Interview with BWG Ward 4 Election Candidate Kash Toor

From Richmond Hill to Bradford: Kash Toor's Personal Journey Welcome back to Bradford Banter, the podcast where we get to know the people's stories and voices that make up our community. With municipal election season underway, I'm sitting down with some of the candidates who have put their name forward to serve BWG. Today I'm joined by Cash Tour, who is running for Ward 4 Counselor representing the Summerlin Village and Dreamfields communities. Cash is called Summerlin Home since 2010, where he and his wife Andrea have raised their family. He's a local business owner with more than 20 years of experience in finance and real estate and has been involved in several community and charitable initiatives over the years. Now he's hoping to take that experience and community involvement to the council table. Cash welcome to Bradford Banter. Speaker 2 Hello. Hello. Good afternoon, Natasha. Speaker 1 Thanks for coming on. I'm glad we were able to to get you on and find some time because I know you're busy as well. Speaker 2 I'm really happy, thanks. You know, kids are home for the summer. That's a big, that's our biggest, that's our biggest gift, gift. But I appreciate you having on. I'm happy to chat with you for sure. Speaker 1 Yeah, this is exciting for you. You've lived in Summerlin Village since 2010 and you've raised your family, your wife. Speaker 2 Yes. So 2010 we, we moved here from Richmond Hill, we moved into Summerlin in 2010. We purchased our first home with Grey Gulf Homes on Sundragon Trail actually. So this would be our third home. You know, we just kind of needed more room every five years, so on. So we kept moving up. Speaker 1 So from. Speaker 2 Sundragon we moved to Sundragon in front of the park, and then from Sundragon in front of the park we moved to Bartram Crescent. Speaker 1 When did you move to Bartram? Speaker 2 Bartram We moved here in 2021. Speaker 1 Okay, cool. Pretty much every. Speaker 2 Five years, so 2010 to 2015 was 80 Sun Dragon and then 15 we were at 126 Sun Dragon and then in 21 we pushed up. We keep pushing up five houses north, we keep running away north. Speaker 1 Keep going, keep moving. Yeah. Why? Why did you choose Bradford? Speaker 2 So I chose Bradford because it's somewhere I had traveled through. Every single time I would see my fiance back then because she actually came from the Huntsville Brace Bridge area. So when I would travel, I would kind of cut through and I remember the Shell gas station being here. And then the Walmart was just coming up. So it was kind of nice. And even on the way back, it was a feeling of, OK, I'm close enough to, you know, make my way down to Fishman Hill, right? It was always sort of the perfect location. Speaker 1 And then how did you meet Andrea if she was all the way in Bracebridge? Speaker 2 Well, so I met her because I was in a bank transaction and we met basically at the bank momentarily. So that's how that transpired, yeah. Speaker 1 So then you decided Bradford was the perfect Bradford? Speaker 2 Bradford was basically so out of Richmond. We were actually in an apartment building. We were renting at the time, OK, then we were looking for, we were looking for a home. And I think from an affordability standpoint, a distance standpoint, this was a location I think that worked out just perfect. And of course, in 2010, the affordability was much more reachable too. Kash Toor's Path from Business to Public Service So when you moved here, how did you start getting involved in these community and charity initiatives that you you take part in? Speaker 2 Right off the bat when we moved, we had a pet. It was a Doberman dog. And I started walking in. I met the neighborhood, everybody was quite welcoming and friendly. And then it just kind of spinned off from there. Just you, you become close to people very, very quickly. It's a small community, you know, everybody loves the neighbors. Speaker 1 Was they all like younger families in that area? Speaker 2 Yeah, it was younger families. Yeah, younger families, similar demographics at that time, you know, heading to school and back. And then you will see the parents like quite often it's it wasn't that big. Speaker 1 Yeah, and with your business, that's How I Met you and was through the paper. I remember doing a story on you. You're a mortgage broker, you've had success in the private sector and have built your business here in Bradford. So why politics? Why now? Speaker 2 It's more of a, you know, what it is, it's the responsibility that came and the challenges that came with having your own small business and having all the support and just basically it's a struggle with learning how to solve the issues, you know, whether it's financial matters or, you know, anything to do with real estate. And so we