Archive for Shameless fawning

On September 2, six members of our executive met with Jane Farrow and talked at length with her about her platform and vision for the city. During that evening it became clear that Jane shares similar values with us as a party and association.

The decision to endorse Jane’s run for City Council was unanimous. Soon after this meeting we drafted this statement:

Jane Farrow understands what it takes to build a vibrant, vital, sustainable, and green city. Her approach to biking, public transportation, and urban development are both sophisticated and realistic. Jane represents the change our riding is hungry for, and we urge our members, and all others with a strong green agenda to support her bid for City Council.

Toronto-Danforth Federal Green Party Association Executive members:
Adriana Mugnatto-Hamu, Bob Halstead,
Charlie Halpern-Hamu, Chris Tolley,
Douglas Wright, Ed Chin

This upcoming election is an important one. We hope our members are able to take the time to research Jane and her platform. We feel that if you do, you too will agree that Jane represents the change we are looking for in Ward 30.

If you would like to find out more, please visit JaneFarrow.ca or connect on Facebook.

Sorry for the long delay in composing my thank you letter to everyone.

There are three reasons for this delay.  One is that I have just been busy every single second since the end of the campaign packing up the office and talking to the steady stream of supporters and well-wishers.  Second is that I am still digesting the result, which I honestly don’t understand so I’m finding hard to comment on.  And third is that the level of support has simply been so overwhelming and wonderful that I can’t begin to imagine how I would thank everyone enough.

But I do want to say what I’ve maintained ever since I joined the Green Party.  Everything about both the 2011 General Election and about this by-election reaffirms my sense that political fortunes these days have everything to do with the teamwork of the parties involved and the political spin that’s generated in the media around it.  It’s not about me, it’s about all of us working together, and I am so proud to have had such a strong, diverse and talented group of supporters.  It’s for that reason that both in 2011 and in this by-election, I would have loved to see much better results, not for me, but as a reflection of the much larger and better organized campaigns we have run.  You all deserved better in both these elections.  And we obviously need to strategize so that the effort we all put in is maximized in the future.

Thank you.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the most energetic, enthusiastic and cheerful campaign I have ever been privileged enough to be involved with.  Thank you for standing by me, thank you for supporting me, and thanks for the helpful suggestions throughout on how I could improve my debate performance and public speaking.  I have grown a lot during this campaign and we have all grown as a team.  To those who came to help from other ridings, I look forward to working together again on campaigns across the city and beyond. One day, I may be helping on your campaigns and bringing along the Toronto-Danforth team to help out.  We can all grow together, that’s part of the plan.

The day after the 2011 general election, I was weeping into the shredder as I thought about what a disappointment this must be to my team.  This year, I celebrated our hard work on election night with some 50 supporters and walked away, not with a crushing disappointment but with a strong determination to rebuild.  I will be asking our EDA to be appointed as a community outreach organizer, and expect to call each and every one of our identified supporters, asking them for their ideas on how to grow the party and encouraging them to get involved.  Please join our team.     Read more »

The Toronto-based group For Our Grandchildren has produced this wonderful video:

For Our Grandchildren – Something Must Be Done from Stephen Best on Vimeo.

If the video stutters, click on the HD in the lower-right-hand corner.  Even in “low-def”, it’s quite high-definition.

Notice anything different about the site?  Me neither.  Thank Shawn Khan for that.  He moved DanforthGreens.ca to a new, more reliable, host.  While not disturbing anything else.

Update: Read Patricia’s first-hand report.

Toronto-Danforth resident and climate activist Patricia Warwick was just arrested in Washington D.C. while opposing the Keystone XL pipeline, which is to allow for the expansion of tar sands operations in Canada.  President Obama is to reject or approve the plan later this year.

The “mug shot” photo was taken by the group Tar Sands Action.  And here she is at the protest, in the red behind the sign, in a big sun hat:

Patricia’s arrest was covered in the Globe and Mail and Ottawa Citizen [new link], where she was quoted as saying,     Read more »