Who I am and why I’m doing this

I'm a lifelong Torontonian, entrepreneur, television personality, wedding planner, and, more recently, a community advocate.

For more than a decade, I built one of North America's best-known wedding and event planning businesses. Before that, I owned a cute flower shop on Markham Street, where I learned firsthand the joys, and challenges, of running a small business. I was fortunate to have Ed Mirvish as my landlord, and those years gave me a deep appreciation for the entrepreneurs who make our neighbourhoods vibrant.

My work opened doors I never imagined. I became one of the original featured wedding planners on the international series Rich Bride Poor Bride, broadcast in more than 90 countries, and later created and starred in HGTV Canada's Petal Pushers. Along the way, I became a trusted media commentator on weddings and events, yes, even answering questions about whether I had insider details on Taylor Swift's wedding plans.

After selling my floral business, I stepped back to focus on my growing family. Following a 16-year courtship, I married my husband, Mark Breslin, in Laguna Beach, California, and together we've built a life rooted in family and community, in Toronto. Today, we live near Spadina Road and Dupont Street, and my son attends school in the Annex.

What makes Ward 11 special is its character: the unique neighbourhoods, local businesses, and community spaces that bring people together. It is a place shaped by independent shops and family-run restaurants that give every pocket its soul.

My path into public service wasn't planned.

I have ageing parents and a husband with mobility challenges, the very groups being cut off from their lives because we are removing access for an ageing population instead of increasing it.

I have a son who takes the TTC independently where he is exposed to second-hand meth smoke. The proliferation of open drug use isn't safe, and people who have addictions, or are unwell, need real support that they are not getting.

I see signs popping up all over for private security because people don't feel safe in their homes. Their businesses are being broken into. Garbage and traffic are piling up. So are the towers.

The rise in antisemitism in Toronto is a failure of civic leadership. My family has experienced it firsthand. My husband's business was repeatedly targeted, he was confronted entering his workplace, and our family has received threats and vandalism.

The final straw was actually that my councillor would not call me back, after several attempts. I needed her, she ignored me.

So, I decided if I want things to change, I have to roll up my sleeves and get it done.

Everything I've done has prepared me for this next chapter. Years of planning events has taught me to listen carefully and earn trust, to solve problems with creativity and care and always leave things better than I found them.

It's time for me to transfer those skills to the more important task of serving the people of University–Rosedale.