The no-politics councillor questionnaire: Mary Fragedakis vs. Paula Fletcher

The no-politics councillor questionnaire: Mary Fragedakis vs. Paula Fletcher

Doug Ford’s decision to slash the size of city council means that this October’s election will include a number of head-to-head battles between sitting councillors, whose formerly separate wards have suddenly been consolidated into one. For voters who are flummoxed by all of this, we present the ultimate tie-breaker: a questionnaire that has very little to do with politics. If you can’t decide which way to vote based on policy, let personality be your guide.

Mary Fragedakis
Current councillor for Ward 29, Toronto-Danforth

Paula Fletcher
Current councillor for Ward 30, Toronto-Danforth

What’s your most impressive trait?

Fragedakis: I am a perfectionist.

Fletcher: Determination.

What’s your worst trait?

Fragedakis: I am a perfectionist.

Fletcher: Impatience.

What time do you wake up?

Fragedakis: 7 a.m.

Fletcher: 7:30 a.m.

What do you typically eat for breakfast?

Fragedakis: Pressed yogourt and a bowl of blueberries.

Fletcher: Tea, and fried halloumi or an egg. I’m a vegetarian so it’s good to get protein at breakfast time.

What’s your favourite dinner spot in the city?

Fragedakis: Greek Grill.

Fletcher: Pearl Court.

What’s the last book you read?

Fragedakis: The Handmaid’s Tale.

Fletcher: The Man Who Wasn’t There, by Michael Hjorth and Hans Rosenfeldt.

What’s your major hobby?

Fragedakis: Yoga.

Fletcher: Gardening, doing weights.

What don’t people understand about you?

Fragedakis: I think I sometimes I drive city staff crazy with how much I care about getting the details right about issues. My neighbourhood—and by that I mean the whole of Toronto-Danforth—and making it better for all is something I actually dreamed of, even when I was a girl growing up here and going to Wilkinson, Earl Grey and Riverdale Collegiate.

Fletcher: People might not know that I’m actually a little bit shy.

What form of transportation do you rely on the most?

Fragedakis: Walking.

Fletcher: This time of year? Bike.

What would you be doing if you weren’t a city councillor?

Fragedakis: I would probably still be running my own business.

Fletcher: In the summer I would love to work at a garden centre. But as a career, I would have worked in advocacy. Working with people who can’t break through the system.

Complete the sentence: Doug Ford is…

Fragedakis: A Donald Trump wannabe. He needs a reality check and a game misconduct for changing the rules of an election after it started.

Fletcher: Dot dot dot. He’s the wannabe mayor.

What irritates you?

Fragedakis: Sloganeering politics and how that results in important details and information getting ignored in decision-making.

Fletcher: Grandstanding. Men talking over women in meetings.

What delights you?

Fragedakis: The smile on someone’s face when you can help them solve a problem.

Fletcher: Big family dinners.

Who needs to be stopped?

Fragedakis: Donald Trump.

Fletcher: Well, obviously Doug Ford.

Who’s your dream date?

Fragedakis: George Clooney, if he were single.

Fletcher: My husband, Johnny.

Curveball time: of all the characters Tom Hanks has played in movies, which one do you most identify with?

Fragedakis: Ben Bradlee in The Post.

Fletcher: Jim Lovell in Apollo 13. I like how he stays calm in the face of calamity to work the problem.