basically had so much support from local residents and a lot of the friends of ours, you know, became clients too. I did a lot of stuff in the farm lands down by the fifth line. I had a couple of clients there as well. And it just quickly started to snowball very, very quickly. When I had established myself in Bradford, I remember in 2015 is when we opened up Mortgage Partners Corporation. Like officially before that I was just a practicing mortgage broker, but we opened our own company in 2015 and then you know, in 1920 and 21, we were named the top independent brokerages in Canada. So that was like really overwhelming and yes. Speaker 1 I remember that was the story that I. Speaker 2 Yeah, that's the story. At the time, I think we had our office situated over at 1113 Holland St. Speaker 1 Right. Speaker 2 Back and then for a little while. Speaker 1 Yeah. When did you move out of there? Speaker 2 I believe a couple of years and then after that I continued to do work from home. Speaker 1 Yeah, well, yeah, it was the pandemic and. Speaker 2 The pandemic happened, and we were like, you know, pretty much doing stuff online anyways at that point. Addressing Key Issues: Ward 4 Resident Concerns So how do you balance your time? I guess because you are a business owner, but it I feel like it's always harder when it's your own business. You are probably on all the time. Speaker 2 It's on all the time. It's, it starts as early as you know, there could be a call at 12:00 AM or 1:00 AM. You know, I'm just the type of person like I just always answer. I always like to answer. It's almost like a anxiety within myself. Yeah, this new thing going around. Oh, you know, we like texting and we're we're too anxious to talk on the phone. I'm more like, OK, let's get on the phone. You know, let's figure out what the problem is. Let's figure out what you want to discuss, you know why you're calling. But yeah, it starts. So I think having organized systems in place, it's a big help because you do reach that point where you need those systems. Otherwise it's very easy to sort of fall behind or miss something. Right? Yeah. Speaker 1 So that's. Speaker 2 Definitely helped us, yeah. Speaker 1 And your girls are young, young how how do you balance being dad and then? Speaker 2 My half my walls are in chalk, in colors, pess of crayons and you just, you put your hands up sooner or later and you just give up. Speaker 1 Just let them take over the house and be like, I'll figure this out when they're 18. Yeah, that's something like that. So now you are in full campaign mode. What have you been hearing from residents at the door and Ward 4I? Speaker 2 Decided to run for councils because Bradford basically has, it's been home for a long time and I've had the opportunity to build obviously like my business here, you know, raise my family here and really become part of this community. And I think over the years, through community events and working with residents, I kept hearing the same thing. People want someone who listens, someone who communicates and actually follows through. So for me, I think running for council is really about taking the community involvement to the next level. I want to be a strong voice for Ward 4, bring practical solutions forward and make sure residents feel like they're being heard and represented correctly. And I've always believed that you want to see a positive change. You have to be willing to step forward and be a part of it. And that's the sort of conversations right now that are taking place. You know, I'm missing a signage, safer streets, the elderly. You know, there's a big problem with our snow removal. I think there's going to be like a pilot project. And again, these are just some of the things I've been I've been hearing and I and I know we've had some really severe winters for the past two years, particularly and you know, to to have the elderly especially wake up in the morning and find like a three foot snow and right, it's harder for them, right. So like these are just little things that what I've been hearing, but I continue advocating for, you know, safer streets and for our children, you know, it's it's a big community with children. Like we've done community events where like we do these St. barbecues and parties and the amount of attendees that you see. It's there's so many children and then you hear about the same thing when you go to school and you're doing drop offs and pickups and the conversation comes up. Speaker 1 Everywhere, yeah. Just so many people are in a rush and. Speaker 2 That's they're in a rush and then parking enforcement comes at the same time that you got to drop off your child. And I get it. It's, you know, rule, law and order and things have to move smoothly. And I think that's brings me to my next point, which is the responsible