Two Filipino-Canadian candidates run for Mississauga's open Ward 7 council seat on 26 October

Gerald Adad and Louroz Mercader are among 17 candidates for Mississauga's Ward 7 council seat in the 26 October municipal election, with both citing their Filipino-Canadian backgrounds as part of their path into public service.

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Two Filipino-Canadian candidates, Gerald Adad and Louroz Mercader, are running for Mississauga city council in Ward 7 in the 26 October municipal election, Frequency reported on 12 October. They are among 17 candidates for the seat, which covers Cooksville and surrounding neighbourhoods.

The Ontario Chronicle reported that the seat is vacant because sitting councillor Dipika Damerla is running for mayor. It lists Adad as a former manager of neighbourhood services at Safe City Mississauga with no prior political experience.

Adad told Frequency his decision to run grew from about 10 years working in non-profit organisations and crime prevention. He has focused on development in Cooksville around the Hurontario and Dundas intersection and proposes a Ward 7 community safety table to improve coordination among police, social service providers and crime-prevention organisations.

Mercader is executive director of the Downtown Brampton Business Improvement Area and previously ran for Ward 7 councillor in 2010, 2014 and 2018, according to Frequency. He proposes limiting property tax increases to the rate of inflation or lower, freezing fees at city-owned community centres and keeping current MiWay fares for four years.

"Am I a child of a Filipino immigrant family? Absolutely. And that informs my experience," Adad said. Mercader, who co-founded the Filipino-Canadian youth and professional organisation Rise Tribe in 2016, said: "We need to continue to support and cultivate even more Filipino-Canadian leaders across all levels of government to ensure our community's voice is heard at the decision-making tables."