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Name: Skylar Franke

What position are you running for? Councilor Ward 11

What do you see as the principal opportunities and obstacles facing London’s economy over the next Council term? What should the City do to support business growth, job creation, entrepreneurship and investment, and how should it work with employers, Western University, Fanshawe College and others to attract and retain the talent London needs?

I see London’s biggest economic opportunity as building on our strengths: small businesses, entrepreneurs, advanced manufacturing, health care, education, and our growing green economy. Our biggest obstacles are affordability, housing, infrastructure, workforce shortages and the cost pressures facing local businesses.

I support the recently approved Economic Development Strategy, particularly its focus on growing a diverse, resilient and inclusive economy. Over the next term, I would focus on:

-Supporting London’s small businesses, which are the economic backbone of our city, through simpler approvals, lower barriers and better access to City programs. I’ve been asking for a Small Business concierge for years and have heard that staff will be bringing forward a budget case for it in the next multi year budget. I’ve spoken with so many small businesses that find themselves in the “Permit Olympics” where they are chasing permits for months just to open their doors, and this should not be our reality. City Hall needs to be open for business.

-Investing in infrastructure, transit and affordable housing to help businesses attract and retain workers. I’ve been pushing for better industrial transit and late night transit downtown to make sure workers can get to the available jobs.

-Supporting the Circular Economy framework that the city has committed to developing in our Strategic Plan. We have tons of green businesses that are positioned for success with the changing economy, I attended a funding announcement yesterday at Generate Upcycle which is expanding their business to be able to create energy for over 4,500 homes.

-Promoting London as a place where talented people can afford to live, build careers, start businesses and raise families.

London now has a new Downtown Plan. Which elements would you prioritize and what results should Londoners expect to see during the next Council term? Please address the downtown business environment, public spaces, housing and office conversions, cultural and civic destinations, safety, transportation and implementation accountability.

I think we need more housing and people downtown, better late night transit, more trees and green infrastructure, continue to offer office/commercial to residential conversion etc. We need to maintain and expand affordable and attainable housing options to ensure Downtown remains inclusive and affordable. I am very supportive of a lot of the Downtown Plan recommendations – and I don’t have enough character limits to highlight my favourites.

The overall result I want over the next four years is a downtown with more residents, thriving local businesses, active public spaces, cultural destinations and a safer, more welcoming environment – while preserving the character and heritage that make downtown uniquely London.

London faces an urgent health and homelessness crisis. Residents, employees and businesses also have concerns about violence, property crime, public disorder and confidence in public spaces. These conditions require related but distinct responses. What actions would you support in each area, and what responsibilities should fall to the City, police, the health system, other orders of government and community partners?

I believe the solution to homelessness is housing. I also believe preventative solutions like housing, healthcare, food and education prevent crime, and are cheaper than emergency or punitive solutions. However, the municipal government is not responsible for most of those service areas. I would continue to support a housing first approach, with housing that has wrap-around services. I’d continue advocating for an increase in the social assistance rates, proper funding to our educational partners, and proper funding for our healthcare system. Homelessness is a systemic failure – not a personal one – that needs to be resolved by the system. In regards to violence and crime – I defer to the appropriate response from the police services as that is their area of responsibility.

To make a sizable step change in homelessness, the biggest issue we face is scale. Right now, London has over 2,300 unhoused people. We are doing the right things by building highly supportive housing, new affordable housing units and expanding shelter spaces, but we absolutely need the provincial and federal governments to help us build enough units with healthcare and treatment options to truly make a difference at this scale. The main barrier is a lack of adequate funding; healthcare / housing requires a sizeable provincial and federal investment. Municipalities across Ontario need to pressure the provincial government to address this issue, as we lack the funding to do it ourselves.

I’m happy that we have already planned out 2026-2027 winter response (adding 35 new spaces to get to 265 overnight spots in winter in addition to our shelter system of ~450 spots, and staying open Dec 1-March 31, 9pm-9am – instead of triggering based on temperatures). We’ve supported 400 out of a targeted 600 new highly supportive housing units, and are almost at our 3,000 new affordable units pledge. That said – it’s not enough.

What changes would you support to increase housing supply and affordability and create neighbourhoods with access to employment, services, transportation and public amenities?

This Council has done a significant amount of work in the past four years to increase our housing supply and develop new affordable units, but there is lots of work to be done to get more affordable units built. I’ve supported and will continue to support infill, mixed use and pedestrian/transit friendly development projects. I also believe we need to protect what already exists in regards to housing affordability, and have pushed for a tenant relocation and assistance program, and supported the renoviction bylaws, as for every unit of affordable housing built in London, we lose nineteen units.

London’s cultural facilities, venues and public spaces are essential to the life of the city, and several face age, capacity or funding pressures. What cultural infrastructure should be prioritised during the next Council term, and how should the City decide where to invest?

