Residents of Don Valley West have chosen Rachel Chernos Lin as their next city councillor in a byelection held Monday, according to the city’s unofficial results.
With 52 out of 52 polls reporting as of 9:45 p.m. on Monday, the Toronto District School Board chair and school trustee had 12,899 votes, or 54.76 per cent of the vote, while her nearest rival, former Conservative journalist Anthony Furey, had 7,343 votes, or 31.17 per cent.
The byelection was called after former Ward 15 Coun. Jaye Robinson died of cancer last summer. Robinson was a former TTC chair.
Chernos Lin, who has taken a leave of absence from her job as TDSB chair, earned endorsements from a number of high profile people, including former Ontario Liberal premier Kathleen Wynne.
Furey, who once wrote a column for The Toronto Sun, jumped in the race a little over a year after he surprised pundits by finishing fourth in last year’s mayoral byelection with over 35,000 votes.
According to the city, a total of 4,019 voters cast ballots in advance voting, which was held on Saturday, Oct. 26 and Sunday, Oct. 27. The city says 1,877 people voted on the Saturday, while 2,142 people voted on the Sunday.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow congratulated Chernos Lin in a post on the platform X, formerly Twitter, on Monday night, saying: “I know we can work together to deliver more for the people of Don Valley West and all Torontonians.”
Mayor urged residents to vote
Earlier on Monday, Chow urged voters in the ward to make time to cast ballots for a new city councillor.
“Send a message that you want more housing built. Send a message that TTC can provide better public transit and let’s feed more kids. Let’s do that today. And this is your chance to elect someone that shares those values,” Chow said.
Chow said city council will welcome the person elected on Monday night to represent Don Valley West.
“Whoever wins today, the good people of Don Valley will make the right decision,” she added.
Voters in the ward said they would like to see the new city councillor deal with such issues as traffic congestion, bike lanes, high rent, affordable housing and support services for newcomers and youth.
Norman Light, a voter, said there are many issues in the ward but property taxes are on the mind of voters because it’s not clear if there will be an increase this year and how much it will be.
“Housing is a big issue for many people, particularly of my children’s generation,” Light said. “Affordability is key. There’s lots of things that the city wants to do, but we can’t afford them all.”
Dave Mimms, another voter, said “overspending” and “bike lanes everywhere” are among the top issues for voters.
“The city is getting to be unlivable now,” he said. “We need to get control of spending and start doing things that people need rather than things that certain elements of the political spectrum want.”
‘Come and speak with people,’ voter says
Salman Akbar, another voter, said it’s important for the candidate who is elected to make themselves available to constituents after assuming office. He said real issues, such as traffic congestion and public security, need to be addressed.
“Come and speak with people. We want to see you once you are in the office. Come and talk to us. See us. Establish a reasonable, reliable link with the community, with your voters, and resolve their matters,” Akbar said.
Ward 15 is bordered by Yonge Street to the west, Leslie Street to the east and Highway 401 to the north. Its southern border runs roughly along the Don River, just above the Evergreen Brickworks.