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| Photo by, Christina Cheng |
City councillor candidate Marvin Macaraig of Ward 36 Scarborough Southwest hoped to fill the shoes of longtime councillor, Brian Ashton on Monday night. As a first time runner, Macaraig took part in the grueling months of campaigning only to find himself ranked sixth on the voting polls with a total of 866 votes.
Ten candidates were competing for the next city councillor position for Ward 36. As the polls closed at 8p.m. on Monday night, Toronto public school trustee Gary Crawford was elected in Scarborough Southwest with a total of 4,392 votes. Although Crawford owned the title, candidate Robert Spencer came close behind by just under one percentage point (23.4%), while Diane Hogan reached third with 13.4 per cent of the vote.
Although candidate Macaraig ranked sixth in the voting polls, he beat out one of his closest rivals- Vicki Breen who took a total of 663 votes.
Macaraig expressed his disappointment but he kept positive.
“When you come out of nowhere it’s hard to gain recognition but I had to start somewhere. I got to pull in a few percentage of the votes so I’m glad,” he said.
On election night, Macaraig was mourning the results with his volunteers, friends, and family at a private gathering.
Macaraig, an instructor and teaching assistant in city studies and geography at the University of Toronto had opposed views on the topic of having light-rail lines in Scarborough while many of the candidates of Ward 36 criticized light-rail lines and stressed the need of subways in Scarborough.
Some of the main issues in the ward are: the fate of the proposed Scarborough-Malvern LRT, the renewed plan to redevelop the Markington Square shopping plaza into high-rise condos, residents’ concerns about the installation of wind turbines offshore, the development of the Quarry Lands, and the concern on the revitalization of Birchcliff and Cliffside.
If Macaraig was elected he mentioned that he would immediately start his Working Together plan in the community in order to improve and develop on transit, wind turbines, community safety, the Quarry Lands, and the Birchcliff and Cliffside revitalization.
When asked about his views on Crawford being elected, he was at a loss for words as he was still upset and shocked by the results.
“I don’t know,” stuttered Macaraig, “I just think his platform was all over the place. We have different views and his is more generic. Plus, he’s been there for a while, people know him. He’s a Conservative and people like that.”
He said he is glad the months of campaigning are over and looks to run again in the near future. This was his first run and a learning experience.
His first priority is completing his Ph.D. He admits that once he receives it, he’ll be more than ready the next time around.
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