growth. And because there's been so much population now, especially in the last five years, we've seen a really large boom. We just got to make sure that it's healthy at the same time that we can accommodate and and hold the residents. Supporting Youth and Strengthening Community Initiatives Yeah, we. Speaker 1 Need that infrastructure high schools, You're a great, you know, community advocate. I just participated in your street party this past weekend as yeah, as Barbie and you are are great at getting people together and organizing, motivating everybody. What are some of the projects that you're most proud of that you've you've done over the years? Speaker 2 From a business standpoint, like it's giving me so much like it really feels good to continue being part of the community. But I think it's the support, just like you said, the support is there and that actually wants that makes you want to do a little more every time. So like we, we teamed up with the South Simcoe police and the fire department and we, we started holding the hockey for sick kids. And so, and so that's something that we've done second, like in the COVID time, it did slow down a little bit and there was a little bit of hard time obtaining ice time and then, you know, meeting everybody's schedule. So we're still ironing that out. But I think that's like something that's really, really good. And, you know, it showcases community involvement in a way because you've got S Simcoe Police, you've got the fire department, you got small businesses that also participate because they're basically the players that they're playing. And it gives them that chance to really connect, you know, and that's something we do right before Christmas. So that's just like a sense of gatherness, as was the street party, which is basically for parents to come together just before kids head off back to school. Because what tends to happen then in the, you know, the five months of winter, nobody sees anybody, right? We're sort of locked. Speaker 1 In or we're looking. Speaker 2 For a We're looking for a cheap trip to get away, somewhere that's warm. You know, they haven't changed from day one. It's just like, you know, everybody gets on board. I love it. Speaker 1 Yeah, it's nice when you're working as part of a team and it's your local people and you want to be friends with your neighbors, so that's really cool. In your platform, you also mentioned youth recreation as one of the things you wanted to focus on. What do you think Bradford's currently missing when it comes to opportunities for kids and teens? Speaker 2 You know, one of the interesting parts of this particular question is, you know, Bradford W Gilberry actually manages almost like 31 parks. Speaker 1 Outdoors, there's that many. It's incredible, yeah. Speaker 2 It really is like, you know, even in the beginning there's hiking thing and you can take this and then then there's the BBQ setups where you can go with families and have picnics. You know, there's a lot of things that probably should have a little bit more light shedded on them. You know, it's just like kind of like Carrot Fest, but but the youth programs, there's a continued youth presidency year after year and we just need to ensure they have things and programs that they can do throughout, throughout the summer and winter. So. Speaker 1 Need to be kept busy. That's important. There's a new school that's in your area that just opened, right? That's going to be open this year. Speaker 2 So there's a Catholic school that's opening in September, which will take a lot of load off. It's a Catholic elementary school and that's basically a video that's available on my Instagram just for informational purposes. It's going to open in September, that's been confirmed, so it will take a lot of load off the other schools. Speaker 1 That's great. Such a fast growing community. We need more. Speaker 2 Schools there's also there's also harvest hails as well, which is the French immersion. Speaker 1 Right. Yeah. Speaker 2 And that's just over here at the tip of our ward, which is in dream fields. Speaker 1 Right. That's like a couple years old now. Speaker 2 Yeah, that's just catered over on Crossland Blvd. Speaker 1 Right. It just keeps growing and growing and expanding. Where, where do we where do we stop? Where's the cut off of Bradford? I don't know, just keeps going up. We. Speaker 2 Definitely. We definitely have to allocate some space, of course is one of them. I know that Councillor Jonathan Scott was on a, I've seen one of his videos lately about really needing a new public high school as well, right. Yeah. So the need is there, the population is there not to overcrowd our schools. Responsible Growth, Fiscal Policy, and Council Teamwork That's very, very important. Speaker 1 Yeah, that's a provincial issue. So how