Biography: Little information is available online about David Cottrell. He describes himself as an “executive operator” on LinkedIn.

Platform: Cottrell says his priorities are safe streets, affordable housing, and “real representation.” He says he’ll expand traffic calming and speed reduction measures on streets, improve lighting, invest in crime prevention programs, and support gentle density in housing.

Biography: Jenny Kalimbet works in the office of Etobicoke MPP Kinga Surma, who is a minister of infrastructure in Premier Doug Ford’s government. Kalimbet ran for federal office as a Conservative in Davenport in 2021, placing third. She came to Canada from Ukraine in 2005, says she’s helped resettle seven Ukrainian families in Toronto since the outbreak of war, has filled out visa applications for 200 Ukrainians, and has helped others find jobs in Toronto. A non-profit focused on women’s empowerment gave Kalimbet a community impact award in July for her political work and work with newcomers. Her LinkedIn says she also had an internship in the office of former councillor Ana Bailão.

Kalimbet supports mayoral candidate Brad Bradford.

Platform: Kalimbet’s platform is focused on public safety, responsible spending, and collaboration with other levels of government. She says she supports hiring more police officers and paramedics, and fighting hate-motivated crimes. She wants to end “wasteful programs and bloated bureaucracy” and focus city spending on roads, transit, parks, and public services. Kalimbet also says she will end drug use on the TTC, replace encampments with permanent housing, and expand affordable housing options that let families spend no more than 30 percent of their income on a place to live.

Biography: Little information is available online about Ahmed Kamal. He says he works in construction.

Platform: On his website, Kamal states that he is running for councilor to fix infrastructure, build reliable transit, and “ensure City Hall works for our community.” His platform says he’ll focus on road maintenance by filling potholes and better coordinate construction projects. He says development in the ward needs to be done alongside upgrades to infrastructure, and residents need a voice during planning processes.

Kamal also wants to reduce crowding on the TTC and advocate for small businesses. He has also said that he’s heard about how LRT construction and limited parking have hurt local businesses in Eglinton West and Little Jamaica. He also emphasizes the importance of protecting Little Jamaica’s heritage, preserving events like the Afro-Caribbean Farmers’ Market, and for more amenities and spaces that will bring people together.

Biography: Josh Matlow is the sitting councillor for Ward 12, a position he’s held since 2010. The councillor ran for mayor in 2023, coming fifth behind Olivia Chow, Ana Bailão, and former police chief Mark Saunders.

Once described as an “extreme” centrist, he now considers himself a “pragmatic progressive.” He has supported a maximum temperature bylaw for rental housing and the use of signal priority to increase travel times on LRT lines. He was also among the councillors most critical of the City’s 2021 crackdown on unhoused people living in parks. He has proposed multiple changes to the Toronto police, including a 10 percent budget cut, and an attempt to direct $900,000 from the police budget to fund 24/7 drop-in shelter programs. Matlow has been a key contributor to the Toronto Seniors Strategy and the RentSafeTO apartment building standards program, and originally proposed allowing drinking in parks.
As councillor, he voted to rename Dundas Square to Sankofa Square; however when he ran for mayor in 2023, he said he would put the plan on hold.

Matlow voted against the so-called “bubble zone” bylaw, which prohibited protests near places of worship and schools, because it didn’t go far enough, and additionally tried to do away with the bylaw’s application process in favour of less “performative” and overly “bureaucratic” measures instead. He has been reprimanded by council and investigated by the integrity commissioner for making comments about city staff, including publicly accusing staff of lying to him about park bathroom summer opening times.

Matlow is opposed to Premier Doug Ford’s proposed tunnel under the 401, and has also argued against expanding Billy Bishop airport, saying it would increase traffic congestion downtown. He has publicly considered a run to lead Ontario’s Liberal party.
Before becoming a councillor, Matlow was a TDSB trustee from 2003-2010. Before that, he was active in the environmental movement, and worked as a campaign organizer for the Canadian Peace Alliance, where he protested the Iraq war in 2003.

Platform: Matlow has not released a detailed policy platform at the time of publication.

Biography: Bob Murphy previously ran for mayor in 2023, placing 48th out of 102 candidates. He came third in the race for city council in Toronto-St. Paul’s in 2022.

According to a Q&A from that time with the Cedarvale & Upper Village Community Group, Bob Murphy is a legal writer who has lived in the ward for 30 years. He says he worked on the campaign of Dianne Poole, a former Liberal MPP for Eglinton in the 1980s and ‘90s.

A person with the name Bob Murphy also serves on Toronto’s poverty reduction lived experience advisory group.

