Candidate: Katarina Collins

Who are you?

Like many Canadians, my family immigrated to Toronto hoping for a life of fresh opportunity. I never take for granted the potential I see in this city, in a Canadian context or internationally. Over the past decade, I've contributed to expanding a thriving and diverse independent cultural scene in Toronto - through music, writing, filmmaking and activism - and I'm interested in applying those skills and ideas to the city as a whole.


Why are you running?

Until City Idol, there weren't any initiatives that allowed people engaged in local culture and activism to learn civic politics, unless they joined existing campaigns with pre-determined agendas. I hope to gain the skills to be able to have a say in how my city is run, and ultimately find an ongoing, grassroots way to ensure that the process continues in my own neighbourhood, so that these tools and resources can be spread to anyone who wants to get involved.


What should a City Councillor be?

A good city councillor isn't tied to special interests or to a political career, but wants to tap the unrealized potential of the municipal government. By finding ways to use their office on a small scale, they launch, promote and endorse neighbourhood initiatives, and negotiate with other constituencies to reach productive compromises between the needs of their neighbourhood and the continued growth and prosperity of the city as a whole.


Anything else?

The danger facing Toronto is that the diversity that is its magic may become its ruin, as increasingly unique neighbourhoods with distinctive needs cope with living as part of a larger whole. Unfortunately, many people who realise how their city can enrich their lives and how they can enrich it in return don't see the city structure playing a role in that growth and transformation. I would like to begin bridging that gap.

We need new leaders.