MPP cuts Chris Moise loose, backs political newcomer
· Toronto Sun
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The balance of power in Toronto’s Ward 13 may be shifting after the local MPP publicly broke with the incumbent city councillor to endorse a political newcomer in October’s election.
Kristyn Wong-Tam, who served as Toronto Centre’s city councillor before moving to provincial politics with the NDP, endorsed Curran Stikuts on Thursday at a press conference outside Toronto City Hall.
“The current councillor has disappointed some folks in my community,” Wong-Tam said, “but more importantly, I’m endorsing Curran because I know he can do the job.”
Stikuts, who has a background in social work, told the Toronto Sun over the phone that he has known Wong-Tam for years and appreciates the support.
Stikuts said he’s joining politics because, while working at the 519 Community Centre on Church St., he “lost count of the number of overdoses I personally responded to, the number of people who are seniors living in the area who feel isolated and alone and worried about losing their apartments.”
The endorsement serves as a clear break from incumbent councillor Chris Moise. Wong-Tam previously campaigned alongside Moise and made a donation to his 2022 campaign.
Last year, Wong-Tam had been publicly critical of Moise’s new name for a parkette in the ward, and lamented to the Sun that a poor process had turned namesake activist Louis March into a symbol of division.
Moise, who is seeking a second term, told the Sun in a statement that he stands by his record and has a “deep respect” for Wong-Tam’s work.
“I am running again knowing the demands of the job,” Moise said. “I trust voters to decide who best represents them, and I will keep going door to door to listen and earn their support.”
‘Appetite for change’
Another high-profile candidate for council in the downtown ward, Daniel Tate, got into politics after sparring with Moise at open meetings and appearances at City Hall committees, with Moise’s work in renaming Sankofa Square a frequent flashpoint. Toronto’s integrity commissioner was brought in after Moise told Tate he holds a “white supremacy view.”
In his own statement, Tate said one of Moise’s “strongest supporters is no longer supporting him.”
“This break shows there is a clear and growing appetite for change in Toronto Centre, something we are hearing every day at the doors,” Tate’s statement said.
Stikuts said Moise has a “tough job,” but he’s heard that message too.
“What I hear at the door every day is that neighbours are looking for a different type of leadership that can more effectively bring people together and bring them into decisions,” he said, “and I think that’s because, as we’ve talked about, there’s a lot of issues in Toronto Centre that need to be dealt with – and we’re not going to be able to solve them if we can’t work effectively together.”
More than that, “folks are losing trust in their city government,” Stikuts said. When the sidewalks are loaded with trash and the potholes don’t get fixed, “that frustration is real and it makes people think that the city doesn’t have their back.”
“When we’re knocking on the doors every day, we hear about the affordability issue and the safety issue,” he added, “and within that safety issue, there’s so many things. We’re talking about the homelessness and drug crisis on our streets, in our parks, everywhere we go through the neighbourhood.”
Toronto goes to the polls Oct. 26.