Platform: This candidate does not have a platform available online at the time of publication.

Biography: Mina Nadimi says she has work experience in non-profits, retail management, administration, and research. She stresses that she is a “non-partisan” candidate. On LinkedIn, a person with the name Mina Nadimi lists experience as a conference manager for an economic research institute.

Platform: Nadimi lists some of her top issues as transportation, traffic gridlock, high rent prices, high property taxes, and “underserved voters.”

Biography: Axel Arvizu is an entrepreneur who co-founded La Tortelleria, a Mexican restaurant in Kensington Market. As of 2022, he was managing a home building company. He previously ran for city council in the 2022 municipal election in Ward 11 – University-Rosedale, losing to Dianne Saxe.

Platform: Arvizu’s platform mentions advocating for anti-bullying measures, mental health supports, and literacy and numeracy skills for students. He wants to foster accessible and inclusive extracurriculars, and provide resources to children with special education needs. He also mentions financial transparency and communication with parents.

Biography: No information could be found online about this candidate at the time of publishing.

Platform: According to a post on his Facebook page, Cherrington says his priorities include “smaller class sizes”, “listening to families”, and “preparing students for tomorrow.”

Biography: According to his LinkedIn, Adam Golding currently works as an AI trainer and dog walker. Golding ran in the 2025 University-Rosedale federal by-election as an independent.

Platform: Golding does not have a platform available at the time of publication. His website links to a Substack article that he refers to as his “platform”, but it does not mention anything about the TDSB or his policy priorities.

Biography: Tasha Kheiriddin is a conservative political columnist who writes for the National Post. She has also taught at McGill and Carleton universities, and was previously a principal at the public relations firm Navigator. As co-chair of the school advisory council at Rosedale Heights School of the Arts, she has written in support of provincial supervision for the TDSB. She has been endorsed by former MPP George Smitherman, former mayor John Tory, and former senator Linda Frum.

Platform: Kheiriddin’s platform includes advocating for “real consequences” for misconduct, increased parental involvement, and emphasizes responsible spending – with promises to “independently examine” procurement contracts, and “insist on transparent, competitive purchasing.”

Biography: No information could be found online about this candidate at the time of publishing.

Platform: This candidate does not have a platform available online at the time of publication.

Biography: Shaffni Nalir is the general manager of the Toronto Islamic Centre, and has provided spiritual care as a volunteer for a number of organizations including CAMH, SickKids, and Mount Sinai Hospital. He has a master’s degree in psychotherapy and spirituality from the University of Toronto, and in 2025 was awarded a King Charles III Coronation Medal for community service.

Platform: Nalir’s platform mentions advocating for mental health supports, promoting physical activity, and building “partnerships between families, educators, and neighbourhoods”.

Biography: Little information is available online about Theo Nazary. According to a page on Toronto Metropolitan University’s website, he is the associate director of the Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre, and is completing his PhD at TMU.

Platform: This candidate does not have a platform available online at the time of publication.

Biography: Deborah Willliams was first elected as a TDSB trustee in 2022. According to her website, she spent the decade before that volunteering on local school councils and the TDSB’s Parent Involvement Advisory Committee (PIAC). As a trustee, she has held leadership positions on a number of committees including the Program and School Services Committee, the Urban Indigenous Community Advisory Committee, the French Student Achievement Community Advisory Committee, and the Early Years Community Advisory  Committee. Williams has also been endorsed by the Toronto and York Region Labour Council, Progress Toronto, and by Toronto Education Workers/Local 4400, a division of the Canadian Union of Public Employees.

Platform: William’s platform focuses on student achievement, including through “targeted strategies to close achievement gaps”, creating a safe learning environment, and a commitment to “strengthening oversight and ethical governance” in the board. She wants to improve infrastructure at the board’s schools, and foster an “inclusive, culturally responsive” curriculum.

Biography: Little information is available online about Rosina Bonavota. In 2022, she ran for trustee in Ward 9 and came in second out of seven candidates. She previously ran for city councillor in 2014 and 2006, and trustee in 2010.

Platform: Bonavota has not posted her platform online, but on the Toronto Public Library’s Know Your Vote website, she says that her priority if elected would be to improve achievement and ensure students have the necessary supports. She says that she would use achievement and equity data to find gaps. She also says that she would ensure that specialised programs are fairly distributed and accessible.

Biography: Little information is available online about Renato Fallico. He is a Technology Support Technician at Tommy Douglas Secondary School in Woodbridge, On. Fallico ran for TCDSB trustee in Ward 9 in 2022, coming sixth out of seven candidates.

Platform: This candidate does not have a platform available online at the time of publication.

