Ward O-day'min: Ten candidates battle for the centre of the city

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It will be a battle for the centre of the city with 10 people vying for one council seat in Ward O-day’min.

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The word O-day’min – pronounced OH-DAY-MIN – comes from the Anishinaabe language, meaning strawberry, or heart-berry. It refers to the “heart through which the North Saskatchewan river runs.” The ward includes the downtown core and surrounding areas, and its northern boundary stops at the edge of the developing neighbourhood of Blatchford.

It’s home to some of the city’s busiest business thoroughfares, and some of its most visible social and economic challenges.

While O-day’min is above the city average on university education, walking commuters and young adults, the area has a much lower level of homeownership than others in the city, with less than a quarter of residents owning homes. 

The ward’s ten candidates spoke with Postmedia about what issues O-day’min voters are voicing to them, and some of the ways they would tackle those issues if elected to office.

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Who is running?

Gino Akbari

Akbari, who has worked in business and as a consultant for the Department of National Defence, said he’s running because his experience living with poverty has made him value building consensus.

Akbari said the biggest issue in the ward is a combination of homelessness, the opioid crisis, and the challenges being faced by businesses in the downtown area because of the COVID-19 pandemic. “I would be looking to hold big spending, and focus on more of getting what we have back on our feet,” he said, adding policing needs to be driven by compassion.

His platform focuses on revitalizing downtown, supporting the arts, safety and affordable housing. 

More information about Akbari’s campaign can be found on his website,Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

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Adrian Bruff

Bruff has spent the past ten years of his career in social work, working with marginalized and vulnerable individuals. He said residents in the ward are most concerned about homelessness, and if elected he would work to convert existing facilities and buildings into wellness centres with wraparound social services.

“I’m equipped to tackle this issue,” he said. Bruff’s key platform planks include offering direct business grants to help recover from COVID-19, addressing safety through social service initiatives, and working to address vacant and abandoned properties. He noted his voice will be essential for city council.

“In our city’s history we’ve never had someone that looks like me before – a Black person on council, which is going to be important,” he said.

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The campaign trail has been marred for Bruff, who said he’s been targeted with racist abuse and hateful messages. He said Edmontonians should focus on his policy ideas. In a show of support, four competitors, Akbari, Joshua Wolchansky, Anne Stevenson and Gabrielle Battiste have condemned the abuse.

More information about his campaign can be found on his website, Facebook, and Twitter.

Gabrielle Battiste

Battiste is a lawyer, entrepreneur, small business owner and former executive director of the Edmonton Police Commission. She said she decided to run because the council needs more women, and she’s seen the impact of the city’s decisions, which she doesn’t believe are fiscally responsible.

She said safety is the number one issue in the ward, and as a councillor she would work to make sure vulnerable people are safe, and that the ward’s business zones are attractive and economically viable as the city continues to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

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“Somebody needs to take a firm grip, and make sure that we can come out of this safe and viable,” she said, adding the city needs to better manage things like construction, and be more transparent about its project goals.

More information about her campaign can be found on her website,Facebook, and Twitter.

Tony Caterina

Businessman Caterina has served as a councillor since 2007. Caterina said he decided to run again in this election because his experience on council will be important – especially with a new mayor and newcomers to council.

“There has to be some sort of continuity, and certainly experience and maneuvering through city administration’s budgets – knowing where things fit and don’t fit,” he said.

Caterina said the city’s reputation depends on the downtown core, and that needs help to get back to normalcy. He said his focus, if elected, will be helping businesses recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

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“All roads should lead to economic recovery,” he said, noting that safety and security is a huge challenge that will need to be addressed.

More information about his campaign can be found on his website, and Twitter.

Naima Haile

Haile, came to Canada as a refugee from Somalia in 1990 and has worked to help newcomers. Haile said she is running to be an advocate for marginalized communities, and addressing food security, homelessness and poverty are her priorities.

