fortunate on buses to our city; second, stop wasting money on unnecessary projects (such as the Dundas brick road); and third, reinvest that money in programmes that actively seek to feed and house our people in need. This will clean up our city centre and allow our businesses to thrive once again.
Q.3: Affordability in the housing and rental markets is the most pressing issue for many Londoners. If elected, what changes would you push for to ease the burden on Londoners when it comes to the cost of living?
Housing affordability is one of the most crucial issues facing us in a growing city like London. Despite housing prices cooling with high interest rates, we still suffer from a lack of high-density housing. As a city councilor, I focus on approving more high-density housing, especially in the city’s core, and accelerating the process of approving such buildings.
Q.4: London is in the process of building three legs of bus rapid transit, but challenges remain for the north and west end of the city. What is your vision for the next phase of public transit in the city?
As a citizen who has taken public transit up until the last few months of her life, I know how complicated it can be. I would be very interested in reopening the bus rapid transit plan and taking a look at how we can make it more efficient to help decrease traffic for Londoners.
Q.5: What is your vision for London in the next 10 years and how do we get there?
In the next 10 years, I would like to see London’s city center become a place where people are not afraid to walk up and down the street. I want London to be regarded as a place where young people want to live due to its convenience, simplicity, and affordability. But most importantly, an area where the government does its necessary duties without standing in the way of people living their lives and earning a paycheck.
Skylar Franke
Q.1: Over the summer, the group The Forgotten 519 put out a call to action to come up with urgent solutions to address London’s homelessness crisis. If elected, how would you tackle homelessness, addiction and mental health issues in London?
I believe everyone deserves a home, and unfortunately we have allowed our housing sector to become very financialized and business-driven. With over 1,000 chronically homeless people and 6,000 on the affordable waiting list, we need to employ a multitude of strategies to make real change. I believe in a housing first model, and would advocate for more wrap around services (like mental health and drug addiction counseling) for those experiencing chronic homelessness to help move into housing and stay housed. Continuing to bring together these organizations and being open to new ways of doing this work is critically important.
But the best way to solve homelessness is to make housing more affordable in general, and the main way we can get affordability is through density. I’d work with City Staff to encourage developers to focus on medium and higher density buildings, and use policies like Inclusionary Zoning to ensure that medium and higher density buildings along the primary transit areas have more affordable units. I’d also work with staff to update policies and incentives to encourage infill development.
Finally, I’d also advocate to the federal and provincial government to secure more funding for local housing projects, whether they’re nonprofit, cooperative or City-owned buildings that are rent geared-to-income units. And I’d assist in lobbying the province to increase the social assistance rates
Q.2: London business owners have recently highlighted some of the economic challenges they’re facing particularly in the downtown core. What strategies do you propose to revitalize London’s downtown core to help businesses thrive?
Addressing the homelessness crisis also addresses revitalizing the downtown core. As well, building more medium and high density buildings in the core would lead to more folks living and working downtown, which would help create a vibrant and populated mainstreet. This would encourage more folks to visit downtown and to spend their dollars at local businesses.
Specifically for businesses, I’m open to further incentives such as the patio upgrade incentive that Council approved in 2022. One time incentives to ensure the right businesses and amenities are downtown makes sense. I’d like to work with Downtown London and businesses to see what they need from City Hall. I am also keen to see a vacant storefront tax levied to encourage landlords to fill their buildings or to renovate them into residential units.
Q.3: Affordability in the housing and rental markets is the most pressing issue for many Londoners. If elected, what changes would you push for to ease the burden on Londoners when it comes to the cost of living?
There are many ways to address the issue of affordability locally. We know that costs of living are increasing and wages are generally stagnant, and Londoners need politicians to spend their tax payer dollars responsibly.
City Hall can continue to provide quality, universal services like transit, libraries, community programming and affordable housing. Council can also enact new policies such as a vacant home tax or vacant storefront tax, continue to cancel expensive and unnecessary road projects like the Wonderland Rd widening, and seek funding from high levels of government to cost-share on local projects in order to reduce the burden on taxpayers.
I’d also advocate to the provincial government to raise the social assistance rates, introduce rent control and more rapidly raise the minimum wage to ensure people have enough income to live on.
Q.4: London is in the process of building three legs of bus rapid transit, but challenges remain for the north and west end of the city. What is your vision for the next phase of public transit in the city?
