Colle making a bid for new term in Ward 15

[attach]7660[/attach]Ward 15 councillor Josh Colle is officially seeking a second term.

Citing a desire to see projects such as the revitalization of Lawrence Heights, the redevelopment of parks along Bathurst Street and a Dufferin Street revitalization study through to completion as his primary motivation, he filed nomination papers on March 27.

“I’m keen and anxious to finish a lot of the work I’ve started with the community,” he said. “There’s so much we’ve accomplished but still a ton left to do and these are things you want to see through to some level of completion.”

In 2010 Colle, now 40, defeated six other candidates to become the replacement for long-time councillor Howard Moscoe, who didn’t run for re-election. So far this time around, Ahmed Belkadi is the only person to have signed on to run against him.

Colle said he expects development pressures to be a major campaign issue, but transit will likely be the top discussion point “you can’t avoid.”

“There’s a lot that’s been done (in the last four years),” he said, citing an LRT stop at Oakwood Avenue and articulated buses being added to some local routes as examples.

“But at the same time we need to make sure we continue to tackle those transit issues.”

Colle says he’s looking forward to the campaign ahead.

“Part of it is you’re excited because you want to test and measure the impact of your work,” he said. “The only way to do that is through an election.”