Go Vote

Tomorrow is election day across Ontario. Tomorrow we choose the leaders involved with our most personal municipal decisions over the next four years. Tomorrow, we citizens choose our mayors, councillors, and school board trustees. It is democracy in its purest form, yet it is a right that too many of us take for granted. In 2018, only 41% of Torontonians chose to exercise their franchise. That number was way down from the 2014 vote, which saw almost 55%. (In fairness, that was the year we turned out to turf The Fords.)

By all accounts, this mayoral election is a slam dunk, so says the media, which has pretty much abdicated its responsibility to hold the current office-holder to account for his record. John Tory hasn't held a single news conference during this election cycle, and he has only participated in a paltry two debates, both held on weekday afternoons. He has spent most of his time campaigning for friendly and vulnerable councillors who will continue to support his agenda. (Whatever that might be because he hasn't laid out a single new policy initiative, nor has he pointed to a single accomplishment after eight years in office.) That said, his most involved challenger is Gil Peñalosa, a city planner with zero political experience and a raft of great city-building ideas but no real thoughts on how to implement them. We Torontonians are poorer for the lack of a strong challenger to the mayor and a proper debate about our city, and it has allowed him to probably coast to an easy victory tomorrow.

This ridiculous coronation is our fault. We have allowed ourselves to buy into the idea that the man who saved the city from another disastrous term of Ford is indeed a good mayor and city manager. He is a decent man and was a decent manager during Covid, but his failures are everywhere, from overflowing garbage bins to a white elephant rebuild of the Gardiner. Simply put, John Tory is a terrible politician, but that isn't the point of this post. This post is designed to inform you of what you accept if you choose not to vote.

If you choose not to vote...

* You are saying that you are perfectly fine with the homeless situation in our city.

* You are comfortable with the state of our roads, transit, and parks. 

* You are ok with the lack of a strong Vision Zero plan to address the carnage on our roads that claims the lives of pedestrians and cyclists on a daily basis.

* You are fine with police abdicating their traffic enforcement role and allowing the police budget to balloon out of control.

* You think essential services like garbage bin collections, broken water fountains, shuttered public bathrooms, pothole repair, tree limb collection, and pruning are functioning at a high level.

* You are content with the shuttering of city programs because of staffing shortages and poor compensation.

* You are happy with the province turning the Ontario Place grounds into a luxury spa rather than increasing our downtown greenspace and not having a mayor express his opinion.

* You are perfectly content with a stormwater management plan that doesn't exist. 

* You thought that the clearing of snow from city roads and sidewalks during the mega storms last season was done efficiently.

These are just a few of the things that you are abdicating responsibility for if you skip voting tomorrow. 

I can't make you go out and vote. I can only hope that if this post moves you, you will rethink your apathy. 

Vote in whatever municipality you live tomorrow. Vote for your city. Vote for a better quality of life for everybody.

We are all in this together. 

 

Just Vote Already!

This is not a post about a political point of view.

This is not meant to divide the Conservative or the Liberal.

This is not about Republicans or Democrats.

This is a post about social action and civic responsibility.

Do you vote?

And if the answer to that question is no, then why the hell not?

Are you too busy? Too tired? Too angry? Too apathetic?

Do you live too far away from your poll? Are you physically unable? 

Seriously? What is your excuse?

In the last Ontario election, only 58% of eligible voters cast their ballots. This is the election that gave us Doug Ford. In the last presidential election, more than 100,000,000 eligible voters didn't vote. This is the Trump election. The numbers astound me.

Older citizens vote. They vote in huge numbers. Young people...well they stay home and let their grandparents' votes govern the communities in which they live and the issues they live by.

University students. I am speaking to you, now. Would you let your grandparents pick your clothes? Your music? Your partner?

No? 

So why are you allowing them to make decisions on the issues you say are the most important to you?

The environment. A woman's right to govern her own sexual agency. Gun control. Equal pay. Worker's rights. Net neutrality. Healthcare. 

This should terrify you all. (Start at about the two-minute mark.)

Parents, I'm talking to you now. Have you talked to your children about the dangers of drugs, alcohol, or unprotected sex? Have you lectured them about driving while under the influence? Have you taught them to have respect for others and to treat people the way they themselves would expect to be treated? Have you raised them to make informed choices?

Have you ever discussed with them the power and importance of voting? Have you taken them with you to the polls? Have you modeled voting behaviour by voting yourselves?

No?

I am constantly amazed at the number of people I know personally who don't believe that voting is a collective responsibility. It isn't merely that voting determines how we live our lives in our communities and how we protect the most vulnerable among us but that it sets the course to what kind of world we want to live in and what we will leave to the next generations. Are we willing to accept government by an invigorated minority or would we rather be on the right side of history?

