Candidates go down to the wire in Willowdale; Lily Cheng is victorious (2024)

Lily Cheng and Markus O’Brien Fehr were the frontrunners in Willowdale from the beginning and they were neck and neck at the finish line Monday night.

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Cheng was the winner in what turned out to be a bit of a cliff hanger.

Ward 18 was a hotly contested riding after incumbent John Filion announced in June he would retire from politics after 40 years.

Ironically, both Fehr and Cheng have had Filion’s support in the past. When he first intended to retire in 2018 and Toronto still had 47 wards, Filion had supported their previous bids for council seats — Fehr in Ward 28, and Cheng in Ward 29.

Fehr is Filion’s former chief of staff. He campaigned on his own history in politics as a seasoned vet of the system and came equipped with an endorsem*nt from Mayor John Tory.

Cheng campaigned on her community work — which is legion — and her organizing skills.

She put together a food bank (415 Food Hub) for Willowdale last year, served seniors and the vulnerable during COVID and was co-founder of We Love Willowdale, a community response to the 2018 Yonge St. van attack that claimed 10 lives.

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She first became known as a force in the community as the organizer of North York Moms, a Facebook group with more than 11,000 members.

She is also executive director at NeighbourLink North York, a community organization that provides support and resources to Willowdale’s underserviced areas.

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Much of the battle in Willowdale played out over housing issues, and specifically over the supportive housing project involving 59 studio apartments set to be built at 175 cumme*r Ave.

Cheng supports such housing but opposed this particular development, noting it is too close to Willowdale Manor, a senior facility under the aegis of Toronto Community Housing.

Fehr supported the housing; both candidates felt there should have been more consultation with constituents over 175 cumme*r.

Otherwise, constituents were concerned with traffic safety, housing in general and the cost of living in the riding.

Cheng said during the campaign: “I have a proven track record of bringing people together to solve problems as a community; it is my greatest strength, passion, and purpose in life.

“As I have knocked on doors throughout Willowdale, I have heard you.”

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