Ana Bailão says her track record at city hall when she was a councillor makes her the clear choice to become the next mayor of Toronto.
Editor’s note: This is part of a series of profiles on the seven leading contenders in Toronto’s mayoral race, according to polls. Additional profiles will be published in the coming days.
"It was actually people around me, including John Tory, that started, saying, 'you are really good at bringing people together, you are really good at getting things done at city hall, which is not an easy place… you're really good at working with other orders of government, you need to think about it,'" she says.
"I want it to be bright. We want people to feel us out in the neighbourhoods in the city," Bailão says. While it's one of her top hues, she says red is her favourite colour. One mother holding her young daughter told Bailão about how frustrating it is to get into recreational programs in the city due to limited space. She added that she is willing to pay higher taxes as long as city services improved, admitting to Bailão that she was leaning toward voting for Chow. Another woman tending to her lawn, an undecided voter, said she was worried about the recent violence happening across the city.
Standing beside her, Liberal MP James Maloney, who joined to canvass, jump in, saying Bailão is the only candidate that brings all levels of government together. Bailão represented the neighbourhood of Davenport from 2011 to 2022. However, she first attempted to run for council in 2003 but was unsuccessful.
It wasn't until later on, when she became involved in community work, that it got her thinking about public office. She eventually worked for then-councillor Mario Silva. That was the beginning, Bailão says, of how she"fell in love" with municipal politics. "I went off to do affordable housing, and I'm coming back because I have the experience to get it done," she says.
It should be noted that the federal government tabled its budget in April without funding to help close the city's $1.4 billion budget gap. Meanwhile, the provincial government has not indicated it will provide the money Toronto is requesting beyond the $48 million it set aside for the city's supportive housing.
"Shortly after I got elected as a councillor, there was a proposal to sell over 800 Toronto Community Housing homes. And I fought it. And I said, 'We need a plan to work with the other orders of government to have money to have a fully costed capital repair backlog.' Everybody at the time said, 'Oh, it can't be done, can't be done.' I did it," Bailão says.
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