Toronto residents, there is no doubt that our upcoming election is a mess. We still don't know who all the candidates in our ridings are, let alone where our polling places are located. There have been no voters cards mailed out because of the turmoil. But that is not an excuse to stay home on October 22nd or to not vote in the advance polls. Check out https://myvote.toronto.ca/home or https://www.thestar.com/toronto-election.html for all the information you need to vote with intention. You do *not* have to be registered to vote like in the U.S. to cast a ballot in the city election. All you need is to be eligible to vote and have ID with your address. Also from the city:

In addition, did you know that you can vote by proxy in Toronto? Here's how. https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/elections/voter-information/appoint-a-proxy-voter/

American friends, I have heard from many in the know that this November's midterms are possibly the most important since the Civil War. That is a stunning indictment on everything you all have been living through for the past two years. The world is watching. Get out and vote and then drive ten more friends and neighbours to the polls. Pick people up. Ensure your college kids are registered and that they are hounded and nagged by you until they cast their ballots. Go to seniors residences and take them to vote. Set up carpools through your church and synagogue groups. Stand in line and know your rights and what identification you need. Plan it and do it no matter what.

It isn't hyperbole to say that people have died to protect our right to vote in a democracy. We can argue about the candidates and we can argue about the platforms but we should NEVER use any excuse to keep us from exercising our franchise.


via GIPHY

A Post Debate Hangover Warning

A warning to my American friends.

It was really easy to "hate-watch" last evening's cage-match, mud-wrestling, throw down between your two presidential candidates. The jokes were far too easy and far too obvious. If anybody was hooked into either Twitter or Facebook last night, you probably had the most interactive and enjoyable TV experience since Grey's Anatomy decided it would broadcast a musical episode. (Only me? Ok.)

But....

(C'mon. You had to know there was a but....)

There is a tremendous danger in making jokes about the perceived intellectual and character chasm between the two candidates and what is actually seen by the voters, especially those in critical rust belt swing states where many tend to go with their guts as opposed to consuming multiple media sources for several hours every day. For the sake of argument, let's call these voters "Lower Information Voters".

The Lower Information Voter couldn't care less about fact-checking. He or she is typically a hard working, middle-class, middle-income voter who is fed up with promises made and promises unkept by career politicians. The LIV may or may not have higher education. This is an important point. Not all LIVs are from the great mass that those in ivory towers like to refer to as the uneducated, although some are. But that lack of post-secondary education doesn't make their vote count for any less than the PhD sitting in panelled offices on ivy-covered university campuses, or the CEO of a hedge fund on Bay Street or Wall Street. 

For the sake of comparison, I would like to introduce my American friends to the Toronto mayoral election of 2010 when Rob Ford was swept into power. While the political systems are different and the stakes probably not as high as the upcoming presidential election, the contrast is rather striking. Please note that the Rob Ford who was ushered into the mayor's office in 2010 was not the crack user/alcoholic that most Torontonians saw. Those problems, while probably persistent and hidden during the campaign, came much later in his term as mayor. The Rob Ford that Torontonians elected was the Donald Trump of his day.

Ford was an obnoxious, bombastic, ten-year sitting councillor representing a small riding in the west-end when he decided to throw his hat into the ring. He had extremely rough edges and was not the "sharpest knife in the drawer" at City Hall.  He possessed no filter and his outlandish and offensive comments about women, gays, and immigrants were often fodder for the 6:00 news. Toronto citizens were still suffering a financial and social hangover of amalgamation from over a decade before, whereby several boroughs and areas were brought together under the city umbrella, merging services and increasing property taxes. There was extreme discontentment felt by the residents of the outer boroughs (which Ford represented) with the very left-leaning and retiring mayor David Miller, who was a product of the downtown "elites" and who often seemed tone-deaf to the pleas from these residents who complained that services like garbage pick-up and subway travel were less than adequate in their areas. It wasn't at all unusual for Ford to be a lone dissenter at council when it came to picayune budget meetings or finding wasteful spending. His mantra of "stopping the gravy train" (Make America Great Again?) at city hall became an easy sound bite that was highly relatable to his constituents. He would often hold massive free community barbeques and Ford Fests where he would personally interact with these disgruntled voters and ply them with free swag like hats, t-shirts, and bobblehead dolls. He was loved and beloved. So when he decided to throw his hat into the ring with outlandish promises like building a massive subway with no raised tax revenues (Hello Trump's wall) or promising to snub civic events like Pride (Hello! Mexicans are rapists and African-Americans are thugs) the dog-whistles were loud and clear. Those LIVs had finally found their voice in a slightly portly, slightly off-putting, very boorish loudmouth. Does this sound at all familiar, my American friends?