I would rely on our staff and the community’s submissions as to what cultural infrastructure should be prioritised in the next four years. A great opportunity to provide input is our Strategic Plan process, as well as the multi-year budget.

London’s economic success depends on reliable local, regional, national and international connections. How would you improve local transit and service to major employment areas and shift workers, intercity bus and air links, and passenger rail? What should businesses and employees be able to expect in terms of frequency, reliability and access?

I’ve served as the London Transit Commission Chair for the past year and have pushed for more funding for transit for the past four years. I would continue to push for adequate funding for transit services and support a smooth roll out of BRT. I would advocate for funding for the north and west legs of BRT as well. We need to increase our frequency and reliability to 90% on time performance (instead of the current range of 70-85%).

What changes would you make to municipal approvals, regulation, procurement and customer service to make it easier to invest, build and operate a business in London?

I have been pushing to have a small business concierge type role to help businesses navigate the complex pathways or permits and regulations to make it easier, faster and cheaper to open and operate a small business in London. I hope a business case for this role will come through in the next multi-year budget.

London City Council approved the 2025–2035 ReconciliAction Plan in May 2025, committing the City to 155 actions over ten years. What should the next Council do to translate these commitments into a clear, properly resourced implementation plan developed with Indigenous partners? How would you advance reconciliation through economic development, procurement, planning, cultural investment and municipal services?

I am supportive of the actions outlined in the ReconciliAction Plan, and would support the ARAO staff developing and rolling out an implementation plan with partners and submitting a multi-year budget case for the plan. We have already updated our procurement policy to include “Social Sustainability – The City will implement social value considerations for procurement opportunities, providing they are consistent with the obligations outlined in applicable trade agreements. These will include reconciliation efforts and indigenous business opportunities, skills development, community inclusion, support for social enterprise, and education.“ and I look forward to seeing how this changes our procurement process moving forward.

I also believe any movement forward would need to be in coordination and consultation with Indigenous partners.

London’s growth depends on roads, transit, water and wastewater systems, emergency services and community facilities. How would you determine which investments proceed first, pay for growth fairly and maintain competitive property taxes?

I would follow the city’s corporate asset management plan, as well as our existing capital plan. Staff know this best. The only infrastructure project I am pushing to move forward is the Wharncliffe and Horton underpass project which has been delayed for years and needs to be completed to resolve a bottleneck. Otherwise I believe we have been working through our major infrastructure project list as funding becomes available and the needs of the project become more immediate (such as the Adelaide overpass, bus rapid transit construction, local infrastructure project in neighbourhoods etc.)

I also believe growth should pay for growth and continue to push for policies that reflect this belief. I pushed to not expand the urban growth boundary, as the more dense our city, the further our taxes stretch. Taxpayers should not be paying for private developers to profit.

London City Council approved the Climate Emergency Action Plan in 2022. The Plan calls for a 55 per cent reduction in community-wide greenhouse-gas emissions from 2005 levels by 2030. Which elements of the Plan would you prioritise, accelerate or change during the next Council term? How would you ensure that climate action strengthens resilience, affordability and economic competitiveness for residents and businesses?

Staff are writing a new Climate Action Plan which will come back to the next Council and streamline the existing plan (which has over 150 actions). I’ve always said our climate plan was too cumbersome and should have focused on a few specific priorities to make sure we are picking higher return on investment opportunities. I would need to see the new plan in order to say what I would prioritize, however in general I am very supportive of transit, cycling infrastructure and trees as environmental priorities.

How should Council respond when strong-mayor powers are exercised, and how would you use your role as a councillor to provide effective scrutiny and accountability?

Municipalities are creatures of the province, and the province in its infinite wisdom decided to reduce local democracy and give mayors more powers than a democratically elected body of Council. I am not supportive of Strong Mayors powers.

That said, I review the Strong Mayor budget and make recommendations and changes where I see a need. I also have pushed back on Strong Mayor directives when they come through Council. I would continue to do my job as elected official, which is to understand motions and decisions being brought to Council, listen to residents’ concerns and bring those concerns forward, and ultimately share those concerns to influence the discussion where possible and cast my vote accordingly. I speak with staff and subject matter experts to understand what is happening when Strong Mayor powers are being used, and use all my available tools to influence the decision.

What role should arts, culture and the creative industries play in London’s economic and community development? How should the City support cultural organisations, artists, venues, festivals and creative businesses while ensuring that municipal investment produces lasting public value?

Arts, culture and creative industries are important economic drivers that make a city come alive. I’d support the following:

-Strengthen programs like the Community Arts Investment Program
-Invest in festivals, cultural programming and public art outside the downtown core, ensuring residents across London can participate.
-Build cultural infrastructure – I’d let the arts community identify the gaps and support with the correct infrastructure
-Continue supporting initiatives like Film London, London Arts Council, Museum London etc.

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