ACORN was one of our presenters for #voteTOin416 (see their presentation here).

Thursday, August 12th ACORN is holding an event as part of their tenants vote campaign. See their press release below:

PRESS RELEASE
ACORN
Tenants Vote 2010

Low-income residents are taking action to get out the tenant vote in target wards

WHAT: ACORN Rally and Press Conference with Mayoral and Council Candidates
WHEN: Thursday, August 12, 2010 : 5:30PM
WHERE: Wellesley Community Centre, 495 Sherbourne St.

ACORN members and tenants from across the city will be gathering in St. Jamestown to hold a rally to get out the tenant vote for the upcoming municipal election. Low voter turnout from rental apartment buildings has been an ongoing problem in elections at all levels of government, meaning that tenants issues often get overlooked by elected politicians.

ACORN is determined to make tenants rights an election issue this fall by increasing the tenant vote in support of candidates who support tenant concerns. MAYORAL CANDIDATES CONFIRMED TO APPEAR: Rossi, Smitherman, Thomson, Ford, (Pantalone most likely)

Several mayoral and councillor candidates will be attending the rally to show their support or share their views on specific tenant issues.

“Over half the city rents which means tenants have an incredible amount of power to influence the election”

says ACORN member Marva Burnett,

“we are sick and tired of being ignored by politicians because we are low-income tenants. We have a voice, and it is going to be a loud voice in October”

ACORN members will present their tenant platform at the event and give mayoral candidates an opportunity to address the issues. Following the press conference, the members will knock on doors in St. Jamestown gathering voter signatures on a petition; the petition declares support for candidates who will stand up for tenant issues if elected.

ACORN member Natalie Hundt states:

“We are giving away any power we have to make a positive change for low income tenants if we don’t stand up and vote for people who care about our issues. One door at a time we will make it happen this time”

For more information, please contact Tatiana Jaunzems at (416) 450-0341

ACORN (The Association of Community Organization for Reform Now) is a community organization with over 15,000 members in 11 chapters across Toronto. For 6 years ACORN has been fighting on issues that concern low to moderate income people in Canada, including the right to livable housing.

Today, July 15th, ACORN is holding an action at city hall in the election services office drawing attention to the need for polling stations in high rise buildings.

Here is their press release:

WHAT:  ACORN Action for Polling Stations in high rise buildings.

WHERE:  City Hall (Elections Services Office)

WHEN:  Thursday, July 15 – NOON

July 15th – Toronto ACORN members are holding an action at city hall to draw attention to the need for greater accessibility to polling locations in high rise buildings in the upcoming municipal election.

We are calling on election officials to utilize their power under Section 13.4 of the Ontario Elections Act and place polling stations in all buildings containing 100 or more units where accessible space is available.

Providing increased accessibility in large buildings by providing polling stations is another tool election officials have to help address the endemic low voter turnout in these polls.

ACORN member Cathy Birch who uses a scooter expresses her reliance on a polling station in her building, saying:

“I live in a building with 300 units and if there wasn’t a polling station I just wouldn’t vote. There are too many places that are not accessible. To get in and out of a place that has stairs is impossible, and that essentially takes away my ability to vote.”

ACORN member and St. Jamestown resident Edward Lantz comments:

“They just had a by-election in my riding. My building has over 400 units and didn’t have it’s own polling station, none of the buildings here did and we have 30,000 people living here. A lot of people didn’t even know there was an election.”

This event is part of Toronto ACORN’s “Tenants Vote 2010” campaign. This campaign is working to increase the tenant voter participation rates in areas with high concentrations of low income renters in the upcoming municipal election.

For more information contact Tatiana Jaunzems at (416) 450-0341 or Shauna Harris at (416) 219-9915

#VoteTOin27: Candidates’ Opening Statements from VoteTO on Vimeo.

#VoteTOin27: Candidates’ Closing Statements from VoteTO on Vimeo.

