PERSPECTIVES: Stevenson for Mayor? Thanks, Josh Morgan

In this increasingly polarized political climate that we find ourselves in today, Londoners don’t seem to agree on much. But if there’s one sentiment that’s almost unanimous across all 14 wards, it’s that our city is headed in the wrong direction.

The genuine anger and frustration at the state of our city is palpable, much of it justifiable and righteous within itself. But it is commonly misdirected towards our unhoused neighbours, immigrants, or the “other” – whoever that may be at any given moment. No one has better capitalized upon this smouldering rage than current Ward 4 councillor – now mayoral candidate – Susan Stevenson. 

The London Free Press has described her merely as “controversial”, but the broader local media complex is regrettably doing a serious disservice to the public by choosing to mince words.

Make no mistake: Susan Stevenson is a direct byproduct of the modern wave of fascism sweeping across not just London, but all of North America and the West. 

And, let’s be clear, she’s not the populist hero of the taxpayer that she pretends to be either. 

Wrapped in her thin, now signature, veneer of concern, Stevenson has systematically attacked lifesaving social services at a time when more and more Londoners are falling behind. The Association of Municipalities of Ontario reported that over 80,000 Ontarians were homeless in 2024 and projected that homelessness could double in the next decade without meaningful intervention, affecting nearly 300,000 people. 

Right now, London has the highest downtown office vacancy rate in the country, with nearly 1.3 million square feet of downtown office space sitting empty. Yet, Stevenson chose to display a birthday celebration photo with Smuel Farhi. Her apparently good friend Farhi is well known to Londoners as the owner of 60 per cent of this property.

As the provincial government initiated an all-out assault on tenants’ rights with Bill 60, Stevenson aligned herself with Kayla Andrade, CEO of Ontario Landlords Watch, who fashions herself a landlord rights activist (as if we don’t have enough of those in government). Andrade went so far as to wear a shirt commemorating “eviction day”, or, you know, the thing that causes roughly one third of the very homelessness in Canada that Stevenson claims to want a solution to.

Stevenson’s “for the people” facade is nothing but just that. 

Stevenson is about as establishment as it gets. That is, with the exception of Josh Morgan and his ilk, whom we cannot allow to escape responsibility for her rise. After all, it was their feckless, uninspired, feet-dragging and full-throated defense of the status quo that gave way for such a heinous political opportunist like Councilor Stevenson to gain traction. This occurred all while working-class Londoners practically begged our leaders for change and to improve our material conditions. Instead, we were confronted with the utter moral failure of our government’s response, or more appropriately, lack thereof, to the humanitarian crisis that we see on our streets daily.

The vast majority of Stevenson’s supporters, even amongst the most ardent, aren’t all the hateful people that they’re misrepresented to be. I’ve had the opportunity to speak with many of them and, aside from a small crowd of bad actors with obvious ulterior motives, this group largely consists of people with genuine and valid concerns. People who, like most, are struggling and feel underrepresented at City Hall. People who recognize something that Josh Morgan and the rest of his alleged “left” are not doing enough to acknowledge. 

What we are seeing on our streets today is not compassion. It’s the result of neglect. It’s the result of putting profit above people. It’s the result of the continuous refusal to meaningfully address the problem at hand, even if that means spending a few more taxpayer dollars today to get people housed permanently and to give them the support they need now to save more – both money and, most importantly, lives, further down the line. The number one solution to homelessness is prevention and keeping people housed; policies like a more expansive rent bank for people at risk of being evicted would cost more short term but save a lot long term. 

Morgan’s spineless lack of action on this issue essentially ensured that a “Stevenson for Mayor” campaign was inevitable. It directly allowed for her and her bad actors, such as the Knuckledraggers, to effectively co-opt our language around a compassionate response and appeal to disenfranchised voters who believe, just as we all do, that our municipal government needs to be doing more to help our unhoused neighbours and impacted businesses alike. For example, under Morgan, the city opens an additional 50 warming spaces only once extreme temperatures of -15 degrees or a windchill of -20 degrees are reached, despite calls by councillors earlier this year to raise the temperature threshold to -5 degrees based on the health unit’s Cold Weather Response and Health Impacts report. I believe this allowed for Stevenson to capitalize on the reasonable ensuing outrage despite never actually attempting to change that herself. 

Going into this municipal election, we need to double down on compassionate solutions and push back hard on those who misrepresent what that truly means. Stevenson’s purported answer to this crisis is somehow even more cruel and sadistic than Josh Morgan’s lack of one. Instead of simply acting as though this is business as usual à la Morgan, Stevenson proposes that we punish those who are unhoused – largely due to the decisions of our governments that favour the wealthy above all else – and the wonderful local organizations that do the essential work to support them in ways that our government refuses to. 

Furthermore, we need to reject the wishy-washy centrist fence-sitting and inaction that has gotten us here in the first place and openly, unabashedly embrace bold, innovative, progressive policy that will finally provide a real, compassionate answer to this crisis that actually addresses the needs of working-class Londoners and provides housing and support for all.