Ford was also fortunate enough to run against one of the most disliked career politicians in the province. George Smitherman was a sitting provincial cabinet minister who had served for many years in various portfolios, including a stint as deputy premier whereby he was often tasked with being the province's attack dog. His arrogant demeanour and his dismissive attitude towards LIVs was obvious every time he spoke. (Basket of deplorables, anyone?) And while his passion and commitment to public service could not be denied, he was definitely part of that "downtown elitism" and he had difficulty resonating with LIVs. (Does this sound at all like the way that many people view Hillary?)

Ford also had the advantage on election day of "Third-Party" candidates that helped split the vote. Ford received about 47% of the vote while Smitherman got about 36%. Others took in the rest, with Joe Pantalone (Still thinking of writing in Bernie?) garnering about 11% of that. 11%!! If the polls in the US hold and third party candidates like Gary Johnson or Jill Stein siphon off votes, it will most likely be Hillary who will suffer as millennials and younger Americans search for a palatable candidate. Like Ford, that could easily hand the election to Trump depending on the state/Electoral College in question.

Finally, there are those voters that voted for Ford simply because he was the conservative on the ballot. These people were not necessarily the racists, alt-right, or LIVs. They were highly educated, high earners who couldn't stand Smitherman and the ruling Liberal party of the province of Ontario. Many intelligent members of my own family fall into this category as they hoped and prayed that the boorish, ignorant Ford they saw on the campaign trail would regulate and moderate once in office. They were oh so very wrong, and very few of them voted for Doug (Rob was too ill to run for reelection so his even more loathsome brother stood in his stead) in 2014. (Does anybody really believe that Trump could moderate or regulate once in office?)

Rob Ford is the reason that I think jokes and smugness cannot be allowed to continue when discussing Donald Trump. LIVs are tired of being dismissed and they are highly motivated to get to the polls, especially in the Rust Belt swing states. They saw a very different debate last evening than did I, and they will defend their candidate no matter what he does, just like Rob's supporters still do for him even after all of his scandals and his untimely death. The Republican party has mostly caved and fallen in line behind their nominee and will go down with the ship before they abandon it. The only way to combat this behaviour is to work hard, get involved and get out the vote. If you are a concerned American with a vote this fall, you must vote and take all of your friends and relatives with you to the polling stations. If you are a concerned and disgruntled American young voter, you have to stop pretending that not voting isn't a vote for Trump because it is. If you are in a family with LIVs, it is incumbent upon you to try and talk (not argue) about why Trump is a disaster for the country and the world. If you are a visible minority, a woman, LGBTQ,  or a person of faith, you cannot sit this one out.

And most importantly?

Those memes, those jokes, those John Oliver segments, and the like that we are all so fond of sharing....they are preaching to the choir. You are in a bubble of "happy internet land". They will not sway a single vote. The only way to affect a positive outcome is to affect the turnout. If last night's debate didn't demonstrate the false equivalency between the candidates, nothing will. Politics at this level cannot and should never be left to the destructors. I implore you, America. Do better than we here in Toronto did. 

The world is watching and holding its breath.

Baseball and Ballots

I am still in a state of euphoria after last night's wild ride masquerading as a Blue Jays game. Toronto  fans are well-acquainted with the emotions that Ranger fans must be experiencing today. We just don't get to win all that often, so we accept the uniqueness of being on the victorious side of something so crazy with unabashed happy dancing. Forgive us our minor gloating and hero worshiping. This too shall pass, and we will return forthwith to our loveable nature and national sense of decorum and collective restraint.

That said, there is something about the scheduling of these post season games that does have me a tad concerned. While it has been well-documented as to the timing of Blue Jay/Rangers games, (three out of the five games played were scheduled as weekday afternoon games, thus causing much "blue flu" and consternation amongst bosses and workplaces) I actually do understand the logic coming from Major League Baseball. Toronto simply isn't a major market for their advertisers, and in order to maximize television revenue for their sponsors they would rather see the primetime games coming from New York, Los Angeles, or Chicago. Not ideal for us up here in the Great White North, but we Canadians are nothing if not adaptable. We managed.