I am supportive of deep investments in our public transit infrastructure. Leveraging federal and provincial dollars wherever possible, and investing new dollars into transit, is a must. I am supportive of revisiting a North and West branch of BRT, but also want to continue to see progress on the South, Downtown and East branches as soon as possible. I’d also like to see more frequent bus routes within neighbourhoods, to connect to the larger arterial routes, to make it easier for more people to choose transit. By moving more folks on BRT, we can shift resources to smaller neighbourhood routes.
The city is currently completing their Master Mobility Plan, which will combine all modes of transportation. This plan will be essential to ensuring we meet our climate targets and provide the active transportation options Londoners deserve, and I look forward to engaging with the plan when it’s complete.
Q.5: What is your vision for London in the next 10 years and how do we get there?
I’m running in this election because I believe that our city needs strong leadership in the coming years to address our largest issues, including affordability, homelessness and climate change. The best part: addressing these large-scale issues makes our city more liveable for everyone.
I see a vibrant, resilient and exciting future for London. London will become a city of walkable neighbourhoods, where residents can get their groceries, walk to school and visit a park all within 15 minutes of their home. We will achieve this through zoning changes and infill. I see a city where residents know their neighbours and everyone feels safe and welcome in their community. We will achieve this through investments in parks, community programming and addressing issues of equity and diversity. I see a city with many more Londoners taking the bus, bike paths and walking, because we’ve made roads safer for all users. I see a city where everyone has a place to call home, because we’ve invested in affordable housing and social services. Together, we can bring this vision to life and create a more resilient and liveable city.
Jeremy McCall
Q.1: Over the summer, the group The Forgotten 519 put out a call to action to come up with urgent solutions to address London’s homelessness crisis. If elected, how would you tackle homelessness, addiction and mental health issues in London?
Homelessness will be improved by building more housing responsibly and quickly, and by making our primary focuses be medium and high-density infill, and rent-geared-to-income housing with wrap around supports. London has both a lack of affordable housing AND a lack of good paying jobs. Rent geared to income means that you pay 30% of whatever you are making at the time. RGI housing has not been a priority in London for decades, and the waiting list of over 6,000 individuals shows exactly that. Safe, supportive housing that provides stability and dignity is the solution to homelessness, much like giving people more money is the solution to poverty.
Addiction is running rampant in London because we are the fastest growing city in Ontario, with a population already over 442,000, are continuing to receive more and more vulnerable at risk individuals who have no support options in smaller rural communities, and we don’t have an addiction treatment facility. Windsor does. Kitchener does. London does not. We need to fix this immediately, and I will work with fellow councilors and the new mayor to convince the province to use some of their budget surplus to fix this.
Mental health issues are once again from a similar root. We don’t have enough housing. We don’t have enough treatment options. I worked in Mental Health inpatient treatment from 2008-2013 and watched beds be closed every year, and constantly lived in fear of my job being cut until I left voluntarily. This current situation is a reflection of what those cuts created – a lack of options. Our city has grown by over 100,000 residents in 25 years, and we have hundreds LESS mental health beds than we did at the time. We need to bring those beds back and ensure that our social service dollars are prioritized to agencies that show tangible outcomes supporting individuals with mental health issues at the street level. My Sisters Place receives $153,000 a year from the city and has to fundraise the rest. With those funds, they feed up to 200 at risk people every day AND provide 14 different services to those individuals under one roof. Value for dollar is crucial in making better. Mental Health Care is provincially funded, but the City can serve as an excellent sidekick in making tangible and needed change.
Q.2: London business owners have recently highlighted some of the economic challenges they’re facing particularly in the downtown core. What strategies do you propose to revitalize London’s downtown core to help businesses thrive?
Downtown is struggling because it is where those homeless with untreated mental health and addiction issues tend to congregate, as it is closest to shelters and other social services.
The pandemic has decreased the number of people working in the core and massively increased those sleeping rough there.
We need to treat the folks residing there with dignity and offer them more options for basic needs, such as increasing our current ONE public bathroom available to them.
We also need to improve safety and security by supporting the LPS budget increase and advocating that some of the new officers be used to improve CORE unit foot patrols.
Business owners who have struggled through two years of lockdowns and service reductions are going to be reluctant to continue to invest their capital in the core if their businesses continue to be broken into and vandalized.
I spoke with a business owner who spent three months trying to qualify for $5,000 City of London grant towards a $6,500 security upgrade that ultimately resolved $80,000 in losses due to repeated break ins. After 3 months of playing by their rules, he was no further ahead and cancelled his grant application and paid for it himself. No break ins since.
Another downtown business owner remarked on how difficult it has been to navigate four straight years of downtown road construction.
I have spoken to another entrepreneur interested in bringing a new business to downtown London and have allowed him an opportunity to vent at how little interest he has found in supporting his vision.
