A Reason to Vote
A Reason to Vote
A Reason to Vote
A Reason to Vote
A Reason to Vote
A Reason to Vote
A Reason to Vote
At the market, the festival, and on the block.
Saturday was a great day. I enjoyed the market, chatting with so many new faces, and working with my market companions, Natalia and Gail. There were several really interesting moments. Some crazy, some inspiring, some left me scratching my head.
The eco-friendly campaign bags were a big hit — some even grew legs and disappeared. Here’s hoping they get really well used, logo side out! There are a least 20 Paul Harris for Red Deer City Council bags out there. We’ll be giving a tree to the person who sends in the best picture of someone with a campaign bag. So far the first picture we’ve seen is from the Latin Festival. It’s a picture of me rooting around the bottom of the bag looking for more “connect with me” cards in Spanish. I look goofy and surprised to see that I’ve used nearly all 250! Thanks Craig, you’re top in the running for a tree, but I’m sure the competition will be stiff. There’s a landscaper on the team that will be out to plant the tree for the winner in the spring.
I’ve been at the Public Market every week for the past five weeks and I’ve met a lot of really great people. The thing that strikes me the most about all of these conversation is the way people talk about the things that are important to them. Sometimes we have to get our concerns about tax increases, snow removal, too many skunks and crows, the crime in the city, or dog-eating beavers, out of our system. But then everyone goes on to share really powerful images of things that they would like for our community. Some ideas are simple and some are grand but all are achievable.
We’ve had cards made in a few different languages with the help of CARE (Central Alberta Refugee Effort) and ACFA (L’Association Canadienne-Française de l’Alberta), with one really good question for people to ponder. Send me a note sometime during this campaign with your thoughts.
People move to great cities and stay because they are vibrant and alive. What’s one wish or possibility that excites you, that would help Red Deer thrive and make it an even better place for you?
There have been quite a number of people that have suggested a spray park for kids — not just a few people, but it’s right up there with doing a better job with snow removal. Then there have been some really simple suggestions that would be easy to do and not costly to implement. I’ll be posting some of these on a page on the website in the future.
My market spot is across from Dianne Wyntjes, on the intersection between the old and the new parts of the market. She and I have been the only candidates out at the market seriously. Although not running, Vesna Higham was quoted in the Advocate this week “To really get a feel for someone, however, there’s nothing like an actual meet and greet. Any candidate worth our vote will soon be manning tables at our beloved Farmer’s Market every Saturday morning ‘til the election on October 18.” I have to agree with her and I hope that she meant that as an endorsement for the work we’ve been doing to get out and meet citizens. Chris Stephen made a point of stopping by this week to says he’ll be out campaigning in a couple of weeks.
I’ve appreciated the number of people that have come by to offer support and encouragement. A couple of weeks ago, I got a lovely thumbs up from our former mayor Gail Surkan, while she wrestled with her grand babies.
I suppose my favourite moment today was conversing with a new Canadian whose first language was Tagalog. She was pleased that the campaign material would be translated very soon. She took my card and told me how very excited she was to be able to vote as a Canadian and how she was really looking forward to it. I wonder if the work that the campaign team, supporters, and I are doing this year will help increase the voter turn out from 22.04% in 2007. It was inspiring to see her enthusiasm and understanding of the importance of voting. I wish every Red Deerian could have met her.
I packed up at the market and headed down to Sunworks where I set up my table in front of the shop for the Latin Festival, which was by then in full swing. I wandered the crowd for a couple of hours handing out my cards in Spanish and visiting with people I knew or met. Thanks, Carmen, for all you did for me. I had a great conversation with Cesar from the Latin Press. The festival was brilliant and such a great example of celebrating diversity, gathering to be together, and letting the local leadership organize the way they want to. By 3:30 I was absolutely pooped, talked-out, and weary… but I headed home to begin to gather my wits and make ready for the block party my partner, my niece and I organized on our street.
It was a great day all round with so many new connections formed. It was nice to have today to reflect for a while on the meaning of what is happening now and what it means for the future.
Great work – it’s really interesting to hear about all that’s going on!
I just wanted to comment on the thinking around water spray parks – they are a fabulous addition to a community because they are accessible – not only for children, but for mothers with babies and people of all ages who may have mobility issues. No challenges in either walking or wheeling into them (they are totally wheelchair accessible)- no fears of dangerous water depths – and easy to get out of (no stairs – just flat surfaces)!
There are a number of small communities surrounding Red Deer that have spray parks – they are extremely well used and serve a very broad group of important members of our communities!