Chloe Brown.
Chloe Brown. Credit: Chloe Brown campaign / Facebook Credit: Chloe Brown campaign / Facebook

Toronto is having a mayoral by-election on June 26. Former Mayor John Tory felt obligated to resign after his affair with a staffer became public.

Although not forced to resign – Ford even encouraged him to stay – Tory left the building.

Interesting that an affair was the impetus to leave and not his horrendous treatment of unhoused folk, or his record of low property taxes in a city desperate for services, or even Tory suggesting to Ford that he be granted Strong Mayor Powers.

Looking around Toronto today, some would say that the city looks broken, run down, not as clean, or welcoming. Others, like mayoral candidate, Chloe Brown, say, “Toronto is not broken – it’s poorly governed.”

And, having checked out her robust, incredibly detailed yet easy-to-read campaign website, Brown is a must watch and viable challenger in the mayoral race.

The 33-year-old Policy Analyst plans to leverage the knowledge of the people who work on the frontlines of city life to inform city policy.

She wants to empower communities by including them in the decision-making process because she recognizes that a stronger Toronto can only be realized through collaboration, innovation, and inclusivity.

And, she is transparent about where the money is coming from as well as how it’s going to be responsibly spent. Because as Brown sees it, this is the city of the people and they need a say in how they want their city run.

Brown sat down with me recently to discuss how you make yourself stand out in a crowd of 102 candidates all vying for voter attention.

She spoke with rabble about the top election issues – all of which stem from the fact that Toronto has not been a livable city for quite some time. Purchasing a home is no longer an option; rents are skyrocketing; transit keeps going up while service declines and new lines remain unfinished. The growing inequality is evident and especially visible with the rise in unhoused people trying to survive on the streets and in public spaces.

A track record of progressive activism

Brown is anything but the new kid on the block. Her foray into politics began in 2012 with the Occupy Toronto Movement. That involvement prompted Brown to contemplate how city politics affected her.

In 2014, Brown was a protégé of Councillor Pam McConnell who was overseeing the revitalization of Union Station, renaissance of Regent Park, along with a variety of other projects.

During that time, Brown began to get involved in community and policy development and realized the separation between the public service and politicians.

The real journey into politics began during the Rob Ford era when Brown says it was clear the then Mayor had a substance use disorder.

Brown says watching councillors ignore the situation and being complicit in the decay of leadership made her realize, “there’s this huge inequity between who gets help and who doesn’t”

Brown went on to say, “I grew up in Rexdale and if someone has a substance use disorder, they don’t get treated the way Rob Ford did.”

In 2016 Brown ran for Ward 2 Councillor in the by-election called after the death of Councillor and former Mayor, Rob Ford. Michael Ford, nephew of Doug and Rob Ford won the seat at the council table.

Then in 2022, Brown ran for mayor. With a budget of $2,000 Brown came in third with 6.31 per cent of votes. It needs to be stated that the average cost of running for mayor is $2 million. John Tory spent $2.6 million in 2018.

This time, Brown not only has a moderately more substantial budget, but lawn signs, and social media working to get her message out to workers.

One of Brown’s frustrations with government is, “Doug Ford claims he’s a small guy from the same community that I’m from. But he doesn’t come from the same place that I’m from. That’s where people forget, Etobicoke has rich areas and just because he’s from Etobicoke doesn’t mean that he’s a part of the working class.”

She went on to say, “I’ve just been watching democracy decay because of personalities and name recognition and that’s ‘capitalism branding.’ It’s one of the strangest things working in politics. Public servants have 20-year careers. Politicians build 20-year careers off of a monarchy or a dynasty.”

Seeking to meet city’s social needs

Brown wants the people to have a voice in how their city is governed and run. She welcomes input from advisory committees, citizen panels, and participatory budgeting programs so that residents have a voice in how public services are designed and delivered.

She wants to leverage digital platforms to get feedback and input from residents so that Toronto council really meets the social needs of residents.

Instead of decimating public health departments, Brown wants to partner with Toronto’s public health unit to evaluate programs and services taking into account the social determinants of health – which government policy impacts.

Brown is passionate about rectifying the disparities in communities and promoting wellness by working with health educators within the public health department.

