Candidate: Catherine Bermingham

Who are you?

I'm Catherine. I'm 20-something and currently in social work advocating for people with autism. I was born in East York and lived on a street affectionately known as "Slumsden" by the locals. I have also lived in downtown, North York, Rosedale, near Church and College, Bloor West village, and am currently at the "end of the line" in Etobicoke. Somewhere in between I managed to live on a farm in Guelph, work WAY up north in Nakina as a cook for a fishing lodge, go to university in London, and teach english in Korea. But every time I look at the skyline from the QEW, I still get the same flip-flop excited feeling; Toronto: I am finally home.

Why are you running?

I once gave a speech at a major fundraising event. I spoke as a representative of students who were associated with the Toronto Children's Aid Society. I met Mayor Miller. He said he was inspired by my speech and that I should call him when I had graduated so I could join his team. It was one of the greatest moments of my life. Unfortunately, it was to be one of the hollowest as well, as I never heard from the Mayor again. So today is a new day; there are many ways to achieve one's aspirations. Actually acting on the injustices and indignities that occur daily instead of just ranting about them is mine.

What should a City Councillor be?

A city councillor should be, in this order: an observer, a listener, a thinker, a doer. A city council not only needs to listen to those with voices, but also to notice the needs of those without. It needs to understand potential problems and how to avoid them as much as it needs to know how to resolve current issues. In a society of band-aid solutions, oopses, and apologies, we desperately need people with vision who will care about how today's actions will impact the future and not just the current political term.

Furthermore, a city council should hold some average citizens. How many politicians have ever spent a night without a meal or a home? How many have lived in city housing or even take the TTC? How many have a disability? Or have been through the welfare or childcare systems? Yet, these people alone make decisions for the average Torontonian. A city council needs people that don't merely sympathize but actually know the plights of the average person and can effectively pair their experience with resources to implement meaningful change.

We need new leaders.