On July 21st at Oakridge Community Center we held a nomination meeting for our riding that turned out to be historic in more ways than one. For the first time in Scarborough Southwest, we had more than one candidate entering the nomination race. Three candidates had all stepped forward before election night; Richard Hennick, Tommy Taylor, and Lindsay Thompson. Due to an unforeseen issue, Lindsay had to back out of the nomination meeting at the last minute. There were 11 people in attendance for what turned out to be an energetic and exciting meeting.
The meeting opened with an inspirational speech from former Green Party of Canada leader, Jim Harris. He very passionately spoke about tipping points in history, and how small actions can lead to big changes in the long run. The two remaining candidates, Richard and Tommy were then given time to speak about their experience and focus, then given time to answer questions. The vote ended up being a tie, with Richard and Tommy both receiving the same number of votes! It was then decided by the group to call another nomination meeting, which will be held on August 4th, from 6:30 to 8:30 at Taylor Memorial Public Library. Lindsay will be re-entering the race, which should make for an exciting meeting!
We are calling on all Green Party members in Scarborough Southwest to make some time to attend the meeting, as it promises to be a good one. To ensure a healthy nomination process, we would like as many people as possible to participate. Our riding will be closely watched by the media as we have Liberal candidate Bill Blair running against NDP incumbent Dan Harris. This is our opportunity to increase visibility for the party, and to expand by recruiting new Greens, as well as getting our message out there.
Please take the time to view our nominees biographies on our website before attending the meeting. We will be using a ranked balloting system to ensure fair voting. See you on August 4th!
