Ken Chan launches sleek election machine in Ward 27
TORONTO NEWS / Liberal-backed candidate talks business, history
Marcus McCann / Toronto / Friday, May 07, 2010
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Ken Chan appears to have lined up money and backers in his bid to become the next ward 27 city councillor.

In front of a vinyl custom-printed backdrop, outgoing councillor Kyle Rae and mayoral candidate George Smitherman gave short endorsements of Chan’s campaign.

Smitherman promised to support him — including financially — during the race. Chan is expected to split the Liberal Party political machinery and braintrust with Ward 27 rival Simon Wookey.

Chan gave a meandering kick-off speech, beginning with a history of the ward's neighborhoods. It also included a heartfelt aside about finding a cure for ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease), from which Chan's father passed away several years ago.

Chan says that new ways of thinking are needed to attract the world’s top talent to Toronto.

“It’s about staying competitive,” he told supporters. “We cannot be complacent.”

The launch was held in Ryerson’s Cara Commons (named after the conglomerate that owns Harvey’s and Swiss Chalet). Chan called Ryerson president Sheldon Levy  a "visionary," and praised the public-private partnership between Ryerson and the AMC multiplex at Yonge and Dundas, home of the school's Digital Media Zone.

Chan, a former police officer, also praised the Church-Wellesley Village and Pride Toronto. He also took a moment to give credit to older queers in the audience.

“And a young gay man, I thank you for what you’ve done so that we can be who we are,” he said.

Chan is vying to replace Kyle Rae in a crowded contest for Ward 27. Other candidates include Kristyn Wong-Tam, Susan Gapka, Rob Salerno, Enza Anderson and Chris Tindal.

Municipal elections across the province are slated for Oct 25. Rae, who’s represented the area for 19 years, has said that he won’t be running again.


