Candidate: Karen Sun

Who are you?
Name: Karen Sun
By day: Humber Watershed Resources Planner, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority.
By night: I sit on Mayor Miller's Roundtable on the Environment, as the citizen member. I volunteer on the board of the Toronto Bay Initiative, an environmental group working to make the Toronto Bay cleaner, greener and more accessible. I sing alto with the Penthelia Singers and sit on their board. I am a member of Planning Action and the Toronto Public Space Committee. I'm taking a course called "Leaders for Change" through the Maytree Foundation, which is like group projects for social activists.

Why are you running?
I LOVE TORONTO!!! I've traveled to Europe, Australia, America, China and various parts of Canada and every time I leave it just makes me love Toronto more when I come home. I love the diversity of this City. I love the main streets, the back alleys, the neighbourhoods and ravines that define this city. I know Toronto isn't perfect and we are dealing with a lot of issues right now, but I feel that we have so much potential to work together to make positive changes in our city. I want to be part of that change.

What should a City Councillor be?
A good City Councilor should be a person of integrity, passion, perseverance and humility. For a city like Toronto they need to believe in inclusiveness & diversity. They need to know what they stand for and to stand up for what they believe in. Without passion, patience and perseverance, the bureaucracy will grind them down. They should know their limits, know when to find help, know what fights to pick and build capacity in our communities so that their legacy is one that belongs to everyone and one that lives on
long after they are gone.

We need new leaders.