Safer, cleaner, and more respectful of investment and business owner needs will help make it a more attractive place to go. We built a beautiful Dundas Place, and the attempts to offer free parking, better transit, and more events in the core have been great; but people will not be fully comfortable going for as long as we continue to not address the human feces on the sidewalk and the open drug use in doorways.
Q.3: Affordability in the housing and rental markets is the most pressing issue for many Londoners. If elected, what changes would you push for to ease the burden on Londoners when it comes to the cost of living?
Our housing unaffordability is due to rapid growth in population, and an environment in which builders can’t build in any reasonable timeline to address it. Three to nine years as a timeline for development and construction is going to continue to drive up prices. We can fix zoning, development, inspection, and approval processes to create higher intensification in areas that can support it in terms of service capacities and transit availability and address the missing middle by allowing as of right building of up to six units on any vacant lots within existing neighbourhoods. When we make it an easier environment to build in, we can then ask the builders to contribute larger amounts alongside municipal, provincial, and federal government partners to create more rent geared to income housing with available wrap around supports to address our wait lists and support those living in crisis.
Q.4: London is in the process of building three legs of bus rapid transit, but challenges remain for the north and west end of the city. What is your vision for the next phase of public transit in the city?
The 2018 North and West Rapid Transit plans were voted down because they didn’t work for residents of those neighborhoods and for the University as a partner.
I am committed to getting back to the table, identifying funding partners and amounts available for 2023, and coming up with the best plan for everyone that moves more people more effectively to more places they live work and play.
This will protect our environment and make London a more attractive place to live to those in all income classes. We have a system that does not get middle- and low-income individuals to the areas they most commonly work in and on a schedule that works for them, their families, and their employers.
Being a willing participant in a plan for better will make the next phase of public transit an efficient way to create outcomes that help support our climate emergency action plan and provide more and better options for travel for all.
Making more walkable neighbourhoods, and building more protected bike lanes will also improve transit, as will following the findings of the Master Mobility Plan being developed as I type this.
Q.5: What is your vision for London in the next 10 years and how do we get there?
I moved to London in 1996, after moving 12 times in 13 years between New Zealand and British Columbia.
London is home to me. It’s home to my wife, and three children as well. Our kids want to raise their own families in Ward 11 too. I’ve spent the last fourteen years working in mental healthcare and social services, helping those struggling with challenges find their own path to better. In my spare time, I’ve been making measurable and impactful change in families, neighborhoods, diverse, and marginalized communities. My commitment to our citizens and success in finding solutions to their problems is well-documented.
Along the way, I have heard what has driven people to give up and find their homes outside of our city limits, whether they be new graduates or established in their families and careers.
There are a lack of affordable places to live, a lack of good paying career opportunities in their field of interest, a transit system that does not allow them to enjoy everything we have to offer, and a quality of life that could be better. Other cities have outperformed us in walkable and shoppable neighbourhoods, updated playgrounds for kids to play on, a better variety of concerts and festivals appealing to broader interests, more celebration of diversity, and a renewed focus on community. Two examples of where best intentions have fallen short would be the Neighbourhood Decision Making project creating an environment where Ward 11 is dead last in funding and Ward 9 has received 74% of funds; and our $500 neighbourgood grant project to encourage neighbours to organize and connect not providing enough money to close the street AND rent a porta-potty.
Ward 11 has lost its way and fallen behind. Our population is decreasing, business owners are leaving for better opportunities elsewhere, and we have allowed growth and progress to be drowned out by NIMBYISM and an insistence that everything is fine the way it is.
Over the next 10 years, we need to build at least 50,000 housing units by not treating “developer” as a slur, and by not creating an environment where it’s easier to build in Middlesex and Elgin counties than it is in London itself. More units will lower prices for all of us, and will provide incentive to contribute towards our massive Rent Geared to Income Housing problem.
Over the next 10 years, we need to fix transit and partner with small, medium, and large companies to make London a more welcome place to own and run a business, and hire people and pay them what they are worth. This can be done through incentives like Community Improvement Plans and grants for developing and starting new operations. Ward 11 doesn’t have a BIA and the Old South Business Association has gone stagnant. My campaign is contacting every single ward 11 business we can find in order to lay the groundwork for better.
We need to partner with LTC to design and build a robust, comprehensive transit system that works for everyone who uses it. Students, low income, and environmentally conscious individuals already support our transit system. Everyone will support it once it is at a level where it can get you where you need to go when you need to be there.
