Israt Ahmed, 44. Married with one adult child.
Occupation: Community planner
Neighbourhood: Lawrence Avenue and Kingston Road, Scarborough. A "thriving, very mixed community" with a large immigrant population. Designated a priority neighbourhood in need of development.
Transportation: TTC. Drives an "old" Toyota for grocery shopping and visiting friends.
Her ideal city: A place with "a lot of services for people from all cross-sections and opportunities for people from different socioeconomic groups to work together."
Most important issues: Transit, poverty.
Which city services are most important to you and which ones do you think could be cut?
Why should I have to compare child care with senior services or snow shovelling? They all are important to me. The overarching issue here is poverty. People are working but are not making ends meet. A lot of people in my neighbourhood depend on child care because that allows them to go to work. They say, "if I lose my child subsidy, I'll have to stay home and I'll have to apply for social assistance." So think of the burden that it will bring to our economy if we have to take these people out of the workforce.
What do you think of the idea of cutting police and fire services?
The expansion of police in the last few years was in sync with the growth of the city. To take them away would be really bad for the city. Our crime rate has come down and that's a solid outcome. We can find maybe a bit of efficiency. I know the city loses almost $4-million a year because of faulty alarms systems so we could change building standards so we don't waste money responding to false alarms.
Should there be more emphasis on easing gridlock or on improving public transit?
Definitely public transit. I want to live in a city where I don't have to drive at all. Public transit works pretty well for me but if you go near the University of Toronto Scarborough campus the service is terrible. There is a bus that goes from Kennedy, but the service is very unreliable. You also hear they don't have any buses on Saturday and Sunday morning before 9 a.m. and they have to get there to study or sometimes to write exams. That is a real problem for them.
What do you think of Mayor Ford's new plan for the waterfront?
At the end of the day, only a handful of people will go there. Probably only tourists will respond and I don't think just a big Ferris wheel and a big mall will increase that number. From my neighbourhood, I don't think many people would go there. If you don't have money in your pocket, if you're hungry, I don't think those entertainments will make you happy.
What role should city hall play in supporting the intellectual life of the city?
That's what makes Toronto the kind of city we have now. It's an amazing city. The reason I made Toronto my home is because it has so many different tastes and flavours. It's a city where people care about each other. How can I tell my child you don't have any libraries to go to and you don't have any festivals to go to? I want the mayor to make me proud of him. I want him to tell me, this is where the problems are, this is where we can save money. Now he's just throwing things out as he goes along, just trust me on this one. That's not good enough for me.
Aaron Harnett, 47. Married with no children.
Occupation: Criminal defence lawyer, semi-professional jazz pianist.
Neighbourhood: Danforth and Coxwell, Toronto: "A neighbourhood in transition, where you can get a lot of house for your money but there is no Second Cup within reasonable walking distance."
Transportation: TTC when possible. He and his wife own three cars.
His ideal city: A place where infrastructure works and "where you get the widest possible expression of human culture."
Most important issues: Budget shortfall, leadership at city hall.
Which city services are most important to you and which ones do you think could be cut?
I need the roads and the utilities to work reliably. I need the city to respond quickly to damage and problems with that infrastructure. I'm prepared to do away with funding for the arts, to reduce public funding for a lot of the "extras." I'd look to community to make up the difference. Near my home are areas where the easement along the side of the road has been beautified by local residents. That spirit of personal engagement with the city is there. It needs to be tapped.
What do you think of the idea of cutting police and fire services?
I have seen crime rates drop in this city over the last five years or more, so we can cut police budgets, especially in light of decreasing crime rates. The city will still be safe. Fire response times have to be within acceptable range but I'm prepared to let experts decide what is safe.
Should there be more emphasis on easing gridlock or on improving public transit?
Public transit, absolutely.
You've got to create public-transit corridors, especially servicing areas of the highest population density with working-class people who are trying to survive. That should be a priority. Getting them to work.
What do you think of Mayor Ford's new plan for the waterfront?
Opening it up for parkland and other recreational activities would be great. It can be integrated with housing and commercial uses but it has to be done carefully, methodically. We can't just throw it open to corporate interests and expect them to save us.
What role should city hall play in supporting the intellectual life of the city?
I am convinced the citizens will support artistic activity out of their own pockets and their own time, energy and interest and will continue to enjoy the arts they always have. Libraries are slightly different because of the role they play in giving access to computers and other resources. The library around the corner from my home is full every day. Our community would really be hurt if it was closed. But if it had to be cut to support some more important infrastructure issues, I'm prepared to do that and hope we can fund it in some other way.
John Anga, 63. Engaged. Father of four adult children. Two teenage step-children at home.
Occupation: Owns Anga's Farm and Nursery, the only working farm in Toronto.
Neighbourhood: Islington Avenue and Albion Road, Etobicoke: "A rapidly changing, very multicultural neighbourhood. A lot of detached homes with driveways. It's suburbia."
Transportation: A Ford minivan. Occasional TTC user.
His ideal city: "A city without crime, that is nice to look at, a lot of green space."
Most important issues: City finances.
Which city services are most important to you and which ones do you think should be cut?
The most important services are the obvious ones: fire and police. We should be careful with social services. There's a lot of needy people but there's a lot of scam artists. You need to weed them out. I have some seniors nearby, I help them remove their snow. Rather than pay millions of dollars on snow removal for seniors, maybe they should hire a couple of physically well seniors that can do their next-door neighbours' and get a little discount off their taxes.
What do you think of the idea of cutting police and fire services?
I don't think they should cut police. That's the city army. But to reduce the salary or lose some of the perks, not a problem. The same thing with firefighters. Maybe we could lay off 5 per cent and put them on standby, when you know you need them they've got to be there in two hours and you give them $30,000 a year. You might call them once or you might never call them.
Should there be more emphasis on easing gridlock or on improving public transit?
There's got to be an equilibrium. You want to go downtown, you have your car, you've paid your dues. TTC should also be available for people that can't afford that, that want to save for a house or whatever. A lot of streets you just can't widen but all these hydro corridors go through the city. You could have express lanes there.
What do you think of Mayor Ford's new plan for the waterfront?
It could be like a wonderland down there, or it could be a big flop. It's a vision. We have a beautiful waterfront but it could be vastly improved. You might not get a lot of people from Etobicoke going down there but it could be a draw for a lot of tourists.
What role should city hall play in supporting the intellectual life of the city?
The libraries obviously can't be privatized. It's education. But the library near me has 25 visitors a day. If another one has 250 we better close this one down and fill up the other one. The same thing with ice rinks. Out here, we're surrounded by ice rinks. All of them are running at night time. The lights are blaring and there's nobody on the rink. The one down the street has 50 kids on it. So shut [the empty one] down. Or privatize it. Charge everybody a buck or two to get in, and if you can't afford it because you're on welfare, you have a special pass and the city subsidizes the owner of the rink.
These interviews have been condensed and edited.