Written by Vanessa Raponi in answer to our questionnaire, and published as given. Not our description of them.
Vanessa Raponi is a professional engineer & business leader with a decade of experience in global manufacturing operations. Vanessa is the Founder of the award-winning non-profit EngiQueers Canada, has fought to address food insecurity via frontline food bank work, and is creating a documentary highlighting her father’s 10-year journey experiencing homelessness in Toronto. With a proven track record of complex problem solving, empathetic leadership and implementing results via sound change management principles, she is channeling her energy into improving her home of Toronto by running for City Councillor in Ward 4 Parkdale–High Park, a community that she lives in and loves.
The priorities of her campaign are building a more affordable, community-oriented and safer Toronto. Through intergovernmental collaboration (between the City Councillor, the MPP and the MP), Vanessa will foster an environment of prioritizing delivering real results to our constituents. As a lifelong transit user and renter, Vanessa will be focused on tenant protections and building more affordable homes.
Our questionnaire
Vanessa Raponi’s own answers to the questions we put to every candidate, published as given — including, where they wrote one, their reasoning in their own words.
Toronto needs more housing. Thousands of folks are on waitlists. We must prioritize community consultation of new developments to integrate neighbourhood character and hyperlocal feedback (garbage collection, impact to local transit routes, etc.). All wards need to build more of the right housing.
If a perfect solution for permanent housing is presented to someone, yes, they should no longer need to be in an encampment in a public space. However, if it's temporary housing without adequate accommodations to unique personal needs, it could be a more nuanced scenario.
Tools that bring more revenue to our municipal budget, as well decrease congestion and encourage other modes of low-carbon emission options (such as transit / cycling) have major benefits to improving the Toronto we want to build. Provincial advocacy will be required, as well as low income options.
We must get creative with our dollars as-is instead of deferring maintenance arbitrarily. We need more local revenue tools, and we need to ensure the provincial & federal gov't support with more consistent income tools (i.e. a fixed % or $ amount of various taxes such as sales taxes within Toronto).
As an engineer in global manufacturing for the last decade, I can attest to the complexity of multi-million $ multi-year projects. The nuance, technical context, and evolving information would not benefit the public. Consistent communication, and freedom of information requests should be leveraged.
Need to address mental health and addiction crises with tailored experts. Need compassion and empathy before escalation. Enforcement without compassionate follow-up and wraparound services is not a sustainable strategy.
Adjusting budgets for inflation across the board is imperitative to maintaining existing services. TPS must prevent and solve violent crimes like chrild s*xual abuse/trafficking, drugs, car jacking, cyber security & identity theft, gun violence, etc. We must increase funds to TCCS (211).
We must balance individual data privacy through surveillance with leveraging technology to prevent and stop crime. Strict regulation created by experts must be implemented and closely followed for any new surveillance related technology implemented.
This is a difficult question as all 3 are essentially equally as important. We need more people using transit, that is reliable, in order to justify and unify our city to invest in expanding transit. The more robust, accessible and consistent our transit is, the better for the entire city.
Improving passenger capacity can reduce congestion and people depending on cars, thereby helping emergency vehicles/delivery/etc.
Permission, cost & speed need to be monitored, but we must build the right housing for Torontonians today. We must prioritize public delivery. If we do things too quickly, we risk prioritizing profit over people. And that is not where the Toronto housing market should focus.
Ideally, we can be the Direct Provider, but budgetary limitations can prevent reaching the scale we need. Partnerships can widen funding access with reliable experts (i.e. UHN Dunn House and PARC). We must ensure the delivery of high quantity and quality affordable and supportive housing.
We need more housing everywhere. Prioritizing existing infrastructure is helpful in the short term, but we need to invest in more infrastructure across the city to not make certain areas overly dense. We need to invest in better transit and community spaces to accommodate increased density.
Fewer restrictions increases opportunity for more housing developments. We need developers to contribute proportionately to the neighbourhoods they are building in, and we need to ensure there is sufficient community consultation time integrated into the process to help us build the right homes.
Large-scale projects are complex and multi-year, things change. We cannot allow for change in elected officials to override progress. This is a major risk for a waste of public tax dollars.
City services should maintain control as much as possible, but external delivery should be utilized in unique complex scenarios where economy of scale or complexity or specialization are beyond what the city can deliver.
Need alternative revenue streams than only property tax increases. But do need to prioritize more revenue income paths.
Most stable, reliable, consistent and scalable. We must keep up with inflation, population increases, and improving increased service. This question highlights examples of municipal tools we can leverage, and we also must advocate for consistent revenue from provincial + federal gov't.
Maintenance and reliability are critical. We need more local revenue tools, and we need to ensure the provincial & federal gov't support with more consistent income tools as well (i.e. can we have a fixed % or $ amount of various taxes such as sales taxes within Toronto establishments, etc.)
Need to work together collaboratively, but need more municipal final decision making power and autonomy, specifically for City of Toronto in its unique population and economic role within Ontario.
Strong mayor powers could be useful in emergency situations (like COVID) where bureaucratic timelines and processes cannot accommodate urgency. "Budget" or "Administrative" meet the spirit of my opinion. Ultimately, we need democratic approvals in vast majority of scenarios.
Growth requires more safety investment, more development, and more transit services. We need more in Parkdale High Park, broadly.
Quality affordable housing has knock-on effects that will positively impact the city. Toronto has a homelessness and affordable housing crisis. Prioritizing resources here, and monitoring my contributions in succeeding in this goal will best hold me accountable to my constituents.
Not supportive of removal. Want to see completion of what has been commit to.
Protesting is an essential pillar of democracy - it is one of the most important and accessible tools for Canadians to have their voices heard. The Canadian Charter guarantees certain rights and fundamental freedoms, including the freedoms of religion, opinion, expression, and peaceful assembly.
Need better communication and clarity that supports residents navigate the city. Toronto's Open Data infrastructure is very solid, there is a large community of people working on making data accessible, and City functions measurable already.
All 3 approaches need to be leveraged. We should monitor the efficiency of staffing/admin etc. and stay innovative, welcoming evolving technology. This is a good way to recoup costs while taking advantage the skilled tech industry. Need to be vetted and follow the City's governance frameworks.
Improve fundamentals to make Toronto a place where people can thrive and want to live. This gives them peace of mind, opportunity to pursue entrepreneurial paths. A small business owner can spend more time on improving their business if they don't have to worry about cleanliness/snow removal/etc.
Make the city better, paired with incentives within the best industries will be motivated to invest in Toronto.
Any opportunity to invest in more jobs should be leveraged where possible. Decent work is a pillar of addressing food insecurity / poverty / pathways to exiting homelessness: two birds one stone. This is also good way to support newcomers, youth who have trouble finding entry level jobs. etc.
Cleanliness, roads, sidewalks, snow clearing, washrooms and routine park care are the foundation for everything else that follows. Therefore, facilitating an increase in major improvements and improved programs and activities.
Art is critically important. Need to invest publicly and support artists. This is the soul and lifeblood of what makes Toronto Toronto, and particularly what makes Parkdale Parkdale.
Need to ensure they are safe, collisions are reported, policies are routinely scrutinized, and people's voices are listened to.
Each card is one question, with Vanessa Raponi filed under the answer they gave and their own words underneath it. The other options offered are not shown, nor how the rest of the field answered.
How the whole city answeredRegistered candidates from the City Clerk’s official list, refreshed daily. Campaign sites are linked as published by the candidate; a link is not an endorsement.