Looking forward to meeting you

Yesterday I was nominated as the Green Party of Canada candidate for Toronto-Danforth for the next election.  I’m honoured and humbled by the supporters in this riding and their enthusiasm for starting the campaign.  Our success in the next election will depend on what the Green Party does best — building a community of people dedicated to building a better world and working respectfully together to achieve their goals.

In the next few months, I hope to be getting out and introducing myself to the neighbourhood.  I’m asking everyone who is interested in learning more about the Green Party to do one or both of two things.  Either host a neighbourhood party and invite me or walk with me around your street and knock on doors.  Either way, I’ll get to spend a couple of hours meeting new people in Toronto-Danforth, asking them about their concerns, explaining to them what the Green Party is about and answering any questions they may have.

I promise not to ask for money at this time.  We’ll need money for the campaign but right now is the time to reach out and build community.

I’m confident that once enough people in Toronto-Danforth are introduced to the Green Party, we’ll win the riding.  Canadians need and deserve Green representation in government and I’m proud to say that Toronto-Danforth is one of the greenest ridings in the country.

Just before the nomination meeting, I sent this letter to our current MP, Jack Layton:

Hi Jack,

I thought you should know that I submitted my name as a  contestant for the Green Party of Canada candidate nomination in  Toronto-Danforth.  The nomination is tonight and I expect to be  acclaimed.

You may know that I’ve been working for a very long time on  climate change issues, which need to be embraced fully by the majority of  Canada’s politicians so that our children can have the future they deserve.   Most of the work I’ve done has been scrupulously non-partisan in nature.  Since  I’ve announced my intention to run in Toronto-Danforth, all my statements, both  within the Green Party and outside, have focused on the fact that I hope to  bring a greater sense of cooperation to Parliament.

It’s in that spirit  that I’m writing to you today.  May the next election make both of us grow and  understand our constituency, may it make us both better people and better  candidates, and may it deliver a better government for Canada.  I hope that we  can work together, regardless of our political affiliations, toward improving  the lives of people in Toronto-Danforth.

Best, Adriana

Here’s what I wrote about myself for Green Party members at the nomination meeting to help them get to know me.