West-central London: Oakridge · Hyde Park corridor
Incumbent Steve Lehman, on council since 2018, is seeking a third term against two challengers. Nominations closed August 21, 2026; the City certified the list on August 24. Ward 8's lines likely carry over from the December 2024 approval; it wasn't among the late map amendments.
Two candidates carry a prior election record. London used Ranked Choice Voting for the 2018 election only; results since have used the standard one-vote system. Osam Ali ran for Ward 8 council in 2018, placing sixth of nine with 402 first-round votes under Ranked Choice Voting, per the City's official results. Steve Lehman, the incumbent, was elected Ward 8 councillor in 2022 with 3,669 votes (69.55%) of four candidates, per the City's certified results.
The rest of the field: Coralia Esterra Tudor.
Listed alphabetically. Identical treatment for every candidate. That's the deal.
Ran for Ward 8 council in 2018: placed sixth of nine with 402 first-round votes under Ranked Choice Voting, per the City's official 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.
Elected Ward 8 councillor in 2022: 3,669 votes (69.55%) of four 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 13, 2026 · updated September 13, 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.
“I would like to tackle Affordable Housing, and I would be willing to give up expanding roads, expanding public transit, and my popularity to get it. Housing is not a privilege, but a right. I am not suggesting that it needs to be luxury, but a basic apartment that can be paid for by a single person working minimum wage, on disability (ODSP) or welfare (OW). Rent should be low enough to allow someone to not only pay the rent, but afford food and a bus pass. To achieve this I want to work with builders to convert shopping plazas into a mixed use building with retailers, businesses and housing all in one place.”
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?
“For years I believed that our school would need a new playground and I wanted to be proactive. I began advocating for it in 2017, by 2022 I pushed the matter to the forefront of the agenda, by breaking the project from school council to it's own project I was able to get them around to my side. I then chaired that committee as well, held meetings with vendors, and began the process of getting board approval. By 2023, the board came around and removed the old playground in the summer. That October, the new playground was approved. I then helped organize fundraisers, and even ran a match campain donating over $7500 towards the cost. What I gave up was being chair of school council, so that I could focus on what was needed most. I got pushed aside and got little credit, but every day I see the kindergarten kids playing I know I made the right choice.”
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.
“Creating a mental health facility to help address the needs of the unhoused is one of the biggest asks that is outside of municipal jurisdiction. The health portfolio belongs to the province. I strongly believe that this should be addressed, and am willing to push the province on this and work with the rest of council, local landowners and developers to create the facility. We can build a mental health and addictions rehabilitation center and partner with Western University and Fanshawe's medical and nursing programs to staff it.”
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 want to be know for an innovative affordable housing plan for the city. Where I feel torn is that getting others on board may mean becoming disliked and unpopular. The biggest argument against affordable housing is you don't control the market. We will need to freeze the cost of affordable homes and implement penalties for those who attempt to resell them at a higher value.”
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.
“I have never been in the paper or recived huge accolades for my work, but have spent more that 25 years volunteering for my community. South West/Oakridge Soccer club as a soccer coach, I am a Docent at Museum London working with school groups to educate them on Art and local history, I held a similar role at the museum of Ontario Archeology, I was a Scout Canada leader, I have sat on the school council at John Dearness for 9 years and counting, I am a board member of my local synagogue I am a board member at CSCN (Community Services Coordation Network. I hand out bags at local foodbank drives and help sort food I have made food for the family shelter. Organized movies in the park Tree planting Provided onsite first-aid for charity events I have donated to many causes in our city and surrounding communities from shelters, to playgrounds, to libraries.”
No endorsements · Same rules for every candidate · Sources linked · Answers published word for word · How we research →
Honestly told: the situation, the numbers, and what to ask the people who want your vote.
Oakridge and the Hyde Park area sit inside the fast-growing part of the city that drove the citywide ward boundary review; the City has cited high growth in the north and west as a driver of the 2026 boundary shifts. The City also runs an "Oakridge Decides" participatory-budgeting page for the neighbourhood.
As the west end grows, name one thing in Oakridge or Hyde Park you'd fight to keep exactly as it is.
To hold down the tax impact of the 2024-27 Multi-Year Budget, Lehman and Deputy Mayor Lewis proposed in 2024 to cancel funding for the City's Capital and Innovation Grants and Neighbourhood Decision Making program for 2025-2027; the nonprofit sector, via Pillar Nonprofit Network, publicly opposed the cut. The outcome is now confirmed from the City's own records, and it was a reduction rather than the proposed cancellation: the annual grants pool fell from $496,000 in 2024 to $250,000 in 2025, with the Grassroots, Innovation and Capital streams all still funded in 2025. For 2026 the City again made $250,000 available but restricted it to Capital projects only, with a $50,000 cap per grant, so the Innovation and Grassroots streams were not offered this year. The 2026 recipients had not been published as of August 2, 2026.
2024 allocations totalled $496,000: Grassroots $100,000 + Innovation $239,890 + Capital $156,110. 2025 allocations totalled $250,000: Grassroots $115,780 + Innovation $96,330 + Capital $37,890. For 2026 the City announced $250,000 available for Capital projects only, capped at $50,000 per grant. The 2024 and 2025 figures are sums of the individual awards the City lists; the 2026 figure is the amount the City announced as available, not an allocation total. City of London Community Grants Program ↗
When taxes and community grants collide in the budget, which gives, and where specifically?
The City has an active Vacant Buildings By-law (A-35) and Property Standards By-law (CP-24), and local media have covered derelict-building demolition cases citywide, including a September 2023 property-standards order at 1154 Hamilton Road. No Ward 8-specific enforcement dispute was confirmed in this research pass.
Would you fund tougher enforcement of the vacant-buildings and property-standards bylaws, and with what money?
In 2023, council voted to dissolve the volunteer Urban Design Peer Review Panel after a motion co-sponsored by Ward 8's Steve Lehman and Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis, who argued it was redundant and added time and cost to development approvals. Some of its urban-design role moved to the Advisory Committee on Planning. The change affects how new buildings get reviewed in every ward, including this one.
Council voted 10-4 to dissolve the panel (Hopkins, Ferreira, Franke, and Trosow voted to keep it; Hillier was absent). CBC News ↗
Was dissolving the Urban Design Peer Review Panel the right call, and what, if anything, should replace it?
A CBC reader survey found homelessness, open drug use, and roads topping citywide concerns heading into the 2026 election. They are plausible doorstep issues in Ward 8 too, though no Ward 8-specific polling or reporting confirmed them as active local flashpoints.
The survey drew 330+ respondents and was non-scientific; results were citywide, not broken out for Ward 8. CBC News ↗
Which of homelessness, drug use, or roads do you hear most at Ward 8 doors, and what would you actually vote for on it?
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 →