selected? How will you work with other levels of government in order to get Bradford? Speaker 2 On the map, advocacy is the big thing, and I think being involved is another big thing. And all these things I think really starts from having the ability and the availability in time, right? And that's something that I know I'm going to be able to dedicate, you know, if elected. And I have the time, I have the time to get back to people. I have, I have the time to go and do quick visits to any one of my neighbors at any given time. You know, I'm pretty much a homebody, so I think it really starts there. And I think that should terrify the pressures that are ahead. And I think most importantly, besides advocating for this, you know, particularly is also working with council because a council's supposed to be sort of a team, you know, and they have to work as a team to move forward. Speaker 1 Agree and. Speaker 2 So if there's a divided council on most or majority of the issues, I think the job just becomes a little bit harder. Speaker 1 Not saying that agreeing all the time is is right, but yeah, you do have to kind of work together and be respectful of of one another's opinions. Speaker 2 Dedicating the time is for sure advocating and, you know, getting things done. There's always a deal you can make. You know, that's what I've learned. That's where my success came from. You know, you can work through things to get a deal done, and that's exactly what I intend to do. Speaker 1 Yeah. So you are a finance guy, you're a numbers guy. I personally think that is a huge asset for anyone running for office because, you know, you're dealing with the town's money, the taxpayers money. Where do you think there may be opportunities for the Crown to save taxpayers money or spend more efficiently? Speaker 2 This has come up actually a lot and I think we're we're bearing the the brunt of it right now because if you look at the population of Bradford as a whole, we're approximately what, 4546 thousand. There's a lot that falls under that category of being a small population. You know, we've got snow service, you know, we've got garbage, we've got recycle, we've got, you know, all these things, right. And so my comment usually is going back to the finance thing is, is quite simple. You look at the services, you can advocate for certain things, but where are we spending most of our money? Like where can we cut back? Like where are we spending too much of, you know, that's something to sit down and figure out. So that that's sort of like the number one thing that if elected I would be looking at that. Speaker 1 Do you think that having that finance background is is beneficial? I know with the budget it's always in November, so as soon as the new council is elected I feel like you go straight. Speaker 2 You want work? Here you go. Here's work. Figure it out. Speaker 1 We want affordable taxes. That's always a hot topic, usually for all elections, especially right now with this economic situation we're in. But we also want things like better roads, recreation services, infrastructure. How do you balance those demands? Speaker 2 Well, so the way to balance those demands is, is quite simple. So those demands, they need to be met, but I think that the services that we're paying for need to be reviewed to see where we can save, right? Saving cost is number 1. So now going back to the snow removal for the elderly, like I would probably like to implement that by way of doing a pilot project, you know, because it's something that's it's just not fair, you know, to a 70 year old. It has to be there. But we have to spend responsibly, I think in, in ways where we contract these services out. We can always review those. We can always advocate to, you know, keep those things at A at a better value to us. Speaker 1 No, there's always room. Shop around. Speaker 2 There's always room to shop around and you know, I've heard that through the recycling and garbage program as as well, especially as of recently, you know, things being missed, not picked up or being late. And you know, that's something, again, that could be looked at, right? Speaker 1 Yeah. How would you say your personality fits a role of counselor? Speaker 2 I think remaining calm and answering constituents concerns is important. I think the calm part is more important. But what's more important than that in my personal opinion is if you don't know the answer to something, you know, you need to go research, you need to ask and come back with the correct information. I just think that a lot in the past or current could, could have practiced that a little bit. My abilities to deal with problems, we've had to face a lot of problems with with people, you know, with the public and to resolve them and come to a resolve. It's again, it's not always easy, but