Midtown council family

[attach]2941[/attach]The media darling: Josh Matlow

He [url=https://twitter.com/#%21/JoshMatlow]tweets[/url], [url=http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=logo#%21/pages/Josh-Matlow/43448349479]Facebooks[/url] and has his own [url=http://www.youtube.com/user/JoshMatlow]YouTube channel[/url].

No doubt about it, newly elected St. Paul’s councillor Josh Matlow has his feet planted firmly in the age of social networking.

And now that the trustee has graduated from the school board to city hall, expect to see even more live updates, and information-sharing from this tech-savvy Generation Xer.

The Queen West clamshell may be unfamiliar territory for Matlow, but he likely won’t be a whisper on council. Already well-versed in the political realm, Matlow didn’t shy away from controversial issues during his seven-year tenure with the Toronto District School Board.

But there may also be a little bit of peacemaker in Matlow. On the campaign trail, he said he heard the desire from the community for council to work together, and intends to heed that call.

“People want a mature discussion at council where councillors thoughtfully discuss issues,” Matlow said. “And if we disagree, to do so respectfully.”

Matlow, who married his wife Melissa just a little over a year ago, turns 35 this month.

The downtown connection: Kristyn Wong-Tam

[attach]2952[/attach]This newly elected Ward 27 rep seems to have her feet firmly planted downtown: she owns an art gallery on Queen West, used to own a Timothy’s franchise on Church Street and co-founded the Church-Wellesley Village Business Improvement Area. She’s had her hand in numerous other business and arts ventures as well as community activism.

Wong-Tam grew up downtown after moving to Regent Park as “an immigrant child who spoke no English”, she says on her website.

She’s clearly a go-getter. She got her real estate license at age 22, became one of the youngest sales managers at Coldwell Banker Canada, and later served as an advisor to the Toronto Chief of Police. These are just a few things on her mile-long list of accomplishments.

So what for Wong-Tam’s midtown constituents, those in South Riverdale and Summerhill and Chorley Park?

Her website features a neighbourhood list of issues, with short videos on various topics. None address issues north of Bloor. She does, however, map out other issues for the northern part of her ward: traffic on Moore Avenue, population growth in Ramsden Park and heritage conservation in Rosedale and Summerhill, to name a few.

She says she’ll meet with residents groups and businesses in the next 60 days to discuss ways of improving the local community.

Ward 27 is a big ward that covers lots of different neighbourhoods. Hopefully there’s enough Wong-Tam to go around.

The reluctant daddy’s boy: Josh Colle

[attach]2951[/attach]He’s the son of longtime Eglinton-Lawrence [url=http://www.mytowncrier.ca/community-safety-goes-viral-with-facebook-help.html]MPP Mike Colle[/url], but don’t think you’re dealing with any regular ol’ daddy’s boy. When he announced his intentions to seek the Ward 15 council seat, Colle the Younger made it clear that he’s carved his own political path.

If anything, the one-time Catholic school board trustee is inheriting a boatload of work from his political predecessor, outgoing councillor Howard Moscoe. Colle will have his hands full with the controversial Lawrence Heights revitalization project, which has drawn the ire of many locals.

Like many other politicians, Colle got his start fostering grassroots community projects. As a member of local residential group 5 Points Community Action, Colle recently co-authored an action plan to revitalize the Oakwood and Vaughan area.

The plan included input from residents, business, government and community groups.

He plans to assert that collaborative approach at city hall.

“There’s a real desire for that approach,” he said when he announced his candidacy. “We, the city, can be way more productive and residents can have a more proactive say.”

And, Midtowners who want to see light rail transit on Eglinton Avenue also have an ally in Colle: He wholeheartedly supports it.

The newbie turned veteran: Karen Stintz

[attach]2953[/attach]With so many of her neighbouring reps retiring or upset, Karen Stintz’ role on council has changed: she’s now the veteran.

Her easy win on election night — she won with over 60 percent of the vote — shows the councillor is established in her ward.

Stintz was first elected in 2003, when she unseated then-incumbent Anne Johnston after ratepayers groups were upset about Johnston’s support of the Yonge/Eglinton Minto Towers.

Stintz got some flack pre-election over her support of some developments in the ward. But it seems area voters by and large were happy to send Stintz back to city hall for four more years.

Keep an eye on if, and how, Stintz shows the newbie councillors the ropes now that she’s won her third term.

The papa bear: Joe Mihevc

[attach]2955[/attach]Loud and clear: Please, Toronto, anyone but Rob Ford.

The people didn’t heed his cry, and on election night, Mihevc’s win was tempered by Ford’s.

But the reelected longtime councillor has now put political differences aside and said he’ll try his best to work with the city’s new mayor.

“Those of us who clearly endorsed other candidates have to appreciate that we have a new mayor in town and that democracy chose our mayor,” Mihevc said. “At the same time, democracy has also spoken and chosen a council to balance that (mayor’s) perspective.”

We’ll have to see if veteran councillor Mihevc leads the way in Midtown, where few candidates supported Ford’s stab at the mayoralty.

Before the election, lefty Mihevc openly endorsed George Smitherman. Well, he endorsed a vote against Ford.

Mihevc wrote: “Very simply, and without getting too personal, I have watched (Ford) for the last 10 years as a colleague on council, and Rob does not have the skill set required to lead a complex city hall and its agencies. Simple one-liners, an angry persona, a divisive disposition is not leadership and will only hurt Toronto.

“Under Rob Ford, city council will not function, our city agencies will be in disarray, economic development will be hurt and our city will suffer in many ways.”

Ouch.

Well, hopefully Ford doesn’t read Mihevc’s website, or else his olive branch might be stamped “return to sender”.

Queen of the castle: Jaye Robinson

[attach]2954[/attach]As a senior manager in the city’s economic development department, Jaye Robinson provided a helping hand in promoting tourism, culture and public-private partnerships.

Now, after beating out incumbent councillor Cliff Jenkins in a squeaker of an election race, the mother of three is on the other side of council chambers. Given her background, Robinson naturally has her sights set on fixing the city’s money management skills, or lack thereof.

But Robinson hasn’t lost sight of local issues in the seven years since she first sought the Don Valley West seat on council. In fact, as vice-president of the Lawrence Park Ratepayers’ Association, she’s taken an ongoing active role in her ward. As chair of the social justice committee at her church, she organized a series that focused on topics of crime, making neighbourhoods work and being good corporate citizens. Speakers included John Tory and Police Chief Bill Blair.

Clearly, Robinson is just getting started.

“I’m most excited to work on community development initiatives,” she said. “I want to promote and preserve neighbourhoods.”

And Robinson has some serious familial connections the neighbourhoods she now represents. On her [url=http://www.jayerobinson.com]website[/url] she indicates her roots in Don Valley date back to the 1900s when her great-grandfather settled in Hoggs Hollow.

Could you get more local?

-With files from Kris Scheuer and Christopher Sa’d