With election day approaching, the race for councillor in Knoxdale-Merivale ward is intensifying, with incumbent Sean Devine defending his seat against challengers Anna Ielo-Tal and Cole Fraser Jones. “I think I’m doing well, but I have a philosophy,” Devine said during the final stretch of the campaign. “You campaign like you’re in second place, even if you think you’re in first.” The campaign has featured door-to-door canvassing, a strong social media presence and an unusual show of support for a challenger from sitting city councillors. At times, the debate between candidates got contentious. “I think everyone, myself included, is a bit surprised at the tone and the tenor of how the campaign has gone, and no one has been particularly happy about that,” says Devine. The incumbent, first elected in 2022, said he plans to keep campaigning until the final hour. “The response we’re getting at the doors is fantastic. I am still putting out large number of signs every day. This has been a long campaign, a grueling campaign, but all of the work we put into it and all of what we did over the last four years, I think it’s paying off,” says Devine. Ielo-Tal, a federal public servant who has lived in Knoxdale-Merivale for more than 20 years, is positioning herself as the alternative to Devine. “I want to be a neighbourhood councillor, a councillor that residents feel comfortable calling, emailing, messaging me, and I’ll be there to listen to their concerns and bring it forward to City Hall,” she said. Ielo-Tal says this campaign hasn’t been easy. “There’s a lot of hate on Facebook, unfortunately, and that’s hard to hear, but I try not to focus too much attention. I’m a positive person, you know? I look for the positive at every conversation, every person I meet. And I’ve been taking what people tell me and the residents what they want.” Her campaign has drawn public support from several sitting councillors — an unusual development in a race where an incumbent is seeking re-election. Devine said the endorsements caught him by surprise. “To have three councillors actively involved in not just supporting one of my opponents, but speaking against their colleague, against the incumbent — that was not expected,” he said. Ielo-Tal said she appreciated the backing. “I’ve been very fortunate. I’ve had a few councillors, previous and current councillors, that have come with me, and I really appreciate the support,” she said. The endorsements have added another dimension to a campaign that has also seen accusations spill onto social media. Former Knoxdale-Merivale councillor Keith Egli, who has been following the race, said it is uncommon for sitting councillors to publicly support a challenger to one of their colleagues, although it is permitted. “It’s an interesting dynamic,” Egli says. “You’ve got the incumbent, you’ve got two serious challengers, lots of signs, lots of door knocking, lots of video online,” he said. “There’s a lot more happening in social media than there was even four years ago.” But as candidates make their final pitches to voters, residents say their priorities remain close to home: aging infrastructure, basement flooding, traffic congestion and taxes. The condition of the ward’s infrastructure has emerged as a central issue. Fraser Jones, the third candidate in the race, says residents need answers about whether existing roads and drainage systems can handle the pressures facing their neighbourhoods. “Most people’s concerns are obviously infrastructure at this point. A huge number of us I live in the world myself, so a huge number of us had basements flood out. And the root of it seems to be the densification that’s being pushed by current council and, unfortunately, the province,” Fraser Jones says. “Most people’s main concern is the infrastructure here hasn’t been updated since the 1960s.” The candidate, who has a background in the military, trades and the federal public service, has focused on infrastructure and fiscal restraint. “My last half of my career was working on procurement projects for, for various units. And then I moved out of the military into the federal government, where I managed major infrastructure projects.” Fraser Jones says the political tension between the other two candidates was entertaining in the beginning but “at this point, it’s become frustrating.” “We seem to be caught between an ideological battle,” he says, “So we’re truly coming up the middle here with a substantive solution to identify problems.”
