At this point in the running for election for City Councillor for Ward 18 Davenport, I have been contacted by the following lobby groups or news groups seeking to rate my worthiness for election for their specific causes:
- Friends of Dufferin Grove Park, Jutta Mason (Actually on the CELOS website: http://www.celos.ca/wiki/wiki.php?n=MunicipalElection2010.FrontPage )
- Toronto Community News/InsideToronto asking who I support for mayor, amongst other things: http://www.insidetorontovotes.ca/wards/bloor-west-parkdale/ward-18-davenport/
- ArtsVote Toronto http://artsvotetoronto.ca/report-card/#18
- Social Planning Toronto http://socialplanningtoronto.org/ - The Poverty Pledge: http://davenportdemocracy.blogspot.com/2010/09/poverty-election-issue-priority.html
- McMaster University Political Science Department survey http://socserv.socsci.mcmaster.ca/limesurvey/index.php?lang=en&sid=55267&token=t4h375fmxrkdwtj
- Toronto Environmental Alliance: http://www.torontoenvironment.org/voteto/candidatesurvey
- OpenFile: Josh OKane http://www.openfile.ca/toronto-votes (about Brockton Village)
- CP24 telephone poll person asking who I support for mayor (undecided)
- Dundas West BIA http://wp.dundaswestbia.ca/ (about parking)
- Federation of Metro Tenants' Associations: http://www.torontotenants.org/
- Toronto Open Budget Inititiative: http://sites.google.com/site/torontoopenbudget/
- Public Transit Coalition: My Response is at: http://davenportdemocracy.blogspot.com/2010/10/transit-ttc-survey-results.html
- Toronnto Womens Alliance http://www.twca.ca/
There maybe more, but these are the ones I recall. I wonder if this is typical and like elections in the past - or are groups just getting more organized?
I really wonder whether the intent is decide and promote amongst their group who to vote for - or, who to go after once he/she gets elected and they don't follow up.
An interesting exercise in accountability at the very least.
... * Update: saw a tweet Sept 29 saying only Kevin, Hema and Joe completed a Toronto Coalition for Active Transportation survey (TCAT) http://torontocat.ca/main/platform_election_surveys
...* Update: I have now completed that survey I didn't initially receive it and wonder if all 12 candidates in the ward got it?
...* PROBLEM: Most of these groups seem to pick arbitrary times to send out surveys, ignoring the fact that we don't know all the names that will be on the ballots before September 10, 2pm when nominations closed. Thus a lot of candidates get forgotten or left out.