RSVP here for your FREE tickets to the June 10th all-candidates game show for ward 27 (Toronto-Centre Rosedale).

The Price is Right: Candidates’ Row
How much does it cost to run this town? We will give each candidate a chance to guess the price of something related to city life — a piece of infrastructure, a line in the city budget, the cost of a city service — and the closest guess, without going over, wins. Click here for an example of the classic game.

Where in the Ward is Carmen Sandiego?
International thief Carmen Sandiego is in Toronto with one of her henchmen — local landmarks beware! Carmen left clues of her whereabouts, and it is up to participants to track down her location, testing their knowledge of the ward and the city. The game will be multiple choice and similar to the original show, but won’t feature an a capella group, unless of course you know one who can perform for free?

Factional Family Feud
We’ll divide the group into two (friendly) factions to guess the answers to fun surveys of local residents. Candidates will be tested on their familiarity with public sentiment. #VoteTOin27 attendees can participate in the game by answering the survey questions when they get a FREE ticket to the event here . We know that the candidates are going to be smarter than these contestants of Family Feud.

The $9,200,000,000 Pyramid
How well can candidates work with others and as part of a team? We’ll pair off candidates to play a Toronto-themed version of the long-running game show. Candidates will have to prompt their partners into saying a word related to the ward. For a refresher of how Pyramid works, check out this clip of a contestant trying to prompt Betty White.

Of course, it is not going to just be fun and games. Between sets, a community member will lead a discussion on ward-related issues. An intermission will allow attendees to meet the candidates and ask more intimate one-on-one questions. It’s the perfect time to introduce yourself to the ward 27 candidates and learn how to get involved in the municipal election.

Our last event was referred to by Now Magazine as “a rock concert for City Council junkies,” and we know this event will be a fabulous and entertaining game show for City Council junkies and all ward 27 residents. #voteTOin27 should be an entertaining night, celebrating the diverse and wonderful neighbourhoods of ward 27.

Tickets are FREE!

Thanks to FLY Nightclub and Fire On the East Side for their support.

Maggie is the one and only person who can pull off managing the chaos of a dozen Toronto Centre-Rosedale candidates, each vying to replace Councillor Kyle Rae, while they compete in the games of #voteTOin27: So You Think You Can Council.

Lawyer, stand-up comedian, writer, and actress, Maggie will keep the politicos on time and keep the audience laughing. If you’ve seen her in the queer comedy festival We’re Funny That Way, you know what we’re talking about.

Born and raised in America, Cassella offers a unique, insightful perspective on Canadian politics. We are thrilled to have her as our host.

Coming June 10th: this ain’t the Rosedale debate.

What it will be is an opportunity for the candidates running in ward 27 to show that they know their stuff: about the ward, about the city, about the municipal government, and about the people they want to represent.

Ward 27 (Toronto Centre–Rosedale) is the seat that’s been held by Kyle Rae since 1991, when he was elected as Toronto’s first openly gay councillor.  Last December, Rae announced that he wouldn’t be seeking a seventh term.  That left the high-profile ward as an open race, and indeed thirteen people have registered to run.

There’ll be plenty of opportunities for the various candidates to go up against each other in debates — but wit and the ability to articulate complex policy in pleasing soundbites are only two of the qualities that are useful in politics.  Knowledge and comprehension of a wide range of issues and processes are also vital; a councillor needs to understand what’s going on in order to decide how to act.

And so we present #voteTOin27: So You Think You Can Council, in which candidates will have to work with and against each other in a series of game show–inspired challenges. In a gay nightclub. [smiley face]

Date: Thursday, June 10
Doors: 6:00
Showtime: 6:30
Location: Fly Nightclub, 8 Gloucester Street (just east of Yonge)
Cost: Free
Tickets: Here!

And now… an obligatory list of ward 27’s awesome, diverse neighbourhoods: the Church-Wellesley Village, the Garden District, Ryerson, Upper Jarvis, Yorkville, and of course Rosedale.