Instead of chasing popularity, Brown has spent the last decade working with people to get them out of poverty.

Brown brings unique and lived experiences to city hall. As an administrator of programs and services she has dealt directly with eligibility requirements that decide who gets opportunity and who doesn’t. She knows first hand that they are unfair.

Before you apply for the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) you have to prove that you’re impoverished by liquidating all of your funds. Brown notes that by that point it’s too late and applicants are too far along the downward spiral of poverty to get back out of that hole.

“I don’t think a lot of politicians have that experience,” observed Brown.

“That’s because they haven’t had to govern someone’s disappointments and expectations with public services,” she added.

In her role as Policy Analyst with the Future Skills Centre, Brown has had to see that person in her office, sometimes daily, and works with them to build resumes; get disability supports; and help them navigate a system that politicians created and that impoverishes people before they can get help.

That experience empowers Brown to govern in a way that’s empathetic, objective, and let’s her see past the minutia that other politicians get stuck on – the fact that a mere two per cent of social safety net users are bad actors yet, everyone needing services is punished because of that.

“Politicians do not trust the public. And, it’s one of those nasty secrets that I’m trying to make people realize. The reason why private corporations own everything is because your councillor does not trust you with your own future,” shared Brown. “They trust the corporation that they do not know because they were able to post numbers or they have a legal corporate structure to protect them. Because, you’re not a corporation, you’re not being listened to.”

Governing is not about chasing votes

She finds a lot of politicians are just chasing votes and that’s why nothing gets done. Brown is adamant that governance is not just about serving the people who like you, it’s about serving the entire city. It also means taking every criticism and using it as an opportunity for feedback.

“[Popularity] is why council is so full of executives and not working-class people. They do not see the value in your knowledge not being an executive. That’s why the city is failing,” said Brown.

She went on to state, “That’s the advantage I have, because I’d rather everyone eat as opposed to being popular.”

Brown has been trying to nudge the unions and pension funds to use community land trusts to develop land in the interest of workers.

In Parkdale, eight organizations were able to push Ward 4, Parkdale-High Park Councillor Gord Perks to convince the city to transfer ownership of 81 properties – 153 mostly family-sized units — to the Parkdale Land Trust. The properties were Toronto community housing land that Brown points out was paid for with taxes so it already belonged to the people.

Brown who calls herself a political agnostic, wants to modernize and evolve the institutions that have failed Torontonians.

As an Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) member, Brown would like to see the union start investing in building affordable housing that anchors workers to the city they work in.

This is important Brown says so politicians don’t continue to treat renters as transients because they don’t own land.

“The only way to fight Doug is if we actually organize ourselves as non-profits and charities and form community land trusts,” Brown maintains.

She would also like to see unions building commercial spaces that early childhood operators and health care providers could access for free because one of the best ways to ensure higher wages is to bring down the cost of rent.

On the issues of safety and policing, Brown would like to save police by refunding health care.

“A lot of people are discounting how burnt-out police officers are because we’ve over burdened them with the responsibility of delivering health care, social work, a variety of tasks that we’ve out sourced to them,” stated Brown.

She believes the only way to improve respect for the police is to depoliticize them and stop making them the answer when politicians don’t want to fund health care, social work, and education and the arts.

As for poverty, Brown looks to city property that could be farmed. She points to High Park which has three structures to support indoor farming and outdoor victory gardens that use manure from the animals in the park zoo.

Brown says, “We have the systems, it’s just there’s no interest in ending poverty. Poverty is a really, great business if you have all the resources to provide. And, that’s where my cynicism of government comes in because with all these billions you can’t build homes? You can’t build farms? It’s laughable, because if I did that in the private sector, I’d be fired.”

Brown sees a city filled with survivors, unacknowledged leaders, and so much potential.

“It can’t just be the executives that decide our future. It has to be the operators, the ECEs, and nurses because knowledge is everywhere. It’s just not valued the same because of the way that we decide what our values are. And we really need to redesign our values, because the age of consumption is done,” observed Brown.

Election Day is Monday, June 26.

Doreen Nicoll

Doreen Nicoll is weary of the perpetual misinformation and skewed facts that continue to concentrate wealth, power and decision making in the hands of a few to the detriment of the many. As a freelance...