Xtra contributor and playwright Rob Salerno announced his candidacy today for Toronto’s Ward 27 in the October municipal election.
In a press release, Salerno outlines his priorities: “balancing the city’s finances by controlling spending, reducing waste and selling unnecessary assets; improving the quality of service delivery from City Hall and other municipal agencies; expanding the city’s transit and transportation infrastructure; developing beautiful and functional public spaces and ensuring that all Torontonians can ‘live with culture’ in this global centre for art and entertainment; and improving opportunities for all Torontonians.”
Salerno also says he’d like to end the city’s “war on fun.” He points to the restrictions on bars and restaurants on Ossington Ave, proposed restrictions on west Queen West and the restriction on new dance clubs north of Queen St. “The entertainment and nightlife industries are vital to ensuring that Toronto is a city that’s fun, livable, and vibrant,” Salerno says in the release, “and they’ve contributed immensely to cleaning up derelict neighbourhoods in the city.”
He would like to see the city permit new dance clubs in neighbourhoods outside the entertainment district, especially the Church-Wellesley Village, under “strict conditions that they minimize adverse neighbourhood effects, subject to license revocations.”
Salerno is the first candidate to officially announce his candidacy for Ward 27. Toronto city councillor Kyle Rae announced on Dec 11 that he would not seek reelection.
For more, follow Rob Salerno on Twitter and on his official campaign Facebook Group.
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