#voteTO is a collective of progressive young people who wanted to endow the virtual body of the Twittersphere with a real-world political presence.  So far they have been reasonably successful.

We’ve all experienced it, and studies have shown that the motor vehicle traffic congesting our city costs Toronto enormously in terms of lost productivity, air quality, and personal health and safety.

Nancy Smith Lea (@CompleteStsCA) of the Toronto Coalition for Active Transportation (TCAT) believes that a policy of Complete Streets designed for the safety and comfort of all road users would benefit Toronto enormously. TCAT plans to put this on the agenda during Toronto’s municipal election.

Complete streets are safe, comfortable, and convenient for travel by foot, bicycle, transit, and automobile, and by people with disabilities, children, families, and the elderly.

Complete streets might include infrastructure features such as bike lanes, highly visible crosswalks, safe and convenient connections to transit stops, traffic calming measures, and synchronized traffic signals along major routes and arterial roads.

The benefits of complete streets include (but are not limited to):

• reduced infrastructure costs
• improved economic development
• improved personal safety for road users of all ages and abilities
• increasing physical activity
• faster, easier transportation for all
• healthier communities
• reduction in greenhouse gas emissions
• reduced air pollution
• less green space lost to pavement (thereby cooling our cities, among other things)

Many complete streets campaigns are led by active transportation advocates who see there is much in common with other road users who are not being properly considered in road design, such as people with disabilities, parents with toddlers, children, the elderly, etc.  We all share the goal of wanting vibrant, livable cities not dominated by car traffic.

TCAT, the Bike Union, and the almost 100 volunteers on this campaign (and growing!) are passionate about creating a liveable city for all of us. It is essential that our politicians support creating — and implementing — strong policies that promote walkable and bikeable cities.

A Complete Streets policy puts the environment, public health, and local economies on the political agenda.

The Toronto Coalition for Active Transportation was founded in 2006 to present a unified voice for the many groups representing pedestrians and cyclists. TCAT works to create a better city for cycling and walking by 1) conducting research, developing policy, and creating opportunities for knowledge sharing; 2) working with City staff and councillors and other governments and agencies; and 3) identifying and communicating opportunities to influence government decision making.

The Complete Streets Coalition based in Washington, D.C. has made excellent progress in its movement to have Complete Streets policies adopted throughout the U.S, with over 100 jurisdictions adopting Complete Streets policies as of December 2009. However, no Complete Streets policies have yet been adopted in Canada. In August 2009, the Toronto Coalition for Active Transportation and the Toronto Cyclists Union began working together to bring this exciting initiative to Toronto. In just a few short months, our joint venture expanded to include a steadily increasing number of groups and individuals who signed on to express their support. We are currently organizing a coalition to make Complete Streets an election issue in Toronto in 2010.

Attend the Complete Streets Forum on April 23rd at the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto.

Some of the Bike Union’s current initiatives include:

• Keeping pressure on the city to implement the Bike Plan
• The Good Roads campaign, to help cyclists work with the City to keep our streets in good repair and clear of debris
• Leading a campaign providing cyclists with “thank you” cards to acknowledge drivers who remember to give them their fair share of the road
• Working with the Ministry of Transportation to update the Driver’s Handbook to reflect the rules regarding cyclists on the road
• A Ward Advocacy program to support the development of local advocacy groups at the neighbourhood level
• Working in partnership with TCAT and other groups to bring Complete Streets to Toronto

In just 4 minutes and 16 seconds, Executive Director Yvonne Bambrick describes both the work of the Bike Union and what needs to be done to make Toronto a cycling-friendly city:

The Toronto Cyclists Union (@bikeunion) coordinates city-wide advocacy on behalf of its members and provides resources for cyclists to become effective local advocates themselves.  The Bike Union promotes cycling in an inclusive, friendly, and inviting manner.