it's always, always doable. There's always a deal to be made. Speaker 1 What do you think is the single biggest challenge facing Roger W Gillenbury over the next four years? Speaker 2 I think the the biggest challenge right now is responsible growth. We have to think more than two years ahead. We got to think long term. Yeah, growth is coming. It's inevitable. It has been, it's been happening. And I think my vision is to make sure we manage it responsibility and build a Bradford that we all all be proud of, you know, for the next generation. You know, that's sort of that priority that should be. Speaker 1 Yeah, the Bradford of tomorrow. Motorcycle Rides and Personal Life Beyond Politics Yes. Speaker 1 It's a lot different than when we moved here in the early 2010. So on a lighter note though, what's your favorite thing to do in Bradford when you're not working or campaigning? Speaker 2 First of all, the park has become one of the, you know, go do places bicycle riding. I ride my motorcycle with some of the locals which is kind of nice. Speaker 1 Where you go? Speaker 2 It hasn't changed much because you can do you can just go 88 W towards bond head. You can go to 5th side Rd. You can you know it's such a nice location. You can take 10 sided Rd. up till your Innisfields and your Alliston and your cook down and your berries. You know, so we're so lucky to have nice roads. Speaker 1 I didn't know that you had a motorcycle until I saw it in at the street party. How long have you been doing that? Speaker 2 I've been riding since 2014. Well, I consider myself to be quite new at it still. Speaker 1 Does your wife enjoy that? I feel like I'd. Speaker 2 Be so I've I've taken her in the back of the Harley-Davidson back a few years and she wasn't really too fond of it. Speaker 1 Yeah. So it's it's scary. Speaker 2 Still thinks it's too dangerous so. Speaker 1 Yeah, I would worry, but what do you like about writing? What's the best? Speaker 2 Part of it. Best part of writing, honestly. When you're writing, you've got no roof. You've got no right left. You just feel really free. Yeah. You know, And the scenery is really nice every time. Yeah. You know, you got the farmland to the left, farmland to the right. You know, you go through the marsh, you can see stuff. It's like really refreshing for the brain. Speaker 1 So it's a Harley you have? Speaker 2 Actually a Harley-Davidson. And then there's a I've got a BMW touring bike as well that's supposed to be a little more quieter, a little bit more, you know, subtle. Yeah, more for my age. Speaker 1 More for my age, yeah. Oh my gosh. So then who do you ride with? You. You have friends in town that. Yeah, I. Speaker 2 Got friends in town? I've got a friend who lives just on Blue Dash or Blvd. which is like my old neighborhood. Yeah, Dominic. I ride with Dominic. Speaker 1 That's so fun. Speaker 2 Yeah, and then my brother comes out with us and he just lives Summerlin, too, just where my mother lives. Speaker 1 Oh, I didn't know that. Your brother. Speaker 2 Lived here. You like buy the pond there? Yeah. Nice. And then we've got another friend, James Butler. He's just over. Speaker 1 Nice. Speaker 2 Other part of town. So we just sort of like just go and yeah, yeah. Experience, Accessibility, and Accountability: Why Vote Kash Well, you know what, you can call it what you want me, we always end up at either Tim Horns or McDonald's because because at night time that's basically all that's that's all you get. Yeah. Speaker 1 Oh my God, I love it. OK, so hypothetically you're standing at someone's door in ward four and they say give me one reason I should vote for you. What is your answer? Speaker 2 Well, what can I tell you? I've lived in Bradford since 2010. I've built up a very strong business here and I've spent years being involved in the community. I know what it's like first hand to work with people and to getting things done. And I'm not someone who suddenly became interested in Bradford because of an election. I've organizing events, supporting local businesses and meeting families, working with families alongside the people of the community. I understand that it's what it's like to run a business, solve problems, work with different personalities and most importantly, be accountable for results. And I would tell them if I'm elected, I want to bring the same work ethic to council. I'll be accessible. I will listen. And when residents raise an issue, I want them to know somebody's actually paying attention and following through. And so I think that's what I would tell them. Goes back to my first point is being accessible, because when you're accessible, you're close and you're mobile and you've got time, most importantly, you can address their concerns, right? Yeah. Speaker 1 People are we live in a very instantaneous society, like