Mississauga mayoral candidates clash on tax freeze, housing and crime

MISSISSAUGA — Four front-running candidates are offering contrasting visions to lead Mississauga, with property taxes, housing affordability, crime and transportation emerging as key issues ahead of the Oct. 26 mayoral election.

The candidates are current Mayor Carolyn Parrish, former mayor and Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie, and councillors Alvin Tedjo and Dipika Damerla.

A Mainstreet Research poll commissioned by Y Media and conducted at the end of September showed Crombie was the top choice of voters, but other candidates are only slightly behind her.

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A poll conducted by Liaison Strategies at around the same time also found Bonnie Crombie is leading Carolyn Parrish by a narrow margin with Alvin Tedjo not far behind.

During recent debates, Tedjo promised to freeze the City portion of property taxes for two years.

“I’m committed to freezing property taxes for every single family in this city for the next two years to make sure that people have the ability to live in their homes with dignity and not have to make the choice between groceries or taxes,” he said during a Food Banks debate.

He also promised to allow eligible senior homeowners to defer property tax payments altogether until they sell their homes, when the amount owing would be recouped.

Damerla questioned the plan during a debate, asking how the program would work, who would qualify, how it would be managed and how City Hall would pay for millions of dollars of services and infrastructure without the lost tax revenue.

“The problem, Alvin, is that your plan still has no details,” Damerla said, pointing out other homeowners would end up subsidizing his election gimmick. The comment received thunderous applause from senior residents in attendance at the debate.

Tedjo’s campaign website states eligibility for a tax freeze would be tied to residents who are 65 or older, own only one property and have lived in the residence for at least 20 years.

All four candidates have prioritized affordability, crime and transportation in their campaigns, with Damerla also making accountability inside City Hall a main focus.

Damerla has pushed for an independent Mississauga auditor general role, but Parrish and Tedjo shot down her motion earlier in the year.

Tedjo has almost four years of experience representing constituents as an elected official at the council level.

Damerla has been on council for almost eight years and served as an MPP representing Mississauga for seven years prior to that.

Both Parrish and Crombie were Mississauga MPs; they both served as the Ward 5 councillor and both have been mayor.

Your Space Hamilton reported in October that candidates in other municipal races, such as in Scarborough Southwest, have also debated transit, housing and safety at community meetings.

Mississauga’s next mayor will inherit a city where the cost of living is climbing, housing remains out of reach for the vast majority and growing congestion is testing the limits of local infrastructure.

Unique, complex dynamics have also forced crime to the top of the City Hall agenda.

The candidates are proposing different solutions to confront the most pressing problems, from how they would control crippling property taxes and create badly needed affordable housing to how certain types of crime should be confronted.

With files from The Pointer