Helen Kennedy and Adam Vaughan, the main contenders for city councilor in Trinity-Spadina, resemble rival characters who’ve stepped out of a black-and-white graphic novel: Silver hair, dusky wardrobes, and sharp edges. Both are seeking to replace the federally departed Olivia Chow with their respective political pedigree — Kennedy with vast NDP credentials, culminating in seven years as Chow’s assistant at city hall; Vaughan filling the shadow of his late Citytv reporter dad, attempting to reverse Colin Vaughan’s alderman-to-newsman transition for Ward 20. The increasing Spy vs. Spy-style animosity between Kennedy and Vaughan gives the Monday evening all-candidates meeting at the Al Green Theatre some big-city spark, as denizens of deepest Annex expect their emotional needs to be reflected in their leading council candidates. When it comes to speaking skills, Kennedy’s otherwise eloquent brogue — imported from Ireland in 1979 — becomes increasingly brusque when forced to fend off Vaughan’s ability to encapsulate every position into an impeccably paced report-ending stand-up. But making Vaughan vulnerable was an online video advocating that certain alleys get fitted with fences, in order to send nefarious nightcrawlers back into the light. This suggestion is now being spun by Kennedy into a movement to “privatize our laneways”, even though Vaughan clarifies he was just trying to be conscientious — make a public space secure at night, so a garden can grow, or end up with residents planting steel bars on windows to prevent those criminals from breaking in.
Downtown development becoming hostile to children has served as Vaughan’s most passionate campaign point. Just over one per cent of the residences constructed in the riding over the past decade contain more than two bedrooms, which means a pattern of short-term occupants, which means a gradual devaluing the whole condo-littered atmosphere — not to mention the affordability crisis facing older neighbourhoods, too. Kennedy snaps back with demographic evidence: “Building condos did not change the birthrate in downtown Toronto.” But counter-aggressive feminism doesn’t sell like bigger picture thinking here at the corner of Bloor and Spadina, so Kennedy stresses her own involvement in developing four new childcare centres closer to the lake, and other credits to make herself sound more qualified than a familiar face seeking greater civic access than a press pass would allow. “You have to work with what you’ve got,” she feigns addressing the audience — since her sparring partner is on the opposite end of a table lined with other candidates. “It’s not about you. It’s about how you engage with your community.” Vaughan isn’t enamored with “the group hug approach”, and token public space projects funded by developers (through Section 37 of the Planning Act) have left him unimpressed.
The symmetrical exchange between Kennedy and Vaughan was cramped by the presence of six other candidates, who fit three different categories: Two stammering municipal geeks who were too nervous to sit on such a big stage — Douglas Lowry and Joseph Tuan — two senior deviants determined to fill the progressively exasperating “Borat” role — Devendra Sharma and Carmin Priolo — and, mercifully, a pair of under-30 upstarts — City Idol winner Desmond Cole and online idealist Chris Ouellette. “Every candidate’s favourite word during an election is the word ‘change’,” contemplates Cole. “Do you know what would really be a change? Some humility in politics, that would be a change.” Ouellette was even blunter in his assessment of the surrounding action: “The real question is, has Adam pissed off enough of the other councilors over the past few years — and will they want to work with him now?”
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