Tag: ward 13

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Greenspace Alliance Endorses Candidates For London Municipal Election in Oct. 2022

We sent out a press release today, listing the candidates we endorse for the upcoming election. A copy was sent to each of our endorsed candidates.

Greenspace Alliance Endorsements for London Municipal Election 

Greenspace Alliance is an environmental advocacy organization. We are dedicated to protecting greenspace and expanding forest canopy. In regard to the upcoming October 2022 election, We endorse the following candidates for London city council:

Ward 1: Hadleigh McAlister

Ward 2: Mike Yohnicki

Ward 3: Prabh Gill and Bob Wright

Ward 4: Matt Nicolaidis and Susan Stevenson

Ward 5: Connor Pierotti

Ward 6: Sam Trosow and Mariam Hamou

Ward 7: Corrine Rahman and Evan Wee

Ward 8: Steve Lehman

Ward 9: Anna Hopkins

Ward 10: Paul Van Meerbergen*

Ward 11: Skylar Franke

Ward 12: Alex Main

Ward 13: John Fyfe Millar

Ward 14: Steven Hillier

MAYOR:

For the office of mayor, we endorse the candidacies of Khalil Rhamal and Sean O’Connell.

Our sincere thanks to every candidate who took the time to talk with us.

Confirmed by Angus Johnson, Director Greenspace Alliance (greenspacealliance.ca)

* Paul Van Meerbergen is running for reelection. He did not meet with us, but sent an email saying that he endorses the goals of Greenspace Alliance. He voted to retain River Road when the issue first came up. He agrees that closing River Road Golf Course and allowing that asset to lose its value through neglect was “a big mistake”.

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Ward 13 City Council Candidate John Fyfe-Millar Meets With Greenspace Alliance

John Fyfe-Millar is London’s City Counsellor for Ward 13. John was a city council candidate for this ward in 2018 and came in second. When the first-place winner vacated her London City Council seat, John was appointed to represent Ward 13. John has been Ward 13’s city counsellor since October 26, 2021.

John is a candidate for London City Council in Ward 13. He is seeking to be his constituents’ first choice this October and retain his seat.

I met with John and we discussed issues related to London’s downtown and need for more greenspace.

Fyfe-Millar Focused On Downtown Core

John is focused on London’s core, where most of his constituency lives. He has a good grasp of the challenges of growing London’s forest canopy in the downtown core, and he was eager to to talk about solutions.

For example, John said routine pavement renewals could be used as opportunities to identify locations for new trees. (Pavement renewals involve replacing or restoring broken, degraded, crumbling, or sunken sidewalks and parking lots.) While parking lots and sidewalks would still be replaced as needed, trees would be integrated into their restorations.

The first win for Londoners with this strategy will be economic. The City will save some of the cost of replacing pavement.  The second win will be more shade for those using our sidewalks and parking lots. The third win will be that adding trees will expand our overall urban canopy. Growing the urban canopy will be crucial to keeping our city’s core from becoming dangerously hot in the future, and John seems to understand the urgency.

I like John and enjoyed speaking with him. As a constituent in his ward, I can attest that he is accessible, respectful, and eager to find solutions for our city’s problems. I look forward to hearing more from him and his campaign to retain his City Council seat in Ward 13.

Public Service Announcement

Because homelessness is of such concern to John – and to all downtown Londoners – here is his advice about dealing with encampments, taken from John’s government webpage on which he discusses the issue at length:

“Attempting to remove an encampment or individuals can be tricky at the best of times. I can’t stress enough that should you or someone you know be affected by an encampment or individual, contact service@london.ca and ask for assistance. Please visit the Service London portal to report needles; or contact Dispatch at 519-661-4965. This phone number is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. City staff, in co-ordination with the relevant city partners, will work together to respond.”