Real estate agent makes bid for Ward 33

[attach]2345[/attach]Ward 33 candidate Fil Giannakopoulos is taking to the streets in an effort to hear the needs of his fellow constituents.

His campaign focuses on being an active councillor — and he says after knocking on over 10,000 doors in the ward, he’s well on his way.

“One of the biggest complaints is that (current councillor) Shelley Carroll doesn’t return their calls and doesn’t come as often as people like,” he says. “My biggest platform is that I will come and I will be somebody the people in this ward want.”

Giannakopoulos says so far, he’s heard residents’ concerns about many issues, ranging from rooming houses to speeding in school zones to consistent flooding.

The mass flooding in 2005 that damaged thousands of homes in Toronto was not an isolated incident for Ward 33. Many homeowners have since had second and third floods.

“The flooding we’ve had over the past few years has been one of the biggest issues for the homeowners,” he says.

“Given the degree of flooding we did have, the response was not as fast as it should have been to prevent the second and third floodings that people had.”

The 42-year-old real estate agent who has a degree in political science from York University says he is making major ground in the community and faring well with constituents. Part of his success, he says, is based on him living in the ward and being married with three children.

But he says the majority of his success is coming from being at the doorstep willing to listen.

“My goal is to be an active councillor. The people in this ward have complained to me about a lot of issues and a lot of problems and they feel neglected,” he says.

“I will do what the powers of council will allow me to help them. That’s the biggest thing – to be an active councillor and help the residents with their problems, big or small.”