I’ve had inklings of interest to involve myself politically but have generally carried a belief that the bureaucratic nature of government simply moves too slowly for me to joyfully contribute and create within. Instead, I’ve felt that I could make a larger positive impact in my community through green and social entrepreneurship. So that’s what I have been doing: figuring out how I can make a successful living while contributing to a healthier, sustainable and resilient community on Manitoulin Island.
At the same time, I try to challenge my biases and beliefs on a regular basis and the opportunity to actively participate in the upcoming election seemed like the opportune way to do just that. So here I am, Green Party of Ontario Candidate for the upcoming provincial election on October 6th. This is new ground for me and I welcome any constructive feedback on how I can best be and act in this capacity.
Before I engage in anything I try to clarify my intentions upfront. To date, they are:
- Promote the Green Party of Ontario as a viable and capable political party
- Promote the Green Party values as guiding principles for a healthy and abundant future
- Promote community owned and managed businesses and cooperatives to be the stewards of local resources and the generators of economic resilience
- Promote ways to decouple human activities from the fossil-fuel economy
- Connect with communities and individuals throughout the riding to learn what issues are important and poorly addressed
- Do my best to expand the quality of the dialogue on difficult, divisive and contentious issues
- Contribute feasible and sustainable solutions that the other parties may not be considering
- Challenge the status quo belief that a perpetually growing economy is the only way to a prosperous future
So there we are. Let’s see where it all goes. I feel blessed for this opportunity to grow in new and unexpected ways and I welcome your participation along the way.
I spent a deeply stirring week at the 
