Lukas Fuina did not want to see the ward he calls home go without an election race.
The candidate for Newmarket’s Ward 6 said he had planned to target 2026 to run for municipal office. But with the prospect of incumbent Kelly Broome getting acclaimed for a second straight time, and get a third term overall, he decided to throw his hat into the ring early.
“I just believe it’s unacceptable,” he said. “It breeds complacency, it breeds inaction. It just doesn’t create a positive political environment.”
While this is the 27-year-old's first run for office, he said he has plenty of experience in the political sphere. A political science major from Concordia University, he said he assisted in the office of a longtime councillor in Montreal, as well as helped with the campaign of an incumbent Liberal MP.
Although younger than most municipal councillors, Fuina said he feels confident heading into the campaign.
“A lot of people my age, they may have different preoccupations than running for office,” he said, adding he has more than five years of experience in the political realm. “I don’t see (my age) as detrimental, I see it as an advantage … Who’s on council that’s reflecting my generation?”
Fuina, who grew up in Newmarket, said he has been going door-to-door and listening to residents in the neighbourhood.
He said residents are concerned about the private tree-cutting bylaw, passed by the Newmarket council this year. It mandated permission to cut down trees on private property in many instances, and fines for those who do not follow procedure. It was done in a bid to protect more trees in town, but Fuina said property owners should have more control.
“It’s just unacceptable because the person owns that home,” he said, adding it is a policy he would like to change. “That’s not a policy that treats people as adults.”
Traffic is another concern he said he would like to address, including speeding on side streets by drivers trying to avoid Yonge Street. He said he also wants to protect the environment and expand protected green spaces.
But Fuina has no intention of being a councillor for too long. He said he would want to only serve two terms before passing on the torch. He has aspirations to be a mortgage broker and find creative solutions to help people of his generation afford homes.
“I’m not someone that wants to be there for very long, but I’m someone that going to be there and make a difference.
“I’ll bring in that young, fresh perceptive. Someone who’s going to bring a different voice to council,” he added. “I just feel I’ve got a certain energy and passion that’s going to be greater than what the current incumbent has.”