we want answers yesterday. We can't wait 24 hours for a reply. But are you OK with that? You're OK with just being on call with everyone? I guess you already are with your your business. You know it's. Speaker 2 Something that I just I've just I've got accustomed to doing very, very well. I do it, you know, I manage over 11 brokers and agents currently in the mortgage company. Wow. So it's just something that I just do. Yeah, you're. Speaker 1 You're just accustomed to it now. Accustomed. Speaker 2 To it every day, yeah. Speaker 1 Plus being a plus, being a a dad of of young kids, you're just always on your toes. Yeah. Like I could be on the. Speaker 2 Phone solving a problem. I mean, you might hear me say, hey, stop hitting your sister. I mean, that's all You're that's the only interruption you're going to get from me. And apart from that, it's undivided attention. How to Connect with Kash and Final Election Message Yeah. Hey, stop throwing that on the wall. Speaker 1 You know, they're so cute. And then for anyone listening who wants to learn more about you and your campaign or has any questions, how can they get in touch with you directly? So I have. Speaker 2 Created my Instagram which is award for cash and then there's a web page as well, which is votecash.ca and that will give you basically a brief background history photo of my family who we are. A lot of families have gotten to know us and we've gotten to know a lot of families and we feel like there's a lot of support and we feel like there's a need for a change. What I have been doing is highlighting and showcasing what people want, you know, whether it's Traffic Safety concerns. Last week I actually went ahead and started to highlight the local businesses in Ward 4. So there's some in some of them Plaza. There's another gentleman that lives here that operates is, you know, hot table food business. Wow. Speaker 1 The other. Speaker 2 Side of town so those are coming up now and I'm going to be posting that to share and it's kind of nice to see how lucky we are because it still has that small town feeling you know yes. Speaker 1 If you need something. Speaker 2 If you don't have money, for example, and you know, you need a little bit of break, you know, and I've had people like this that, you know, I was happy to provide help to. And I know a few other businesses as well. So anyways, it's just very important to showcase them and highlight them because they're actually actual family people that live here. They they've raised their family here. They've given back to the community. They always provide sponsorships, yes, always open arms. So it's, it's a very lucky situation for sure. You don't get that anywhere. Yeah. Speaker 1 We have a charm. You don't get highlighted. Speaker 2 Enough. And I think it's good for me to do that, yeah. Speaker 1 Lifting each other up in the community, just great. No, I love that. Is there anything you wanted to add before? No, thank you. Very. Speaker 2 Much for having me and I intend to, I intend to do the best I can in this election. It is new for me because I've never, ever ran for elections previously. And my community, I, I know my community quite well. I know where the concerns are. And I anticipate to continue listening and then continue putting a game plan forward and continue inquiring until, you know, they, we have some answers. Yeah. Speaker 1 Keep, keep on trucking. Yeah, there's going to be. Speaker 2 Keep on trucking from now until till election time. This is not easy to do. It's not easy for for anyone really. In fact, I'll take this time, I'll take this opportunity actually congratulate everybody in every ward. It's a very heavy election because there's so many people from mayor, from deputy mayor, all the seven wards and you got school board trustees. So all the very best and hats off and respect to everyone. It's hard. And I just hope people, you know, people will make a decision and they will pick somebody. I just want. Speaker 1 People to vote anyway any which way, just over the 33% that we had last time. Let's get that close to 100 that might. Speaker 2 Be a big wish, hopefully. Speaker 1 We can get a better turn out this time around. But yes, thank you so much for joining me and giving listeners a chance to learn more about you and your background and and what you're going to do for Ward 4 if you're elected. I wish you all the best, thank you. Speaker 2 So much I'll leave your. Speaker 1 Details in the show notes so people can head over to your website and your socials and give you a follow wonderful thank. Speaker 2 You very, very much thank you for. Speaker 1 Listening to Bradford Banter. If you enjoyed today's conversation, follow the show, share the episode, and stay tuned for more conversations from around our community. Until next time, thanks for listening.