But now that we are through to the ALCS, another problem is in the offing. Game Three is scheduled for Monday October 19th, the same day as the federal election. On Facebook today I wrote the following:

I have had about 12 hours to decompress and to think. I need to share this one again. I cannot believe that MLB would schedule a Canadian team to play in a playoff game on Federal Election Day. That would NEVER happen in the US. That said, it is what it is and we need to get the word out. Rooting for our beloved Boys in Blue is fun and necessary, but not as essential as each and every fan casting their ballot. On Monday, please go vote first then get ready to party. Please pass this on. It is vital.

An American friend called me out on it and said the following:

Please vote. Please root for the Blue Jays. But please know that in the US this would ABSOLUTELY happen. Election day is not even a national holiday here. It's life as normal. I think the only difference is that in many (not all) states you cannot buy alcohol until after the polls close.

After some back and forth, we realized that we were actually in agreement. What I was trying to express is that I cannot recall any major sporting event ever being held on that Tuesday in November when Americans are at the polls electing their president, and I feel as though we here in Canada should be afforded a similar courtesy. He was simply stating that pop culture seems to trump (sorry for the bad pun) all, including issues of national import.

My issue with the game being played on Monday is that we here in Canada are a one-team country. Canadians from coast to coast have been riding the Blue Jay bandwagon all season as was evidenced by what happened yesterday. The game's timing could absolutely help to suppress the vote, especially on the west coast where people might be leaving work and heading to the bars or home rather than the polling stations. We have enough trouble with turnout. We don't need more help or excuses.

I understand that MLB has a schedule to keep and if the Rangers had prevailed yesterday this would not be an issue, but they didn't and it is. There is something to be said about special circumstances and a federal election in my mind would certainly qualify. Monday should be an off-day for this series so that Canadians can attend to their highest priority that day, voting for the party that will lead us and guide us for the next four years. As much as I can't believe that I'm saying this, the ballgame is not as important as that.

I am under no delusions that the game's time will change, so it is up to all of us to spread the word. If you know of people who are on the fence about voting because it will not fit into their Monday schedule, harangue them until they get to the polls. This election is simply too close and too important to be called on account of the Blue Jays, no matter how much we love and admire them. Attend to your civic responsibility first and then get ready to party. This team has made all Canadians proud. It is our turn to make them proud.

On October 19th...Get out and vote and then cheer like hell for YOUR TORONTO BLUE JAYS!

I Voted Today.

I voted today.

In an advance poll for the first time ever.

On a holiday Monday when I had a myriad of other tasks to complete.

At a polling station where I felt like an outsider in my own community.

And I stood in line for close to forty-five minutes.

In the heat of a community centre that has already turned off its air conditioning and it's 22C outside.

My ID was checked and double-checked. (I don't ever recall that kind of scrutiny in the past.)

All to vote for a candidate who has absolutely no hope of winning my riding.

Why?

Because for me voting is far more than just a right, it is a privilege. A privilege that is denied to far too many women and far too many citizens of far too many countries in 2015.

Because my voice matters. The vote itself might seem lost in a ballot wave for another party's candidate, but my voice and my opinion will not be silenced. Many may loathe my opinion, but this is Canada and in spite of the many ways devised to keep me quiet and sedate, I will express my views through my legally exercised franchise.

Because I need to be a role model for a generation behind me that, while starting to get more involved in politics, still feels isolated, ignored by, pandered to, and tremendous apathy towards today's leaders, so much so that their voting numbers in past elections have been positively anemic. The youth vote could absolutely sway this election if their numbers double. Today's young people must be encouraged to get off of the sidelines and engage themselves through voting. This is their country and their voices matter.

Because I live in Canada and I voted for the best needs for this country, not another. I care deeply about my ethnicity and I live by my religious values, but I refuse to be marginalized in my own community nor will I allow another group to be victimized in an ugly and sustained campaign of "us against the other." As a Jew, I know full well what it is to be treated as "the other". My Canada has no room for this kind of repugnant behaviour toward its own citizens and my vote clearly and loudly expresses that opinion.

Because in spite of my tremendous concerns about every single party leader, I believe that holding my nose and voting for the least objectionable candidate is better than an abstention or a destroyed ballot that makes absolutely no impact, even as a personal stand. When this election is over, I will be able to face myself in the mirror and know that I did the best that I could have done.

Because this election and its disgusting campaign have been interminable and I truly just want it to end. I want an end to the ads, an end to the pundits, an end to the polls, an end to the opinion pieces, an end to the polarization, and an end to the hijacking of my social media feeds....an end. By voting today, I ended it for me.

If you voted in these advance polls, I commend you. If you haven't yet voted, I urge you to spend a few minutes on October 19th to do so, no matter where you live in this country. Your vote and your voice matter and need to be counted.

I will now focus all of my attention on the baseball playoffs.