Letters:

e-mail

Sent in by Bob Levitt
The following is the text of the election newsletter by Victor Watson,
running for city councillor against the incumbent Chris Korwin-Kuczynski.

This is probably the longest election pamphlet you will find, and I
edited many things had to be edited out to make it fit, items which Victor
does discuss in all candidates meetings, including ending Community Action
Policing which he says is an attack against the homeless, poor and
visible minorities, and ending the social cleansing of Parkdale, where
the city is trying to shut down the bachelorettes and rooming houses
which are that areas most affordable housing.

Victor needs your help!  If you can provide donations, either of copying
or money it will help out a lot.  For donations valued between $50 and
$300, you will get a City of Toronto rebate of 75% of that amount
(ie. a $75 rebate on a $100 donation,) plus in addition to that, 50%
rebates on that amount over $300 up to $750.

If you can help please call Victor Watson at 537-4577.

I have been involved in tenant issues for 12 years now, have been posting
tenant information on the net for 5 years, and I endorse Victor, as well
as his wife who is running for school trustee.

Sincerely,

Bob Levitt

Here is the text of his election newsletter:
 

VOTE FOR VICTOR WATSON WARD 14 COUNCILLOR
A new vision for our community and for Toronto
 

Are you fed up with our present councillor for supporting the Kirkland
Lake garbage dump and his other irresponsible positions?

Most councillors have constituency offices to service the community which
are open 3 to 5 days a week, but this councillor's is open only 1 day,
and yet he was the 5th highest out of 57 for office expenses.

The present councillor, against the wishes of both the tenants and local
home owners last year, and took the side of Parkdale's most infamous
landlord in a rezoning application to substantially decrease parking spaces.

The Toronto Sun reported that in the first 11 months of 1999, he took 237
limousine trips at a cost to us of $18,960.  That averages, $80 a ride!

Our city council ran up a $1.4 Billion debt, including $200 Million borrowed
for three years from the province.  Without this debt, home owners' and
tenants' property taxes would have gone up three years ago.  I believe this
delay was only meant to fool the public to win this election.  (Tenants, you
should know more than 1/5th of your rent is city taxes.)  Now, not only will
we have to face the prospect of paying that tax increase they only managed to
delay, but also the huge debt they have run up in doing so.

We need a City Councillor to truly represent the wishes of our community,
someone with vision and a sense of both social and fiscal responsibility.
Someone who wants to improve the lives of the people of Toronto and our Ward
14, and to bring back our sense of community.  Our neighbourhoods must be
ones that we who live in them can have pride in.

Our City government has become isolated from we the people, whom they are
supposed to work for.  The City of Toronto is becoming ever less accessible
and less accountable to us.

I pledge:

* To hold monthly neighbourhood town hall meetings to listen to your
  concerns and to keep you informed of what is going on at City Hall;

* To have a full-time community office to serve the neighbourhood's needs;

* To give up $10,000 of my annual councillor's salary and donate it
  for public school breakfast programs for children in my Ward, and
  I challenge all other council candidates to do the same if elected;

* To fight against user fees for community centres and programs.

I am against holding the Olympics in Toronto.  Under International Olympics
Committee rules, the host city must accept full financial responsibility for
cost overruns.  There have been gigantic debts left for those cities who have
held the Olympics.  Tenants, home owners and local businesses would
ultimately have to pay any debt for holding this 2 week event.

In 1998, the city reduced the number of fire inspectors as well as building
inspectors.  These people are absolutely essential for the safety and
livability of our community.  I demand that these people be rehired.

The city has been making drastic cuts to all departments except the police
department whose over $1/2 BILLION budget continues to rise, and repeatedly
goes over budget, at the same time when crime is at a 20 year low!  I will
have the police department budget thoroughly examined and cuts made where
prudent to fund necessities in other areas and end user fees.

In 1999, $159 million was spent on consultants; That expense must be slashed.

Public transit benefits everybody in Toronto as it reduces air pollution,
reduces traffic congestion and allows people to travel at economical rates.
The province has down-loaded all their costs for public transit to the
cities.  We have no choice but to find alternate funding strategies including
going to the federal government to make up the shortfall.  Transit fares must
not rise and if possible should be made more affordable.  We must make sure
that the TTC is accessible to all; right now, most subway stations only have
"up" escalators, and either down escalators or elevators must be added.

Day care facilities must be increased and improved.

Health, dental, community and recreational services must be expanded,
particularly for seniors.  Seniors make a sizable contribution to our
community and yet are poor in disproportionately high numbers.  The city runs
7 dental clinics for low income seniors in Toronto, but more clinics must be
opened and the minimum age decreased to 60 from 65.

The federal government is providing Toronto with $53 Million over 3 years to
build shelters for homeless people and families.  While shelters are
important and necessary, they are not a solution, only permanent housing is.
We must do what is necessary to create new decent affordable housing, and we
must improve existing housing, not shutting it down.