Biography: No information could be found online about this candidate at the time of publishing.

Platform: Le has not posted a platform online. However, on the Toronto Public Library’s Know Your Vote website, he says his main priorities are caps on classroom sizes and ensuring proper student-to-educator ratio. He also says he will expand efforts to end bullying and harassment by reviewing current policy, push back on the province’s cuts, and allocate funding to special education classrooms.

Biography: Little information is available online about Jonathan Santos. He is a realtor.

Platform: Santos’ platform focuses on protecting Catholic values and traditions, making long-term decisions tailored to each school’s needs, and ensuring that parents have a voice.

Biography: Jean-François L’Heureux is the director of Collège Boréal’s Toronto campus. Prior to this role, L’Heureux worked as the investigations and early resolutions manager at the French-language unit of Ombudsman Ontario.

L’Heureux was previously a Conseil scolaire Viamonde trustee from 2010 to 2018: he was elected in Ward 3 in 2010, acclaimed in Ward 4 in 2014, and served as chair of the school board from 2014-2018. In 2018, L’Heureux ran for trustee for Viamonde’s Ward 4, and lost to Geneviève Oger, who has since been the incumbent trustee.

L’Heureux was also president of the École élémentaire Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau parent council, where he initiated raising funds for the council, with proceeds going towards paying for the cost of a new playground on the school site.

Platform: L’Heureux’s campaign website says he wants to have schools of “the 21st century” that are inclusive, safe and accessible, diverse, eco-friendly, and close to where families live. He also wants to promote the French language and culture within schools, and envisions a school board that is efficient with its spending, transparent, and communicative.

Biography: Anna-Karyna Ruszkowski is the incumbent trustee for Conseil scolaire Viamonde Ward 3. She was elected for the role during the Viamonde Ward 3 by-election in 2023. Her LinkedIn page says that she’s also a chief risk officer at BMO Insurance.

In 2018, Ruszkowski ran for Conseil scolaire Viamonde trustee within Durham but came in second place out of two candidates.

Platform: If re-elected, Ruszkowski says she will continue working on creating a board-wide extracurricular program that’s designed to retain students and preserve their French education. She also lists her desire to build another French school within the ward. When it comes to Collège français and École élémentaire Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau, two schools in Ward 3, Ruszkowski says she will work on finishing gym renovations and addressing the sanitation issue on outdoor school grounds, respectively. She will also review cell phone use in schools by speaking with school communities.

Biography: Josiane Aboungono is a tenant council member of Toronto Community Housing, representing Champlain Place. Aboungono also says she’s worked as an executive assistant to the parliamentary assistant within the province’s francophone affairs department. Her campaign website also says that she volunteered at Matthew House Toronto, an organization that provides shelter and support to refugee claimants.

Platform: On her website, Aboungono says she wants to strengthen Catholic identity in schools as one of her priorities, alongside hiring French-speaking staff. Aboungono also wants to showcase francophone culture through supporting “cultural, artistic and sports activities in French.” She pledges to be transparent with decision-making, while also listening to the input of staff, parishes, and parents.

Biography: Yelena Nichilo says she’s worked in the financial services sector for over 20 years and has two children attending École élémentaire catholique du Sacré-Cœur. Nichilo is the president of the parent council at her children’s school, where she has advocated for things including transparency from the school board regarding changed design plans for the school’s soccer pitch. In her role at parent council, Nichilo also says she led a parent engagement survey which led to more community events, free snacks for students, more French-language extracurricular programs, and parent communication groups for each classroom.

Platform: If elected, Nichilo says she will prioritize transparency, communication, and consultation with parents. She mentions responsible management of public funds, and meaningful accountability at every level of the school board.

Biography: Angela Ogang is a lawyer who practices in both English and French. She runs her own law firm and her website says she teaches at Université de l’Ontario français. Ogang sits on the steering committee of the National Association of Women and the Law, was the 2025-2026 chair of the Canadian Bar Association’s Women Lawyers Forum. She served as the director of communications for the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers. Ogang also says she provides legal services for Pro Bono Ontario, Ontario Action Against Violence Against Women, Southwestern Ontario Women’s Network, and the Law Society of Ontario’s mentoring network.

Platform: Ogang says she is running because she wants children to be able to “fully exercise their language rights.” She supports French education as a means to protect the language, but also to promote and transmit francophone culture, and help students develop a francophone identity and a sense of belonging in the community. Ogang promises to put students at the heart of her decisions and create opportunities to genuinely consult parents. She places an emphasis on meeting the needs of diverse francophone families, including if they are new to Canada or have one non-francophone parent.