Candidate for Councillor in Ward 19 Beaches-East York, a former City of Toronto waterfront parks manager.
James Dann is on the City of Toronto’s list of certified candidates for Councillor in Ward 19 Beaches-East York, with a nomination filed on May 1, 2026. A CBC story from July 22, 2016 names him as the City’s waterfront parks manager, and The Local says he held that post from 1999 until 2024.
Researched by voche.me · Not a campaign-authored page
James Dann appears on the City of Toronto’s list of certified candidates for Councillor in Ward 19 Beaches-East York. A certified candidate is one whose nomination the City Clerk has accepted. The list shows the nomination date as May 1, 2026 and the campaign website jamesdann.ca.
A CBC News story posted on July 22, 2016 identifies James Dann as the City of Toronto’s waterfront parks manager and quotes him on Toronto Island ferry lineups. The Local’s candidate tracker says he held that post from 1999 until 2024. The City’s own staff records were not opened, so voche.me gives no start or end date from the City.
His campaign website and his written answers in Beach Metro, which are the campaign’s own statements, say he worked for the City for more than two decades, managing the waterfront parks, ferries, Islands and beaches with a team of 200 and a $29 million budget. They list projects he says he led or helped deliver, among them the Leuty Lifeguard Station, the Woodbine Bathing Station, the Kew Gardens Bandshell, the boardwalk, the Martin Goodman Trail, the first new Toronto Island ferries in 60 years, and the response to the 2017 and 2019 lake floods, which he says cut flood risk on the Islands by 75 percent. voche.me did not check these projects, budgets or results against City records.
His platform page sets out four pillars: transportation, smart growth, a livable ward and climate. It proposes transferring 501 streetcar riders to an electric bus at Queen and Kingston, and says he supports repeal of Bill 212 (the provincial law on removing bike lanes) and no jets at the island airport. It also says he supports a pause on AI data centres until there are clear rules, and an official Bangla Town designation in the ward. On encampments his page says he supports bylaw and police enforcement paired with a real housing offer.
When Nate Erskine-Smith registered, Beach Metro quoted Dann saying a councillor’s seat should not be a stepping stone to other positions. TTCriders’ Ward 19 page records a Yes from him on all 18 of its transit questions, and Build Canada lists him among the 5 candidates who answered its questionnaire. The City Clerk’s 2022 declaration of results for Ward 19 has no entry under his name. No elected office is on record in his profile.
Summarized from the campaign’s published profile. These are stated positions, not an assessment of results or a complete platform.
His platform page says he will transfer 501 streetcar riders to an electric bus at Queen and Kingston, back transit safety, keep most existing bike lanes while consolidating the Eastern Avenue lanes onto what he calls safer routes, support repeal of Bill 212 and oppose jets at the island airport.
James Dann · The PlatformHis platform page says he welcomes growth but wants schools, water and sewer work and community-centre upgrades alongside it, including near Main and Danforth. It lists support for affordable, community and public housing, laneway and garden suites, tenants’ bargaining rights and a tax on vacant retail units.
James Dann · The PlatformHis platform page says he will keep major park washrooms open year-round, clear snow and ice in parks such as Taylor Creek Park, back art and music in parks, support an official Bangla Town designation and pair encampment enforcement with a housing offer.
James Dann · The PlatformHis platform page says he will protect public green space from development, push for energy-efficient new homes, plant more trees, expand cooling options on hot days and keep working for the Beaches Blue Flag status.
James Dann · The PlatformEvidence reviewed on October 4, 2026: the City of Toronto’s list of certified candidates and Members of Council page, the City Clerk’s 2022 declaration of results, the home page and platform page of his campaign website, a CBC News story of July 22, 2016, Beach Metro’s Q&A with him and its August 19 report on the Erskine-Smith registration, The Local’s Ward 19 tracker, Build Canada’s Ward 19 page, TTCriders’ Ward 19 page, The Green Line’s Ward 19 profile and its list of ward debates, and two further Beach Metro pieces on the race. Every statement taken from his campaign website or from his own answers is written as his own account.
Ward context. The City’s Members of Council page lists Brad Bradford as the Ward 19 Beaches-East York councillor. The City’s list of certified candidates shows him as a candidate for Mayor, and The Local, The Green Line and Beach Metro each report that he is running for mayor and not for the ward seat, so none of the 13 Ward 19 candidates is a sitting councillor. The 13 on the City’s list are Syeda Jaana Ali, James Dann, Nate Erskine-Smith, Fatima Ibrahimi, Natalie Johnson, Kevin Morrison, Karsten Riedel, Mohammad Shabani, Adam Smith, Austin Vieira, Jeff Wahl, Devin Wilkins and Jennie Worden. The City Clerk’s 2022 declaration of results for Ward 19 Beaches-East York lists 7 candidates: Brad Bradford (15,169 votes, elected), Jennie Worden (6,291), Adam Smith (1,902), Steven Thompson (1,735), Frank Marra (1,460), Donna Braniff (702) and Sébastien Auger (469). Of the 13 candidates, the Clerk’s 2022 Ward 19 table names two, Worden and Smith, and The Local says each of them ran there in 2022, in second and third place. No other 2026 Ward 19 candidate appears in that table. Build Canada’s Ward 19 page lists James Dann, Mohammad Shabani, Adam Smith, Austin Vieira and Jennie Worden as the 5 candidates who answered its questionnaire. TTCriders’ page shows answers to its 18 questions from 7 candidates (Ali, Dann, Erskine-Smith, Shabani, Smith, Wahl and Worden) and no response from the other 6. Beach Metro printed written answers from 11 of the 13 candidates on September 22, 2026. A candidate forum for Ward 19 was listed for September 28, 2026 at 5 Massey Square, organised by The Neighbourhood Organization, Don Valley Community Legal Services and the Taylor-Massey Oakridge Community Response Team, and Beach Metro lists a meet-and-greet at Beach United Church on October 5, 2026 that 12 candidates (all but Fatima Ibrahimi) confirmed they will attend. A listing records an invitation, and voche.me found no report of who took part in the forum.
Gaps. His City employment dates, budgets, team size, project list and flood-risk figure come from his campaign, from his own Beach Metro answers and from The Local, and voche.me did not check them against City records. The CBC story confirms the job title in 2016 only. His Instagram profile opened and returned thumbnails with a few campaign headings and no post text, so nothing from it is used. His website lists endorsements, which were not checked with the people named. Build Canada’s questionnaire answers from him were not read in full. The questionnaire has not been sent.
A CBC News story posted on July 22, 2016 names him as the City’s waterfront parks manager. The Local gives 1999 to 2024 for the post, and his campaign says he led waterfront parks, ferries and beaches work. voche.me did not check the dates or the projects against City records.
CBC News · Top tips to beat Toronto Island ferry lineups this weekendProposed questions for a future interview. They have not been sent to the candidate, and no answers have been supplied.
No questions and answers have been supplied.
Ask James Dann directly. We send it to the campaign, and publish the reply here if we get one.
Facts voche.me can state about James Dann's page itself, answered directly rather than left blank.
No. This page is researched by voche.me from public sources, listed below, and is separate from James Dann's own campaign.
Not according to this profile. voche.me has not listed a current public office for James Dann.
This profile lists 16 sourced references, each with the date voche.me checked it, in the Sources section below.
The "Questions & answers" section on this page lists questions voche.me would put to James Dann in a future interview. They have not been sent yet, so the page says plainly that no answer has been supplied instead of leaving the section blank.
The 2026 Toronto municipal election, including the Councillor race, is decided on October 26, 2026.
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