Toronto is under attack by the province.  Ontario has completely down-loaded
the responsibility for many issues to Toronto such as public transit and
public housing without providing the necessary funding.  They use Toronto as
a cash cow to fund their government at our expense.  Yet, Toronto's
population is greater than 6 of the 10 provinces.  It is time that we took
control of our own destiny and Toronto became a province, to decide where our
tax dollars will go.

I, Victor Watson, am a writer who has been a tenant in Parkdale for over a
decade with my wife and 3 children.  I have been a volunteer at St. Frances
Table serving the needy for over 5 years, a member of the Parkdale Recreation
and Parks Advisory Council, and a co-founder of Concerned Parents Aid And
Family Services, a non-profit group that provides clothing and food to needy
families.  I have publicly spoken against user fees for community centres and
programs, on school issues, and have distributed petitions to keep Parkdale
Collegiate open.
 

You can have an influence on the outcome of this election, even if you are
not eligible to vote, by helping to work on my campaign or giving a donation.
Discuss my ideas and this pamphlet with your friends and neighbours.
Call me at 537-4577 if you want to get involved.

If you are a resident of Toronto, a Canadian Citizen, and 18 years of age or
older, you are eligible to vote.  To find out if you are on the voters list
or how to become eligible to vote, and have not yet received your voting
notification card in the mail, call the city at 338-1111.

Make your vote count.
On Monday, November 13, 2000 remember to vote for your community candidate
VICTOR WATSON  <==  ==
for Ward 14 city councillor

============

November Municipal Election - Fri, 1 Sep 2000
From:  GrandAlam@aol.com

Dear Sir/Madam,
My name is Michael Alam. I am currently a candidate for Councillor in Ward 6.
 I have read your web page and I feel I am a great candidate for the type of
councillor you are looking for.  Although I would not consider myself on
either end of the spectrum I do believe in bringing real solutions to
homelessness, more rights for tenants, and an end to target/community
policing.  As I am not currently a councillor I would not feel obligated to
agree with Mel Lastman, or Mike Harris as some councillors seem to do.  After
reading your website I feel I would be someone you would want on council and
would greatly appreciate your support.

                                                                Sincerely
                                                              Michael Alam
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Post Candidate - Thu, 31 Aug 2000 20:54:06 -0400
From:  Hot Gurl@hotmail.com>

   Can you please post my uncle, Timothy Duncan, on the Mayor List. He is a great person and is also willing to help many people. He has already helped hundreds of homeless children by raising over $800 in a recent penny-drive. I'm sure if he was Mayor of Toronto, this city would be a much better place.
Thank you.

 Timothy Duncan's e-mail is timothy_allan_duncan@hotmail.com
--------

Cut the Police Budget to Fund Housing - July 19, 2000
(Plummeting Crime Rate justifies reallocation of funds)

   Statistics released today show that the overall national crime rate has hit its lowest level in 20 years -- dropping 5% in the eighth consecutive year of decline. Toronto's crime rate has fallen drastically. It slid 7.9% from 1998-1999. Violent crime in the city is down 3.9% and property-related offences have dropped 6.5%.

   The drop is enough to justify reallocating some of the massive yearly police budget to things like housing and aid for tenants and the poor. The planned police helicopter project and Target Policing should simply be dropped. A sharp budget axe could easily chop 30 million dollars from the 524 million-dollar yearly police budget. This money could be used in social reallocation.

   We do have a problem in that councilors and the mayor don't have the courage to act, so let's hope that the many social justice groups in Toronto will see the light and start lobby for a reallocation of funds. Excess dollars are being spent on needless over policing in this city.

from J. E. Landry
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Reader Critical of councillors's stance on affordable housing

Re: `Councillor square off on affordable housing', The Villager, July 14.

How ironic it is that High Park Councillor David Miller is trying to
portray himself as being pro-affordable houing, pro-tenant, by supporting
the Fred Victor project at 1978 Lake Shore Blvd., West.

At the same time in Parkdale he has, in my opinion, done whatever he can
to prevent multi-unit housing and work towards closing down many of the
affordable bachelorette buildings and rooming houses.

Miller even went so far as to get city council to approve a "Citizen's
Parkdale Housing Committee."

I believe this city-created citizen's committee is comprised of some of
the most anti-tenant people in the community, has a small minority of
tenants, and is now putting out its own tenant newsletter!

Asaf Shujah
--------

Letter on Mayoral Candidate John Nunziata
Mouseman Nunziata
Mon, 27 Mar 2000 04:03:18 \0500
From: Ruth Cohen  credo2@sympatico.ca
To: editor@citizensontheweb.com

      Nunziata never was up to very much. He is mainly composed of inflated ego and tiny mind. He actually boasts of his connections with the Harris regime, having just acquired the help of  two former Harris promoters, Line Mayheu and J. Hynatyshyn the extremist right wing Pollster to the Harrisites.
     He also stated in a CTV interviw that he likes Harris' tax policies and would adopt them as his own. He is a little squeaky mouse who wants to emerge as a big Disnyesque balloon by diving  right into the pockets of the people most despised by Torontonians. If he has the impudence to run, he will  lose every dime of the million bucks he hopes to garner from his courtship of the dim bulbs who rule us at the moment.

rc