Our quality of life will improve when we build more protected bike lanes, further celebrate and welcome diversity and equality, and try new and innovative ideas to make London more fun. Decommission the Springbank Dam and make it a destination for watersports and ecotourism. Build large, free play structures in every neighbourhood that incentivize getting outside and getting active as a family. Add more city wide festivals and fairs to compliment Sunfest, Ribfest, and Western Fair. In Ward 11, let’s do something more than Jazz Fest, Gathering on the Green, and parking old cars on the grass to admire. Pride Wortley was a great start and I am here to bring people together and do even more. My 500 events organized track record confirms it.
London needs to be more than “2 hours from Toronto, Buffalo, and Detroit” as a selling feature. When we build a world class quality of life right here in our own boundaries, we will all thrive together. The first step will be electing strong, creative, energized, proven community builders who create consensus and get things done.
Christine Oliver
Q.1: Over the summer, the group The Forgotten 519 put out a call to action to come up with urgent solutions to address London’s homelessness crisis. If elected, how would you tackle homelessness, addiction and mental health issues in London?
Many of London’s homeless individuals are tormented by addiction and/or mental health issues. There is no quick fix for a deep routed crisis, but we can work together as a community to provide opportunities for healing and life changing therapy. There is no quick fix for a deep routed crisis, but we can work together as a community to provide opportunities for healing and life changing therapy.
When elected I will consult with local outreach ministries & charities who are actively serving food, giving clothing and counselling our homeless. I want to hear what is needed in order for them to better serve our neighbours. I will help to initiate partnerships with the City of London, grocery stores, and local businesses to build community awareness and involvement.
Winter is coming, I will suggest that City Council evaluate land/buildings owned or rented by the City of London that could be used as a place for temporary refuge for those in need. These refuge spaces could be used by local outreach ministries & charities to better serve the homeless.
I would like to initiate consultation with local addiction and mental health professionals to open a psychotherapy and counselling treatment center in London. The center will treat those who desire to be free from the torment of addiction and/or mental illness, This center will help people heal and discover their life purpose, Individuals can leave the street and walk free into the life they were created to live,
Q.2: London business owners have recently highlighted some of the economic challenges they’re facing particularly in the downtown core. What strategies do you propose to revitalize London’s downtown core to help businesses thrive?
When we start to help the homeless heal and leave the streets, our downtown core will begin to transform.
Keep all businesses open, Period.
The mandates of the past few years have crushed small businesses.
City Council can continue to approve high density building developments for the downtown core. All developments must have trees planted on site to help with air purification and provide shade to cool down the city core.
People want to feel safe. We have amazing Police Officers in London who desire to keep our streets safe. City Council must consult with and support London Police Services to ensure they are equipped to properly serve and protect.
Q.3: Affordability in the housing and rental markets is the most pressing issue for many Londoners. If elected, what changes would you push for to ease the burden on Londoners when it comes to the cost of living?
I will suggest reviewing zoning in residential areas and propose making zoning changes to allow for secondary dwellings in homes, Also zoning changes to permit accessory structures in backyards for secondary dwelling where space permits.
Other municipalities are providing incentives to encourage and help homeowners with the renovation costs. Council can consult with these municipalities when developing our own incentive program for London. Home owners will have an opportunity to increase their income, pour into London’s economy while contributing to the solution for affordable housing. London halted building low-income housing co-operatives and gear to-income housing (townhomes for families). I would like to see consultations and planning resume immediately for this. I believe that the City of London budget has the resources, and we can partner with builders in the community that want to see families thrive, Managing these projects within City Council with accountability, consulting with construction professionals, and keeping the partnership to local companies will drastically reduce mismanagement of funds, I would also like to see City Council work closely with land developers and builders to ensure a supply of modest homes that the average Londoner can afford to purchase.
Q.4: London is in the process of building three legs of bus rapid transit, but challenges remain for the north and west end of the city. What is your vision for the next phase of public transit in the city?
Honestly when speaking with people the BRT has not been an area of concern with those I have spoken with, London is a growing city and as we grow we do need to provide timely service to those who use public transit.
We also have to focus on those who choose to drive and how we can better serve them. As our population grows the number of vehicles on the road grows also. We must be practical, responsibly plan for and support this growth.
Q.5: What is your vision for London in the next 10 years and how do we get there?
My vision for London is that we become a city Of strength and unity. A proud community that loves our neighbours, city, and nation.
We attract newcomers looking for safety, community, and prosperity. A London where our personal rights & freedoms are respected, and local policy & people are the focus.
London will be safe and prosper when we elect a City Council that serves only one agenda-London and its people.
— Questions by Global News’ Jaclyn Carbone and Maya Reid.
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