The race to replace Kyle Rae in Ward 27 is getting packed and interesting, with the potential that an out trans person could make it to city council for the first time ever in Canada.

Enza Anderson, whose campaign is getting significant media attention, and Susan Gapka, a well-known activist within the queer community, are registered candidates within the ward. They are also two out trans women.

Also in the race is fresh-faced former Green party candidate Chris Tindal. Ever respectful, Tindal understands the significance of a win for Anderson or Gapka.

“I’m excited there are two trans women running,” Tindal said. “I think it’s encouraging. It shows how far we’ve come. But it also highlights, as Susan who has been such a strong advocate about trans rights will tell you, we still have a very long way to go.”

In a ward increasingly crowded with city council hopefuls, Tindal says he’s excited about the year ahead.

“Let’s say there ends up being 15 candidates,” Tindal said. “There’s going to be a few of us who establish ourselves as being full time (and) serious.”

So far, there are six candidates who are serious enough to register this early on for the fall election. The other registered candidates are Rob Salerno, Paul Spence and Simon Wookey.

Ken Chan, a former aide to George Smitherman, has declared interest but is out of the country and unable to register.

Tindal active in church

Raised in the United Church, Tindal continues to be active in his religion. He’s an elected commissioner at the church’s general council, where policy decisions are made. He says he’s proud of the church’s progressive social policies, which he has supported in his role.

“I have voted and supported the recognition of equal marriage at (the United Church) before government did,” Tindal said. “I was proud to speak in favour of these motions.”

Leadership seems to run in the family. Tindal’s mother, Mardi Tindal, is the recently elected moderator of the United Church of Canada.

Both Tindals went to the United Nations climate summit in Copenhagen this December, registered with the World Council of Churches delegation. The experiences in Copenhagen, Tindal says, were lessons he hopes to apply at city council.

“Increasingly, municipal issues are about what kind of world we live in. We live in cities. They are globally connected. They are where ideas are being generated and new technologies are being researched,” Tindal said. “So there is a lot of exciting things that cities can do, and we haven’t had that kind of vision at the municipal level.”

He also talks about rejecting labels that he says pit people against one another.

“I’m a driver. I’m a cyclist. I’m a pedestrian. I’m transit user. So I want all of those things to work,” Tindal said. “Sometimes I need to drive, and when I do, I don’t want to be stuck in traffic.”

Solution to gridlock

As a solution to the city’s gridlock, Tindal mentions complete streets. They’re streets that balance the needs of different transportation methods. The idea, Tindal says, is to create more desirable alternatives to cars so that fewer people use them. It’s a debate, he says, that hasn’t yet happened in city hall.

“I’m hoping I can bring that different angle, to help everyone to start that conversation about how we can all benefit,” Tindal said.

Tindal also speaks about the importance of green buildings. He says dealing with developers is something city councillors, especially in Ward 27, deal with a lot.

“Making sure that new developments are as green as possible, and that old developments are retrofitted, would make a huge difference on alleviating the electricity drain on the city,” Tindal said.

As far as campaigning goes, Tindal has experience. He’s run federally twice. An active blogger, he’s written about his previous campaign experiences on Torontoist.com. It’s an approach that’s made him vulnerable to some criticism, but he isn’t about to change what he’s doing.

“There’s this traditional campaign philosophy that you would want to try and control the message as much as possible,” Tindal said. “I’ve decided to run my campaign in a different way. That’s not who I am.”

Tindal has the reputation of being respectful, and even amicable with the other candidates. It’s something he sees continuing in the year ahead. His personal Facebook profile picture is of himself with Gapka, who he says is a friend, and Anderson, with whom he works at commuter newspaper Metro.

“I’ve always wanted to have a respectful relations with my opponents,” Tindal said. “I hesitate to use that word, because essentially we’re all proposing what we want to do.”