Central-south London: Old South · Wortley Village · Southcrest · Berkshire Village · Manor Park · The Coves, extending west of Wharncliffe Road South along the Base Line corridor
Ward 11 is a three-candidate race. Nominations closed August 21, 2026; the City certified the final candidate list on August 24, 2026. The ward is one where Old South's heritage rules collide with the city's push for more housing. Council also amended this ward's boundary; what changed couldn't be confirmed, so check the city's ward map. Ward 11 was one of four wards, along with Wards 1, 4, and 13, where council adjusted the boundary beyond the base population-balance option.
Two candidates carry a prior election record. Denise Brown served as Ward 11's councillor from 2010 to 2014; she ran again in 2014, finishing second with 2,531 votes (28.36%) of six candidates, per the City's official results. Skylar Franke, the incumbent, was first elected in 2022, winning with 3,616 votes (57.68%) of five candidates, per the City's certified results.
The rest of the field: Harinder Kumar.
Listed alphabetically. Identical treatment for every candidate. That's the deal.
Ran for Ward 11 council in 2014: finished second with 2,531 votes (28.36%) of six candidates, per the City's official results.
The certified list has no campaign email for this candidate, so the questionnaire could not be sent. Identical questions went to every candidate with one; answers are published verbatim if they arrive another way.
Elected Ward 11 councillor in 2022: 3,616 votes (57.68%) of five candidates, per the City's certified results.
Sent out September 3, 2026. Answers are posted here word for word when they arrive. Anything back within a week goes up September 10.
Received September 3, 2026
What is the one thing you most want to have changed in London by the end of this term? Tell us what a resident would be able to see in 2030 that shows you did it, and what you would be willing to give up to get it.
“By 2030, I want residents to see a city that is more accountable for the basic services people rely on every day. That means roads repaired on predictable schedules, major construction projects with clear public timelines, safer public spaces, and emergency services measured against transparent performance targets. The change I most want is a culture where council sets measurable outcomes and reports back on whether they were achieved. To make room for that, I would be willing to delay or vote against lower-priority discretionary projects that cannot show a clear, measurable public benefit, even when those projects are popular. I would rather protect funding for core infrastructure, public safety, and essential services than try to do everything at once.”
A councillor is one vote of fifteen, and staff write the reports council votes on. Tell us about a time, in any part of your life, when you needed a decision from people who mostly disagreed with you and got it. Who did you have to bring around, what did you change in your ask, and what did you give up?
“In a new-home negotiation, my clients wanted several price, layout, and upgrade changes that the builder was not prepared to accept as originally presented. I had to bring the builder and my clients toward a workable middle ground. Instead of continuing with a long list of requests, I narrowed the ask to the changes that mattered most, separated must-haves from nice-to-haves, and focused the discussion on what could realistically be approved. We gave up some upgrades and flexibility on certain terms in exchange for agreement on the highest-priority items. The deal was ultimately accepted. What I learned is that getting a decision is often less about repeating your original position and more about understanding what each side can live with, changing the ask without abandoning the objective, and knowing what you are prepared to give up.”
Name one thing the people you'd represent will ask you for that city council cannot actually decide. Say plainly what you would tell them, who does hold that decision, and what you would do to move it anyway.
“Residents may ask a councillor to direct police to target a particular street, individual, investigation, or day-to-day enforcement operation. City council cannot do that. The London Police Service Board provides civilian governance and sets high-level policy and priorities, while the Chief of Police is responsible for day-to-day operations and specific investigations. I would tell residents that plainly rather than promise authority I do not have. What I can do is bring recurring neighbourhood concerns forward, advocate for appropriate policing resources through the municipal budget process, communicate with the Police Service Board, ask for public reporting on trends and outcomes, and work on city-controlled measures such as lighting, road design, property standards, and community supports that can improve safety alongside policing.”
Pick the issue you most want to be known for. Where do you feel torn on it, and what is the strongest argument against your own position?
“I most want to be known for improving public safety in neighbourhoods and public spaces. The tension for me is that safety, homelessness, addiction, mental health, housing, and policing overlap, but they are not the same problem and cannot be solved with one tool. I believe residents should be able to use parks, streets, transit, and business areas safely, while people in crisis should be treated with dignity and connected to appropriate supports. The strongest argument against an enforcement-focused position is that enforcement can move a visible problem from one place to another without addressing why it exists, while consuming resources that might produce better long-term results elsewhere. That is a fair criticism. My approach would be to judge policies by measurable outcomes: whether public spaces become safer, whether repeat incidents decline, and whether people are actually moving toward stable housing and support.”
Point us to one thing you have already done for people in London, before this campaign, that a reader could check and that shows how you would do this job. A web address is welcome.
“Before this campaign, I was elected in 2018 as a Director of the Fanshawe Student Union in London. The public election results show I received 1,966 votes, and the Student Administrative Council minutes record my participation in board meetings and motions. It was a practical introduction to representative governance: listening to people with different priorities, working through an agenda, asking questions, making motions, and being accountable for decisions made as part of a board rather than as an individual. That experience matters to how I would approach council. A councillor does not govern alone; the job requires preparation, listening, understanding procedure, working with people who disagree, and still being able to move decisions forward. The FSU’s 2018 election results and 2018–19 council minutes are publicly available on its website.”
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Honestly told: the situation, the numbers, and what to ask the people who want your vote.
