If you haven't heard, which is likely, Guelph City Council voted to remove a councillor from a board called the "Police Services Board." Councillor Bob Bell is upset about bad government. Councillor Piper organized the motion that unseated Kovach and then was appointed to the committee herself.
My question remains: Who cares? Why aren't we hearing stories about city council finding ways to support local business? Why aren't we reading about how the Mayor appears to support big business in renewable energy over small locally-owned businesses? How is council planning on better integrating their younger community members in student neighbourhoods? As the city grows, are we ensuring that we are on the cutting edge of urban design, or are we heading towards urban sprawl?
I'd be much more interested in seeing leadership coming out of city hall, rather than watching them generate stories about political infighting.
Link to the CTV story: http://swo.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20111206/guelph-councillor-ousted-board-111206/20111206/?hub=SWOHome
And the Mercury: http://www.guelphmercury.com/news/local/article/634993--in-controversial-move-councillor-pulled-off-police-board
Building a Strong Organization
It's clear that the Guelph Green party has a lot of work to do towards building organizational capacity. We have to answer tough questions about why we exist and do a better job at communicating the answer to that question in a way that demonstrates the urgency we feel around the issues we face as a community.
In addition to that, people who believe that the Green message is important can choose to help us build a credible organization by supporting the Guelph Greens financially. We have launched two new fundraising initiatives in the past month that use one of the primary lessons learned from the Obama campaign in 2008 and from the Conservative movement in Canada: Small monthly donors can build a substantial bank account.We currently have commitments from supporters in Guelph to raise over $10,000/year, but that won't be enough to compete with traditional parties war chests in the next elections.
If you want to see a credible Green organization in Guelph, one capable of communicating our values and ideas in a way that clearly distinguishes us from traditional parties, I'd ask you to think about giving. Amounts as small as $10 month to both our local federal and provincial organizations can add up to a substantial amount for us over a four year term. With the tax refunds the provincial and federal governments give, this typically results in a net gift of $2.50 a month to you.
For more information about how we can build our financial capacity, please check out www.guelphgreens.ca/cornerstone.
In addition to that, people who believe that the Green message is important can choose to help us build a credible organization by supporting the Guelph Greens financially. We have launched two new fundraising initiatives in the past month that use one of the primary lessons learned from the Obama campaign in 2008 and from the Conservative movement in Canada: Small monthly donors can build a substantial bank account.We currently have commitments from supporters in Guelph to raise over $10,000/year, but that won't be enough to compete with traditional parties war chests in the next elections.
If you want to see a credible Green organization in Guelph, one capable of communicating our values and ideas in a way that clearly distinguishes us from traditional parties, I'd ask you to think about giving. Amounts as small as $10 month to both our local federal and provincial organizations can add up to a substantial amount for us over a four year term. With the tax refunds the provincial and federal governments give, this typically results in a net gift of $2.50 a month to you.
For more information about how we can build our financial capacity, please check out www.guelphgreens.ca/cornerstone.
Christmas is a great time to be Green!
2011 was a year of significant learning opportunities for
the Guelph Greens. The provincial and federal elections have provided a few key
lessons:
·
The Green party in Guelph has not yet
established itself as a credible organization that provides meaningful leadership
in the community.
·
Guelph is looking for a new kind of leadership.
Both the incumbents were returned in their respective elections, but declining
turnouts and obvious dis-satisfaction voiced throughout the year show us that there
is a need for a strong Green voice talking about the values our organization
operates from.
As we move into the new year, you can expect to see the
leadership of the Guelph Greens move us in new directions. We’ll be asking for
your voices, time, money and leadership to help find ways that our group can
build momentum and make a difference in the lives of people living in the
community. Expect to be asked if you can give a small monthly donation to the
Greens and if there are any challenges in your area that we can help solve.
Expect us to help you ask to be the voice of the organization in advocating for
common sense, meaningful advocacy with issues that will help to create jobs,
improve our health and lay the groundwork for a healthier environment. I continue to choose to be Green because I believe our party is the only organization that can provide a new, transformational leadership style.
Mostly: We to have fun building something powerful! We want
to have bbq’s, play sports, watch movies, have interesting discussions and
enjoy some laughs along the ride.
It’s a great time to be Green!
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