Don’t try to tell Jennifer Hollett that politics can’t be a force for good.It’s easy to be cynical, the 42-year-old head of news for Twitter Canada knows. As someone who says her political “coming of age” was as a popular VJ on MuchMusic — making global issues in the post-9/11 world accessible to youth and interviewing both Beyoncé and former federal NDP leader Jack Layton on the main stage — she believes one of the key issues downtown is making space for everyone.Hollett will sign up to run for the newly-redrawn Ward 21 on Tuesday. The ward covers the waterfront from Yonge St. to the Don Valley Parkway and is largely bordered to the north by Shuter St., encompassing neighbourhoods such as Moss Park, St. Lawrence and Corktown.“People are being squeezed out of Toronto, especially downtown, and I can’t imagine a vibrant downtown without young people, newcomers, working class people, families, artists, entrepreneurs and that is the tension right now,” Hollett said in an interview Monday. “There’s an opportunity as our community is growing . . . to get it right, to make sure we’re not just building buildings but building communities.”Most of the ward was carved out of the former Ward 28 (Toronto Centre—Rosedale), represented by the late veteran councillor Pam McConnell. Councillor Lucy Troisi was appointed to fill the vacancy in November.TOP STORIES. IN YOUR INBOX: For the day’s top news from the Star’s award-winning journalists, sign up for our daily headlines newsletter.Without an incumbent in the race, Hollett joins a crowded field with nine other candidates already signed up. They are: Anita Agrawal, Richard Anobile, Jon Callegher, Suzanne Kavanagh, Gladys Larbie, William Meneray, Noah Parker, Catherina Perez and Matthew Plourde.Raised in St. Catharines by a single mom — Hollett recently purchased her first home in the ward, a condo in St. Lawrence &# ...
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