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…
Dear Friends & Fam; I suppose I should tell you all that I’ve been approved to seek Green Party endorsement as a candidate for city council. This is just the next step in the process – there will be an internal party nomination meeting on June 27th to decide the final candidate slate. But I’m one step closer. I have deeper thoughts about this (of course) and further instructions about supporting the nomination process and campaign. That feels like something…
I’m not sure why it is that so much of our population are apathetic about participating in the electoral process. The voter turnout in our 2017 by-election was 11%. 89% of our eligible voters had something better to do on that day. I find that alarming. And I have to wonder why this is the case. Is it because people feel excluded from the process? That our candidates lack a representational diversity that alienates an increasingly multi-cutural population? Is it…
I’m throwing my hat in the ring for a candidacy with the Green party in our upcoming civic election. If you don’t know about this aspiration, it means we haven’t connected for a bit, and we should. It hasn’t been a secret. It just means something different to say it publicly. To ask for your support. I’ve been afraid about how this plan could colour the reception of my actions, my words. I want to represent you. I want to carry…
A couple of weeks ago, I asked you to tell me your favourite venues that are no longer here. Many many people chimed in with an amazing list! I learned so much about Vancouver’s history. Then I asked what other spaces are still around, that are important to you – which ones you’d fight to save. The response was significantly lower. I think there are many reasons for this, not the least of which is the triage situation we’re in….
I guess it’s been 5 minutes since I shared a philosophical meandering, so here’s one. The upcoming event for Coworking BC that I’ve been harassing you all to come to and invite people to has a suggested donation of $10. For all events I help to plan, I strive to make them accessible for everyone, and that has usually meant they’re free or ultra low cost. I’ve been rethinking offering free access to Subculture at Creative Coworkers for a while now, recommending that hosts…
I had an experience today that I feel compelled to share, even though the thoughts are a bit disjointed. That’s how I’m feeling – more than a bit disjointed. As some of you know, I coordinate a cannabis based opiate substitution program near Main and Hastings. Today, someone in the hotel next door fell to his death. I went over to make sure the staff were ok. His body lay on the sidewalk under a yellow tarp for more than…
Our operational cost on our lease at the studio has gone up by more than $3000 per month (more than 400%) in the less than three years we’ve been here, largely because of property value and tax adjustment. Over the course of our now three operational cost increases, prices for everything have gone up up up, while maintenance has steeply declined. We’re so focused on the housing crisis (which I understand) that the unfairnesses of commercial leasing are passing by…
I’ve been thinking a lot about a simple phrase – “these people”. It comes up often in discussion about the DTES. Often it’s pejorative, othering – but it’s also frequently said in solidarity. My personal north star in how I understand the complexity of the DTES, Gabor Mate, often mentions “these people” – “these people need compassion. These people are suffering”. And I wonder how differently we would feel about the DTES and other communities that present us with social…
A family member, my cousin, passed away this weekend. And it made me reflect again on the experience of grief. It seems to me that grief is like this thing you have to hold, like a bowling ball. Sometimes you feel strong, and it seems light. Sometimes you try to hand it to someone else for a minute. To varying results. And sometimes it’s so fucking heavy, and you’re tired. And sometimes it feels good, the weight of this ball,…