Torontonians from every walk of life tell us who they voted for, and why
Torontonians from every walk of life tell us who they voted for, and why
Toronto had the highest voter turnout in recent memory yesterday—980,177 people showed up at schools and churches and apartment party rooms and cast ballots for mayor, city councillor and school trustee. Over the course of election day, we travelled across the city and interviewed a handful of voters about how they made the all-important quadrennial decision. Their reasons ranged from the excellent (“I like her ideas”) to the puzzling (“I thought it was the right choice just out of loyalty”). Here’s what they had to say—originally published as part of our live coverage of election night.
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- <strong>Swastica Jaglall, 50, Homemaker</strong><br /> <strong>Voted for:</strong> John Tory<br /> <strong>At:</strong> St. Joachim Catholic School, Scarborough<br /><br /><br /> <br /> "He's the man. It's time for a change, a positive change. I would like to see the city represented better on the world stage. I think he's the person to do it. I was torn between him and Olivia but I followed with my heart and voted John Tory."
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- Municipal Election 2014: the voters
- Municipal Election 2014: the voters
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- <strong>Carl Jaglall, 25, Volunteer at Autism Speaks Canada</strong> <br /> <strong>Voted for:</strong> John Tory<br /> <strong>At:</strong> St. Joachim Catholic School, Scarborough<br /><br /><br /> <br /> "He has smart ideas and I think he's going to do well...I think he's strong enough, I think he's going to do it. I think it's going to turn out very well. A better, new everything."
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- Municipal Election 2014: the voters
- Municipal Election 2014: the voters
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- <strong>Jean Henry, 57, Nurse's aide</strong><br /> <strong>Voted for:</strong> Doug Ford<br /><strong>At:</strong> St. Joachim Catholic School, Scarborough<br /><br /><br /> <br /> "I like him and what he has to offer in the community. I spent a lot of my time in the hospital, almost two and a half years. He's a good thing for me and my children."
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- Municipal Election 2014: the voters
- Municipal Election 2014: the voters
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- <strong>Armenia Sarkissian, 21, Musician</strong><br /> <strong>Voted for:</strong> Doug Ford<br /> <strong>At:</strong> Don Bosco Catholic Secondary School, Etobicoke<br /><br /><br /> <br /> "I'm a little bit of a conservative and Rob Ford's actually a family friend...I'm not very savvy on what's going on truthfully...I thought it was the right choice just out of loyalty."
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- Municipal Election 2014: the voters
- Municipal Election 2014: the voters
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- <strong>Virginia Ohorodnyk, 83, Homemaker</strong><br /> <strong>Voted for:</strong> Olivia Chow<br /> <strong>At:</strong> Don Bosco Catholic Secondary School, Etobicoke<br /><br /><br /> <br /> "I like her. I like her ideas. She's really interested in the subway and all that stuff and I think that means a lot for people that don't have cars and can't drive. I'm sure she's got a lot of other things up her sleeve."
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- Municipal Election 2014: the voters
- Municipal Election 2014: the voters
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- <strong>Bianca Bolognese, 65, Retired hairdresser</strong><br /> <strong>Voted for:</strong> Doug Ford<br /><strong>At:</strong> Don Bosco Catholic Secondary School, Etobicoke<br /><br /><br /> <br /> "I love the Fords because they say what they do and they do what they say. What their personal life is is not my business, even if the media wants to get on it. I couldn't care less. I don't care for all the news about it, I just watch the track record, what they do. I think they do really well...anything Ford is my favourite."
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- Municipal Election 2014: the voters
- Municipal Election 2014: the voters
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- <strong>Christine Sarkissian, 51, Realtor</strong><br /> <strong>Voted for:</strong> Doug Ford<br /><strong>At:</strong> Don Bosco Catholic Secondary School, Etobicoke<br /><br /><br /> <br /> "I do believe in his values, and I know that they've gotten a lot of flack, but you know what? It's all about the heart. Just like when we sell real estate, it's about the heart."
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- Municipal Election 2014: the voters
- Municipal Election 2014: the voters
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- <strong>David Hughes, 60, "Master of all trades"</strong><br /> <strong>Voted for:</strong> Olivia Chow <br /><strong>At:</strong> Don Bosco Catholic Secondary School, Etobicoke<br /><br /><br /> <br /> "She's a woman, she's got smart ideas, she's a compassionate person. I think she's a good choice...I'd rather not see the antics of the Ford circus anymore."
