Ward 6 — York Centre

Nick Balaskas was a professor in York University’s physics department. According to the Toronto Star, he was dismissed by the university in 2016 for writing and sharing anti-Semitic Facebook posts, a decision later upheld by a labour arbitrator. He also ran for MPP of the York Centre riding as an Ontario Party candidate in the 2022 provincial elections, placing fifth out of nine candidates.

Angela Brandt is the president of the Ontario Autism Coalition, an organization that secures effective, funded services for individuals with autism and families. She holds an honours bachelor of science and a master of arts from the University of Toronto, and a post-graduate diploma in research. On her campaign website, Brandt says she deeply understands how challenging navigating the school system can be because she started advocating 15 years ago for services for her son, who was diagnosed with autism at 19 months of age. While details about her campaign online are limited, Brandt says she wants to ensure equity, diversity and inclusivity in the TDSB, that she will be highly accessible to the community and parents, and will fight for the needs of students and schools. Brandt has also been endorsed by the Toronto & York Region Labour Council.

Senai Iman is a Toronto lawyer who previously ran for Ward 19 trustee in the 2018 municipal elections. He placed last with 500 votes. In 2018, he became an Ontario Living Wage Network supporter. While there is limited information regarding Iman’s current campaign, his platform in 2018 prioritised funding for school infrastructure needs like adequate heating and cooling. To do this, he proposed making an amendment to the Education Act which would allow the TDSB to collect Education Development Charges from developers, for which he created a petition for trustee candidates to commit to. He also proposed the alternative of changing the board’s severe weather policy to close schools when the weather is not suitable for a safe learning environment.

Information about this candidate could not be found at time of publication.

While there was limited information online regarding Mohammed’s campaign at the time of publication, a 2019 Pleasant Public School newsletter notes a person by the name of Nigel Mohammed and his involvement on a committee on the creation of a playground.

Information about this candidate could not be found at time of publication.

Information about this candidate could not be found at time of publication.

Alexandra Lulka Rotman is the incumbent trustee for Ward 5, having held the position since 2016. On her Twitter profile, she describes herself as a Montessori teacher, as well as a “proud Israel advocate.” Lulka Rotman is also an alumna of the Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee. In 2021, she was investigated by the board for breaching the code of conduct after she shared a statement on Twitter regarding distributed materials on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which she claims were antisemitic. The investigator recommended censure after finding her in violation of the code but trustees voted to reject the recommendation. More recently in February 2022, she made a statement on Facebook in response to antisemitic incidents at a school in her ward. As part of her campaign, Lulka Rotman says she wants to fight hate and anti-semitism in public schools and for more accountability from the TDSB.

Nicola Simpson is the Founder and CEO of the Roxy and Lascelles Simpson Foundation, a not-for-profit focused on community building. Simpson was called to the Ontario Bar in 2022 and earned a Juris Doctor at University of Ottawa – Common Law Section. According to her website, Simpson completed her final year at York University’s Osgoode Law School in 2021 and is currently a Student-at-Law at the Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic. Having lived experience with homelessness and homophobia, Simpson uses her platform to advocate for a safe and equitable learning environment and a diverse and inclusive curriculum and support systems. As part of her campaign, Simpson wants to direct more resources and funding toward addressing student mental health, the inclusion of all students, and systems and policies to combat cyberbullying. In addition, Simpson wants to see more funding for maintenance of schools, to develop measures that safeguard schools and students from future economic uncertainties, and to improve communication between parents, teachers, and trustees.

According to his website, Gianfranco Cristiano is an active community member with over 22 years of customer service experience. He previously ran for Ward 5 TCDSB trustee in 2018, placing second out of five. As part of his campaign, Cristiano wants to preserve international languages programs, address the lack of school bus drivers, and create a program to address poor Maths and English Testing results. He also says he will advocate for smaller classrooms, increase teachers and staff, and fight for funding for outdoor play spaces and special education. Cristiano has been endorsed by the Toronto & York Region Labour Council.

Phil Hornak has previously participated in the parent council for Loretto Abbey Secondary School, and has authored a letter that criticized of a number of issues within the TCDSB, including the board’s communication with parents, trustees’ conduct on social media, and what he claimed was a lack of accountability and integrity standards around trustee conduct, though he did not list any specific examples. In 2018, Hornak ran for TCDSB trustee in Ward 6, placing third out of three candidates.

Information about this candidate could not be found at time of publication.

Maria Rizzo has been the TCDSB trustee for Ward 5, first elected in 2003. She was elected as a North York Board of Education trustee in 1982 and a North York city councillor in 1991, serving two terms. At different times during her tenure as trustee, she served as chair and vice-chair of the Toronto Catholic District School Board. In 2011, as chair, she helped propel the board’s Equity and Inclusion Education policy and in 2019, she was a vocal supporter of a motion to include the terms ‘gender identity’ and ‘gender expression’ in the board’s code of conduct.

Benoit Fortin is the incumbent trustee for Conseil scolaire Viamonde Ward 2 – Est. He has held office since 2018, and has been elected by acclamation in this year’s election given he was running unopposed. Fortin is the founding member and Vice President of Development in Africa and India of Skypower, which develops, funds and runs utility-scale renewable power projects internationally. He is also vice-president of the Association des conseils scolaires des écoles publiques de l’Ontario board of directors, which represents all French-language public school boards in the province. While there is limited information about his priorities, Fortin has commented publicly as vice-president of the board on the importance of keeping students in the francophone school system until grade 12 and of meeting the specific needs of a growing francophone community following an announcement of funding from the Ontario government to build a new school.

Nathalie Dufour Séguin is the incumbent trustee for MonAvenir Ward 3 – Toronto Ouest and has been re-elected by acclamation for the 2022 term as she is running unopposed. She was first elected trustee by ballot vote in 2006 and received acclamation in 2010. In 2014, she decided to step down to pursue other projects and was re-elected by ballot vote in 2018. Outside of the TCDSB, Dufour Séguin is an Education Community Relationship Manager for Groupe Média TFO, a media company that generates educational and cultural content for the Ontario Francophone community. She is also a former board member and former president of Toronto Francophone Women’s Shelter La Maison d’hébergement francophone de Toronto.

Dufour Séguin is on the MonAvenir School Council, having originally joined in 2006 when she became trustee (when the school was named Conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre-Sud). After serving as vice president for two years, she was elected president in 2012, a role she held until 2014. In 2013, under Dufour Séguin’s leadership, the school council launched a discrimination action against the province as a means of forcing the Ministry of Education to replace one of their Hamilton-based schools with a new, larger building for the expanded student population. An issue Dufour Séguin said people have been advocating for since the 1990’s, the council invoked charter rights by arguing the Francophone school was not being resourced adequately and therefore access to education was not equal to those in Anglophone schools.