Tenants can lose their homes when a building is torn down, converted or redeveloped, and that has become a council flashpoint: the incumbent moved an April 2026 motion directing staff to develop protections for those tenants, and voted against a 30-unit renovation plan in November 2024 that would have displaced 15 basement-unit tenants (that motion lost). The timing matters: the work set in motion by the April 2026 motion is not expected to produce concrete measures during this term.
CTV reported on April 15, 2026 that council's tenant-protection work following the April 2026 motion is unlikely to produce concrete measures until 2027, which means the report-back falls to the next council, not this one. CTV News – London might consider tenant protections against demolition and redevelopment in 2027 (April 15, 2026) ↗
Name one protection for tenants displaced by redevelopment that council itself could pass.
The Wortley Village–Old South Heritage Conservation District (designated 2015) limits redevelopment to protect the area's 1850–1930-era character, while the city pushes for more housing at the same time. A live example: a January 2026 Planning and Environment Committee staff report recommended flexibility to allow added housing at 10 Marley Place, one of the district's few larger parcels, despite the district's guidelines.
The January 6, 2026 Planning and Environment Committee report would retain the existing c.1878 house and its 4 units and add 8 new stacked-townhouse units at 2.5 storeys and a maximum height of 10.5 m: 4 + 8 = 12 units in total, subject to a Heritage Impact Assessment because the property sits in the Wortley Village-Old South Heritage Conservation District. City of London – Planning and Environment Committee agenda, January 6, 2026 (10 Marley Place staff report, OZ-25129) ↗
When heritage-district guidelines and new housing collide, how should council decide which gives way?
How to handle flooding and stormwater in the ward's older neighbourhoods is contested: the incumbent has publicly opposed requiring homeowners to disconnect weeping tiles, on climate and cost grounds, favouring green-infrastructure alternatives instead.
Should the city require weeping-tile disconnections or fund green-infrastructure alternatives, and who pays?
How fast emergency warming centres open has been contested at council: a February 2026 co-moved motion set the trigger at -15°C with service-provider discretion at -5°C, after advocacy for faster openings during a -30°C cold snap in January 2025.
February 2026 motion: warming centres triggered at -15°C, with service-provider discretion to open at -5°C.
Is the -15°C warming-centre trigger right, and if not, what number would you set?
The ward's councillor chairs the London Transit Commission. The 2024 multi-year budget added roughly 18,000 transit service hours over four years, and a further 2,000 hours were moved in 2025 from London Transit reserves (those are separate figures from the 2026 service-plan numbers below). The gap between what was planned and what was funded is now concrete: London Transit had to trim its own 2026 priorities to fit the approved budget, and the changes that survived take effect September 6, 2026.
London Transit's 2026 Service Plan (approved January 2026) proposed changes to 11 routes totalling more than 24,000 annualized service hours, but the approved budget funds only 18,000 hours, roughly 6,000 hours short, so priorities had to be trimmed. The changes take effect September 6, 2026. London Transit – 2026 Service Plan changes ↗
London planned more than 24,000 hours of extra bus service and funded 18,000. Would you close that gap, and with what money?
Thames Park revitalization comes up again and again in the ward, and the pool question is settled in a way many residents have not caught up with: Thames Pool is being permanently removed, not reopened. What replaces it is park improvement work plus a study of whether an indoor pool is feasible.
Thames Pool is being permanently removed. The park improvements that replace it are a splash pad, pickleball and basketball courts, and an indoor-pool feasibility study, with construction anticipated to begin in summer 2026. Get Involved London – Thames Park ↗
Thames Pool is gone for good. What do you commit to at Thames Park instead, and by what date?
A vacant house at 131 Base Line Road West exploded shortly after 1 p.m. on Wednesday, July 29, 2026. The house was destroyed and one adult man was left in critical condition; the reporting does not establish whether he was inside or outside. The cause is undetermined and the Ontario Fire Marshal's Office is involved, so nothing here is a finding of fault against anyone. The municipal question it raises is oversight of empty buildings: the house had been vacant since the end of May, fire crews had been inspecting it monthly, and its natural gas service was still connected. Vacant-building rules, property standards and how much enforcement gets funded are council's own jurisdiction. One incident is not a trend and this is not a statement about how safe the ward is. On location: the address is in Ward 11, in the Southcrest neighbourhood roughly 2 km southwest of Wortley Village, not in Old South or Wortley Village. No news outlet states a ward, so that placement is a point-in-polygon check of the address against the City's own ward layers (see gaps).
Vacant since the end of May, inspected monthly by fire crews, natural gas service still active. Deputy Fire Chief Gary Bridge is the named fire-service source. The owner had held the property about two years and also owns two adjacent empty lots; a City zoning file titled "129-131 Base Line Road West" (Z-9578) exists. CBC News – owner of destroyed London, Ont. home astonished by explosion ↗
What should the city require of an owner who leaves a house standing empty, and who is supposed to check?
The ballot is one tool, not the only one. Between elections, the people who show up are the ones who get heard, and you can start today, not next fall.
None of it waits four years. The people already in the room are the ones who asked to be.
Only one is on your ballot; which depends on your school-support designation. The guide above explains.
You’ve read the ward. Ward races here can come down to a few hundred ballots, sometimes fewer. In a race that close, your vote is one of the ones that decides it. You don’t need to know everything. You just need to show up, informed.
You’ll need ID with your name and address. Full voting guide: where, what to bring, who can vote →