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Reader Comments


 
Chan is frontrunner now
A very fair and accurate accoutn of the launch though I thought the story ex gay liaison cop (And ex Queer Nation member) Jackie O'keefe told of first meeting Chan in the village and then both realizing that the other were openly gay cops revealing. Boy though does Ken have the LIberal/Smitherman machine--money, people and George himself in spades It definitely vaunts Chan into a huge lead before the campaign even starts. And his speech was often "meandering" (and with muffled sound from a poor mike)--an excellent word to describe it--though he at times was thougtful and even moving. In the organization, volunteer and financial departments it appears that Chan starts a long way ahead of Tindal,Wong-Tam, Gapka, Wookey, Salerno, Dean, and the 4 other declared candidates to date. He even already had Chan camapign buttons & t-shirts made (Tindal had buttons too). It will be a long and interesting campaign.
james dubro, toronto ontario
05/07/10 6:50 PM EST
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Frontrunner? Establishment frontrunner, maybe
Yes, Chan has the Liberal machine. So? Nobody I know has heard of this guy, unlike Wong-Tam. Tindal and Gapka have run before but are long shots. Salerno is a well known name. Missal is a nobody. If Chan he wants to be known by the company he keeps, I'm out. Smitherman and Rae have a lot to account for and if Ken is going to give us more of the same, count me out. Rae is a drag in the Village, as that recently published analysis in Xtra showed. Smitherman and Rae both do personality politics and we need someone who focuses on the community, not on travelling the world and giving himself raises. I'd like to hear more from Chan, but with these guys in the background, I'm skeptical as hell.
Yawn Ing, Toronto ON
05/08/10 1:58 AM EST
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yes Yawn establishment frontrunner correct
For sure the establishmen frontrunner (for now) --and with that money, Liberal team, organization. Several of the others are very good candidates (and people) from Chris Tindal to Susan Gapka and Kristin Wong-tam to Rob Salerno but alas it takes money, organization, and--dare I say it so bluntly-- powerful connections and/or endorsements --to win. (Though I might add for many the endorsement by Rae may cut another way. George on the other hand--now the clear frontrunner in his run for Mayor is offering everything he has to Ken C which is quite something) And of course a powerful, well expressed message is very important (Chan was thoughtful and sometimes moving but tended to ramble in his launch speech, while Tindal was idealistic and articulate throughout--but it takes far more than a speech or two to win an election unless you are Obama-lol--and though Hillary Clinton had all the right connections she didn't win...). Thankfully, a lot remains to be seen and heard in this race which has just really begun. I for one have not made my mind up as there are so many excellent candidates. We are lucky to have them all running and hopefully debating each other over the next 5 months. And we should all ponder their message(s) and what they can bring to the table as Councilor. It is still a long, hard road to City Hall in the ward 27 race.
james dubro, toronto ontario
05/08/10 7:45 AM EST
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Enza yets another star in a broad Council field
I inadvertenly left off one dazzling star candidate for Council (there are so many good ones) =Enza Anderson (aka or formely "Enza Supermodel") who in my view would be better off running for Mayor adding a little glamour and pizzaz to that somewhat lacklustre race. I have known and worked with Enza (as a fellow LGBT community committee member on a police liaison committee no less) for over a decade and can say that she has a great PR sense and some very sensible ideas behind the lovely visage (and legs). Enza's broad appeal (no pun intended...) is not to be taken lightly. I am sure Enza will add some colour and common sense streetwise intelligence to the debates too
james dubro, toronto Ontario
05/09/10 9:25 AM EST
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Speaking
I attended Ken Chan's campaign kickoff, not quite sure what to expect. I knew George Smitherman and Kyle Rae would give bang up speeches and they did. Mr. Chan did his best but clearly needs more practice. He's got time to work on it. If George makes it to the mayor's chair, and he is certainly my choice, he will need councilors who are on board with his agenda. Speaking in front of a group of any size can be hard on the nerves. It gets easier with practice. Overall, I liked Ken Chan and came away with a favourable impression. It's a crowded field of candidates, some of whom are outstanding. It will be an interesting race.
Peter Bochove, Toronto Ontario
05/10/10 3:13 PM EST
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At least Ward 27 has a race
People in Ward 27 are fortunate that they actually appear to have a race - with many interesting candidates. In my ward (Ward 28), Pam McConnell will no doubt triumph again. No race, no new ideas. Yawn. Why bother voting in Ward 28? It's like an "election" in the old Soviet Union - only one candidate has a chance of winning.
Joe, Toronto Ontario
05/10/10 9:58 PM EST
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re:- Speaking / Peter Bochove
re:- "It's a crowded field of candidates, some of whom are outstanding. It will be an interesting race." Too many candidates (both good and bad)is part of the problem in Toronto. There really should be a run-off procedure so that if no one wins with an absolute majority in the first round the top two candidates from the first round go to a second round a week or two later. This should apply to both ward elections and mayoral elections. City councillors should also be able to hold dual office as both city councillors and mayor and mayoral candidacy should be restricted to city councillors with the mayoral election occurring 6 to 8 weeks after the ward elections. For example, ward elections would take place in mid to late September with mayoral elections following in November. In this way we would get better and smarter city councillors and mayors and only those who enjoy true majority support among the electorate would be elected. An even better voting system would be nominative voting with voters simply writing in the name of their desired candidate on the ballot and the top 50 candidates would be elected to City Council on a city-wide, at-large basis. For example, this would allow all the Enza supporters to elect their favorite queen to City Council no matter where they live. The existing system is designed to guarantee the election of village idiots, town drunks, and socialist twits and that is what is really killing municipal politics and government in Toronto. Ask the candidates what they think about municipal electoral reform and refrain from voting for those who do not care enough about this issue. re:- "It gets easier with practice." Actually this is Peter's standard advice to all of his customers!
Yours Truly, Toronto Ontario
05/11/10 3:09 PM EST
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re:- Enza a star (Jame Dubro)
re:- Enza yets another star in a broad Council field " Aside from Miss Enza's other positive attributes she also spells much better than you do. La Bella Enza would certainly add something extra to Toronto City Council but she does not stand a chance of winning in her present circumstances. She has no funding, no volunteers, no campaign organization and office, and no campaign web-site, and she lives in a sometimes no-water flat and no one will take her seriously as a result. It would help if she would at least demonstrate some intelligence by advocating constructive policy positions on important municipal issues but she is not even offering that. She is a bit more colorful than the other no-frills candidates so if you want to make a protest vote against all of the mainstream candidates she is your best bet. Ms Enza's best personal bet would be to forget about engaging in futile no-win elections, stay with her nice little teller job, and study to become an accountant and accumulate a decent pension for her old age so she does not end her days as a sad burned-out poor little old fairy. You can be rich or you can be famous but you cannot be both for very long. Fame is a flighty mistress who will soon desert you while money is a steady wife who will look after you in your old age (old Italian proverb).
Yours Truly, Toronto Ontario
05/11/10 3:58 PM EST
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His Majesty's Court
It's so creepy that Smitherman may get away with 'appointing' his former toady to the position of councillor. This is such a transparent power play it's unbelievable, and yet with the Liberal machine behind him this guy, who hasn't even lived in Toronto for the past several years, and is pretty much the personification of a Liberal hack, has a good chance of landing an important seat. It bewilders me that Kyle Rae would endorse somebody like this. What was the quid pro quo, Councillor?
Paul, Toronto ON
05/11/10 5:41 PM EST
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Well, this makes it easy
"outgoing councillor Kyle Rae . . . gave short endorsements of Chan’s campaign." Well, that endorsement is good enough for me . . . to look to the other candidates.
Rick, Toronto ON
05/15/10 10:50 AM EST
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Ward 27: Yours to Discover!
Thanks everyone for your comments on views of Ward 27 and the ongoing municipal election.
Susan Gapka, Toronto Ontario
05/16/10 9:48 PM EST
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wow...
it's just not getting better is it? A rather unseemly element to it all. I've got to take a shower.
tim, toronto on
05/16/10 11:06 PM EST
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Ward 27
An interesting group and time for a change. It is also important the tail dosn't wag the dog...no more Developer supported candidates. I feel Kristen has a conflict of interest being in real estate. Too many real estate deals to attend to so we need someone without an agenda of their own. Remember our Councelor serves all of Ward 27 so must appeal to all but lets see the village start and look like North America's premier village...good for us, good for tourism, good for business and the entire ward if the village is a Hot Stop in town. Clean up our parks and stop catering to the bums, wino's, drug adicts and dealers...Get the Unionized park workers off their ass doing some work. Our parks should be a show place not a No Go place. Clean, Clean, Clean, is the word for Ward 27...no back room deals and a councilor who stays in Toronto and runs the ward...screw how others run their cities...inovate.
TIM DEVLIN, TORONTO ONTARIO
05/23/10 12:28 PM EST
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