And then there were 6

[attach]7617[/attach]The race to replace outgoing councillor Karen Stintz in Ward 16 got a little busier on March 18 when criminal lawyer and teacher Dyanoosh Youssefi filed her nomination papers, becoming the sixth candidate.

Youssefi, who lives in the Eglinton-Lawrence riding with her husband and two daughters, joins a field that includes J.P. Boutros, a senior advisor to Stintz when she was TTC chair, along with fire and security officer Michael Coll, aerospace project manager Christin Carmichael Greb, municipal lawyer Adam Tanel and direct mail business owner Paul Spence.

Only Coll, finishing third behind Stintz and Terry Mills in 2010, has run before.

Citing responsible development, respectful policing and creating inclusive communities as her main focal points, Youssefi says the jump into political life was a long time coming, after leaving her law career nine years ago when her first daughter was born.

“I really was itching to get back out and contribute,” she said moments after filing her nomination. “I thought about the different levels of government, and municipal really made sense — it’s very local.”

Since Youssefi stopped practising law in 2005, she has been heavily involved in volunteer work, including stints in Zimbabwe and Israel, as well as most recently teaching law part time at Seneca College.

“I’ve worked with seniors, I’ve worked with young people, I’ve worked with the homeless,” she said, adding that she considers her “breadth and depth” of experience to be qualification for the job. “I know what the different issues are in our ward and our city.

“I think it’s important to have that, because you’re representing the ward, but you’re also a councillor for the city.”

Stintz vacated the midtown council seat and her position as TTC chair so she could mount a mayoral run in the Oct. 27 municipal election.