TORONTO — Ten would-be city councillors are vying to replace retiring incumbent Mike Feldman to represent Ward 10 (York Centre) at City Hall.

The CJN asked each to give their list of priority issues for the ward and what their first official actions would be if elected.

According to the 2006 Canada Census, Ward 10 has the highest representation of Jewish residents in Toronto, with 17.1 per cent of respondents saying they’re Jewish.

The ward is bounded in the west by Allen Road and Dufferin Street; in the north by Steeles Avenue, and in the east by portions of Yonge Street, Bathurst Street and the Don River West Branch. Its southern boundary is Highway 401.

The candidates are Joseph Cohen;  Jarred Friedman, a city planner; Magda Gondor Berkovits, a businesswoman; Nancy Oomen, former executive assistant to Feldman; James Pasternak, current Toronto District School Board trustee for Ward 5;   Eric Plant, an insurance agent; Brian Shifman, executive director of the non-profit Smart Commute; Konstantin Toubis, a realtor;  Igor Toutchinski, a journalist; and Edward Zaretsky, a retired engineer.

Cohen, a late addition to the race, did not respond to queries by The CJN’s deadline.

The CJN asked each candidate the following question: If elected, what issues will you prioritize as councillor for Ward 10?

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Jarred Friedman: My priorities are… making garbage an essential service; providing safer streets for our community by increasing police presence; encouraging neighbourhood watch; improving existing transit services, and making sure money is being spent to support current TTC services rather than throwing it at future services or projects.

I also support sustainable redevelopment at Downsview Park that provides a positive legacy to the community; revitalizing the community through better city and community planning and making our avenues and streets more pedestrian- and bike-friendly and greener.

Establishing community associations  would be an essential part of the planning process, and [they] would take more ownership of the development that occurs in our neighbourhood. There’s a lack of understanding of the planning process in the community and we need to give more power to our community to have a say in what’s being developed.

Magda Gondor Berkovits: There are several platform issues. One of them is linking the subway between Downsview station and Sheppard station. If the subway goes across Sheppard, it will alleviate a lot of the gridlock we have. It would loop the subway so you could go from Union all the way around in a loop, so that would be good for everyone in Toronto.

It certainly would benefit Ward 10, where I live, but the spinoff would help everyone.

The other [priority] is Downsview Park, it should be kept as a park for our children and our grandchildren, for generations to come.

Nancy Oomen: From what people have told me, they want to see clean parks, they want to see park improvements, they want to see roads that are not filled with potholes, they want to have efficient snow removal, reliable transit, and they want to keep the community safe. Those are things that I’ve heard from residents from all of my years working in the ward.

I’ve been working… on the accessible water play and sensory garden that’s coming to Earl Bales Park. I’ve been doing all the work with staff and the donors and the consultants to try to get it on track because we really want to open it here. So hopefully that’s going to happen.

I’d like to continue working with seniors and all the different communities because it is a very multicultural ward. I want [Ward 10] to continue to be the place where they can go to help get issues resolved.

James Pasternak: We need to change the temperament at City Hall. Many constituents feel there’s an erosion of trust and we need to make sure they feel a part of the process again.

Rate-payers and taxpayers are at the tipping point. I’ve seen many seniors losing their homes and young families unable to move [to Ward 10] because of the tax base. Taxation is out of control.

Our [transit] system is 30 years out of date. It’s crucial we have a spending envelope for subway-only expansion. I would support expansion of the Sheppard subway to Downsview station.

The current plan to renovate Wilmington Plaza is unworkable. I would not support it and I would vigorously oppose closing the off-ramps to Allen Road.

I’m also deeply concerned about the anti-Israel groups hijacking public events. I’m the only one of the candidates who has held elected office [as a TDSB trustee] and the ward needs a voice … the Jewish community needs a voice at City Hall.

Eric Plant: That’s a good question, but the more important [question is] how will I get things done? It’s OK to set up a wish list, but my plan is to go around and ask people what needs to be done. I want to institute town hall meetings. There’s a failure to see the potential in Toronto. My top priorities would be service, transit… a lot of people want the Sheppard [subway] line extended to Downsview station. I’m creating a list of what needs to be done by going door-to-door. Once elected, I’ll go through the list. Things like tree-clipping, grass cutting, potholes… all these little things, we can’t fix them unless we know what they are.

In terms of bigger items, the Wilmington Plaza [proposed renovation] is something I want to get involved in and I want to hold a meeting about the city’s plan to get rid of the Allen Road on/off ramps from Wilson Heights Boulevard. I don’t like the way the city is going about this, and I’ll make it more transparent once I’m elected.

Brian Shifman: I want to work on transportation. The city needs an expanded subway network. It’s important for a city this size to have a master transportation plan. We need to look at the infrastructure and maximize efficiency.

I want to close the loop on the subway line, but not across Sheppard Avenue. I would leave the decision on how best to do this with expert planners.

The ward also needs more community engagement. I’d like to hold quarterly, rotating town hall meetings throughout the ward and expand knowledge on projects for the neighbourhood.

[Toronto] also needs a funding change. We need to upload services that properly belong to the provincial government, like social services. And I’d look at getting a larger share of the gas tax from the province.

I also don’t think it makes sense to close the [Allen Road] ramps. That’s part of the city’s Downsview secondary plan, though it hasn’t yet been approved.

I also want to push to remove the private vehicle tax.

Konstantin Toubis: We need… to upgrade the TTC system. [It] needs new buses and more buses. We have lots of residents in the City of Toronto… we only have a few subway lines. We need to build more.

It was a good idea to charge 5 cents for plastic bags – people would think to take five bags or 10 bags – but my question is, where is this money going? [The government] recommends that stores spend the money on green programs, but do you have an idea where this money goes? [I would] build a special fund and use that money for programs for the environment. Let’s be honest: Ward 10 is not the safest ward in the city of Toronto. One of the issues is [youth crime]… We need more police officers on the road, patrolling. We need to see these guys in the ward.

I don’t want to see children on the street, doing nothing. We need a youth council. This committee has to be for all youth. We need to understand all youth and create programs, especially in our ward, where we have lots of low-income families.

Igor Toutchinski: My first priority is the traffic delays. In my opinion, we can improve our traffic if we eliminate some unnecessary bus stops to avoid traffic jams. We need, as soon as possible, synchronization of green traffic lights to avoid bus delays and traffic jams. Another thing is our TTC. Sometimes our TTC buses come to a stop three at a time. Sometimes people wait 30 to 40 minutes for the bus. We have to adjust the bus schedule in our area. I propose to make, once a year, a Bathurst Village Festival [to encourage multiculturalism.] We can close Finch Avenue to Sheppard Avenue. We have lots of businesses around… people can try the food of these restaurants, we can put a stage in the centre and bring stars from Russia, Israel, the Philippines.

Edward Zaretsky: I’ve lived [in Ward 10] for 55 years. My priorities [include] improved wheel transit and more benches on the streets for seniors to rest on. We also need to set up organized activities for children and we need bike lanes. We have one on Bathurst Street, but no one knows about it.

There’s so much that has to be done to get kids off the street [and] let kids go into an area that’s secure to learn to play sports or have seminars. Kids get out of school and there’s nobody home for them. Parents don’t know where these kids are. They’re running wild in the streets. I can get someone to teach music after school, maybe to explain baseball or football. It’s not hard to do if you have a vision.