“I get so frustrated by the city. The city comes to our community and asks what we need and they never do that. Consultations after consultations and consultations – I’m tired of that. We need concrete things to eliminate poverty,” Haile said.

She said if she had to highlight one issue, it’s restarting the economy and small businesses run by women and newcomers. Haile also said she’s hearing safety is a top issue for residents, adding council needs representation from women of colour who understand the lived experience of vulnerable communities.

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“If there’s no voice at the table to address these issues, it will never come to the table,” said Haile. You can learn more on her website.

Mohammad Migdaddy

Local pharmacist Migdaddy, who came to Edmonton in 2006 after moving to Toronto from Amman, Jordan, said he opted to run because of his experience living in cities around the world as well as living in downtown Edmonton and running businesses in the area.

“I can represent it better and ask for more services – I know what services are lacking in this area and what needs to be improved,” he said, adding the number one issue in the ward is the impact of the pandemic on businesses.

“We want people to go back to normal,” he said. If elected, he said he would prioritize supporting small businesses with grants and cooperating with other levels of government to help those businesses recover.

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Adil Pirbhai

Accountant Pirbhai, who was born in Nairobi, Kenya has been running in municipal elections since 1986, when he first ran for public school board. His first run for council was in 1995, and in 2019 he ran as an independent candidate in the federal election.

He said he decided to run again for council because he loves politics.

“We have too many issues – homelessness, affordable housing, policing,” he said, adding if elected, he would like to re-visit fees and tax rates.

“We cannot keep asking homeowners and others to pay more taxes,” he said. You can find more information about his campaign on his website.

Anne Stevenson

Urban planner Anne Stevenson, who spent seven years working for the city and now works with the Right at Home Housing Society, said she wants to bring that practical knowledge and experience to council.

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She said the number one issue in the ward is housing and homelessness, with many people saying they aren’t feeling safe downtown or in their own neighbourhoods.

“We need multiple approaches to dealing with safety in our community,” she said, adding Edmonton needs police to address criminal enterprises, but it also needs a different response to those struggling with mental health or addictions issues.

If elected, she said she would continue to advocate for funding from other governments, and support city housing initiatives, including the conversion of empty hotel spaces into bridge housing.

Stevenson has been endorsed by Mayor Don Iveson, who is not running for re-election. You can find more information on Stevenson’s campaign on her website,Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

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Ibrahim Wado

Originally from Ethiopia, business-owner Wado came to Edmonton in 2008. He said he decided to run in the election because council needs representation from the city’s Oromo community from Ethiopia. Wado said the community’s businesses are challenged by property taxes, so if elected he would aim to lower taxes attract investors while working to make the ward clean and attractive.

He added he would work to end homelessness by working to get more job training and social support for those experiencing homelessness.

“If we don’t fight to represent these people it’s going to get worse,” he said, adding that his business has been broken into four times in one year, and he believes police need to take the issue of crime more seriously.

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You can find more information on his Facebook page.

Joshua Wolchansky

Wolchansky, who has worked for the province in economic development, international relations, and environmental protection, said he decided to run because the ward deserves stronger support from its councillor.

Wolchansky’s platform is focused on addressing social and housing crisis, reigniting the downtown core, addressing climate change, and bringing investment back into the ward. He said city council has had a tendency of pursuing vanity projects rather than supporting those who are already doing important work in the community.

He said he’s hearing fatigue and frustration from residents and businesses in the ward that don’t feel supported.

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“We need to have a very loud voice that’s going to support the different sectors inside O-day’min, because we’re pretty much a mini-municipality,” he said.

More information about Wolchansky’s campaign is on his website,Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Current councillor: Ward 6 councillor Scott McKeen is not running for re-election, but Ward 7 councillor Tony Caterina is running in O-day’min.

Population of the ward: 70,102

Eligible voters: 47,540

New neighbourhoods: Blatchford, Prince Rupert, Spruce Avenue, and Westwood

Neighbourhoods lost in re-districting: McQueen, North Glenora, Glenora and Grovenor.