Be a joiner!
Many of you have asked how you can support me in this endeavour, and here’s the first ask, along with a little bit of information on how our municipal electoral system works.
I woke up thinking about this at 5 am today. These last five hours of wakefulness, I’ve tried to figure out how to ask you for your help.
What I need from you, right now, is to join the Vancouver Green Party so that I can have an opportunity to represent you, and this city, in our upcoming municipal election. After that, I need to get you excited to join other party members on June 27th at the Heritage Hall for the member nomination vote.
This election won’t be so much on the radar for most of the people of Vancouver. It doesn’t happen until October, after all.
Right now, though, municipal parties across the city are deciding who will stand as your options for representation.
I know it’s hard enough to get Vancouverites engaged for the actual vote. How much harder is it to get you involved this far in advance?
I hope not that much harder. I hope that my undertaking gives you an insight into how much influence you can have in your city.
I wish I had the singularity of vision to tell you to join the Green Party because it’s your only choice in the upcoming election and Green will change this city for the better. I have an instinct that this is true – but it’s greatly dependent on who makes it to the ballot.
The reality is, your participation can and will change this city for the better. Who you choose as your representatives will make the difference.
I choose to seek Green nomination because I believe that change in leadership is good, and the Greens are ready for this challenge. I believe that your individual representatives create your future. The Green Party manifests this in a way that’s distinct from the other municipal parties. I hope to see Adriane Carr seek the challenge of mayor, if that’s her path. She’s been front and centre in our city for a long while. We’ll need experience to find common ground.
So here’s my ask. Join the Green Party and nominate me to be your candidate to watch. I hope I can earn your vote at the ballots on October 20th, but at this moment, I most hope that I have the chance.
For this to happen, you have to fork out $10 and come along on June 27th to cast your vote.
All of the parties are in this stage right now: they’re deciding who will stand for you. You can only join one, so make it count. You’ll feel pride when you choose their name in the fall.
If you choose to join me and the Green Party, send me a message to let me know that I have your support.
As someone who has always promoted democratic participation and never pushed partisanship, it feels awkward to ask you to pick a team. But this is municipal politics in Vancouver. Without a ward system, we need to stand together with the people who most represent the future we’re trying to arrive in. Green represents that future in Vancouver, for me.
Will you support me? Can I count on you? If you’ve lost faith in the process or have a barrier, reach out and let me know what it is. I so want to include you.
And if you do sign up, shoot me an email at denise@dbrennan.ca and let me know!