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- Municipal Election 2014: the voters
- Municipal Election 2014: the voters
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- <strong>Jacqueline Samuels, Mature student</strong><br /> <strong>Voted for:</strong> Doug Ford<br /><strong>At:</strong> Don Bosco Catholic Secondary School, Etobicoke<br /><br /><br /> <br /> "I really love this city and...so does the Ford family, they love the city. It's not just about politics and who gets to be the boss and who gets to move and groove our city—it's about people that care. I've heard testimony from many seniors, people that don't even have kids in school, but when they had a problem, who are they going to call? And who helped to resolve their problem? You'll hear lots of that going on. The people's man. That's right, that's right. If you ask everybody around here, at the end of the day, the people count."
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- Municipal Election 2014: the voters
- Municipal Election 2014: the voters
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- <strong>Nakita Whyatt, 28, Retail Associate</strong><br /> <strong>Voted for:</strong> Olivia Chow<br /> <strong>At:</strong> All Saints' Kingsway Church, Etobicoke<br /><br /><br /> <br /> "I think she represents the class that nobody really talks about, the working poor, the people who work full-time hours but still in part-time jobs."
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- Municipal Election 2014: the voters
- Municipal Election 2014: the voters
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- <strong>Mike Stasiuk, 63, Retired</strong><br /> <strong>Voted for:</strong> Olivia Chow<br /> <strong>At:</strong> All Saints' Kingsway Church, Etobicoke<br /><br /><br /> <br /> "Realistically, it looks like it's going to be a Tory landslide. The fact that Tory proposed faith-based [school] funding shows that he's a politician that can be bought...it shows that he has no integrity."
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- Municipal Election 2014: the voters
- Municipal Election 2014: the voters
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- <strong>Maryke Abbot, 67, Retired</strong><br /> <strong>Voted for:</strong> John Tory <br />At All Saints' Kingsway Church, Etobicoke<br /><br /><br /> <br /> "I voted for the man, not the party. I think he's the best candidate. I just think he's the better man to conduct civilized council meetings and bring civilization back to Toronto."
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- Municipal Election 2014: the voters
- Municipal Election 2014: the voters
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- <strong>Leanne Salton, 30, Teacher</strong> <br /><strong>Voted for:</strong> Olivia Chow<br /> <strong>At:</strong> All Saints' Kingsway Church, Etobicoke<br /><br /><br /> <br /> "I think that she's a good candidate and better than the other options...she seems like she'll be pretty reasonable and have the city's best interests at heart."
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- Municipal Election 2014: the voters
- Municipal Election 2014: the voters
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- <strong>Robyn Young, 39, Teacher</strong><br /> <strong>Voted for:</strong> Olivia Chow<br /> <strong>At:</strong> Metro Hall<br /><br /><br /> <br /> "I just feel that she's the best representative for such a diverse city, one of the most diverse cities in the world. She's a minority, and also a female would be a good representative for Toronto. It's not so much about her platform, it's more about just the kind of person that I think she is."
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- Municipal Election 2014: the voters
- Municipal Election 2014: the voters
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- <strong>Matthew Kenney, 33, Director of Capital Development</strong><br /> <strong>Voted for:</strong> John Tory<br /> <strong>At:</strong> Metro Hall<br /><br /><br /> <br /> "Apart from transportation I guess there was a lot of similarities in their platforms, but I think for me just listening to John Tory speak and his idea of teamwork and bringing councillors together was the thing that set him apart."
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- Municipal Election 2014: the voters
- Municipal Election 2014: the voters
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- <strong>Brian Ling, Banker</strong><br /> <strong>Voted for:</strong> Olivia Chow<br /> <strong>At:</strong> Metro Hall<br /><br /><br /> <br /> "I felt like she was the best candidate who best represented my interests...I didn't vote for Tory even though he was seen as electable because I had watched him over the years in the provincial elections and I felt he was simply a weather vane."
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- Municipal Election 2014: the voters
- Municipal Election 2014: the voters
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- <strong>Kevin Higgins, 50, Consultant</strong><br /> <strong>Voted for:</strong> John Tory<br /> <strong>At:</strong> Metro Hall<br /><br /><br /> <br /> "We need a responsible mayor who can connect with all levels of government and get our city back in shape... The Ford brothers are done and shouldn't be here anymore."
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- Municipal Election 2014: the voters
- Municipal Election 2014: the voters
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Jacqueline Samuels, “Mature student”
LOL…. riiiight. Also, the video of her losing her mind on Monday night after Doug lost is floating around the internet, pretty funny to watch
…”I love the Fords because they say what they do and they do what they say….Lying, and saying a whole load of nothing, and miss-truths, how can anyone, sentient believe and accept lying when every media outlet ran the lists and lists of what was said and what wasn’t done. It gauls me that there are people who live in a vacuum and never hear the truth, facts, and are blind,deaf and dumb about the truth. The Fords did a whole lot of talking, shame so very little of it was based in reality. Thank goodness some of Toronto voted for change.