Sunday, October 24, 2010

Election day tomorrow in Hamilton

Tomorrow night we're having a little party at my house. Just a few folks, starting at 8 or so. We're going to watch election results.

Tomorrow is Hamilton's municipal election. There's a lot of good candidates, especially in my ward. There's at least five candidates I could have confidently voted for in my ward, and it came down to a minor difference why I chose the one I did. Even for mayor, there were two of the three frontrunners I think I could have responsibly chosen.

For me personally, I voted in the advance polls. For mayor - Fred Eisenberger, and for Ward 2 councillor - Martinus Gelensye. (Paul Casey and Matt Jelly were close runners-up in my choice.)

I like municipal elections the most because things don't get polarized into "left" and "right" wing, especially because I hold priorities on both sides of the spectrum. I think Eisenberger's most closely aligned with mine for mayor, and while several folks had platforms I could get behind in Ward 2, Martinus brings some forms of experience to the table that the other folks don't.

And I look forward to seeing the results, because I firmly believe that everything rises and falls on leadership. Not just city leadership of course, but that's an important piece of the puzzle.

I've also had the privilege of being part of the following campaign - I don't care who you vote for (or even if you make an intentional decision not to vote) but I'm very conscious of the privilege I have to vote, and the big difference leadership makes.

These ads could have been even better, but I'm really glad we were able to get them in buses around the city as well as a lot of local papers - radio ads went out too. I'm glad that was able to happen this timea round.




Even if neither candidate I vote for gets in, I'm glad I've been a part of the process. And no matter who gets in, I hope the leadership of this city is solid, visionary, and forward-thinking for the next four years.

We'll see. And tomorrow will be a party, either way.

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