Dave Bagler

Power. It's a word that makes many Greens uncomfortable. We need to get over it.... Last year I sat in a Summerside campaign office with Lynne Lund, Sabine Dietz, and Trish Altass waiting for the PEI election results to come in. Early in the night, we knew, as expected, that Lynne was walking away with it. We also knew, as expected, that Trish's race was going to be a lot closer. Sabine ran an excellent and incredibly hard-working campaign. Trish was a first-time candidate who excelled and overcame any inexperience through hard work and dedication. Their team was motivated and invested. When tragedy struck, we pivoted and found a way to ensure that every Green supporter in district 23 got out to vote while being respectful. Our support identification and GOTV efforts may have made the difference. When I see what Trish is doing with the power her constituents vested in her. I'm so glad we did. Trish tries hard and cares a lot. What she needed was more power, and her constituents had the wisdom to lend her some. Somewhere on PEI, some families were hoping for someone like Trish to be their champion. As chair of PEI's poverty committee, she is that champion. So let's get comfortable with building power. Making Green ideas a reality will require more power. Over a million Canadians are counting on us. Let's get serious about organizing. Let's get evidence-based in our campaigns. Let's commit to the strategies and tactics that are known to improve our chances of winning.

Voting is open until 3pm Eastern, May 1st. Green Party of Canada members, please check your email for your voting instructions. If you can't find the email from SimplyVoting that includes the link to your ballot, please email [email protected]. I have a positive plan to refresh Council, reform governance and renew the relationships between Council, EDAs and members. It's about empowering members and EDAs, providing stable governance and respectful treatment of all part...y members and officials. Please make me your first choice for Fund Representative. Music: http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music, Once Again.

I encourage every Ontario member of the Green Party of Canada to cast their ballot for the Ontario Representative on Federal Council. Eric Gilmour is my first choice. Being young, he brings a fresh perspective, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have experience. He's been a Young Greens of Canada - Jeunes Verts du Canada councillor and has lots of governance and governance policy experience with the Green Party of Ontario. A strong relationship with the GPO is something I look ...for when voting for Ontario Rep. If I'm elected your next Fund Rep and Eric is the next Ontario Rep. I look forward to working with him. Henry Wright is my second choice. Henry has a wealth of political experience, and as the deputy campaign manager in 2019, he has a deep understanding of the challenges we face at an operational and organizational level. Henry would make an excellent Ontario Rep.

I encourage every member of the Green Party of Canada to vote in this Federal Council election. For those who are wondering I chose Darcie Lanthier as my first choice for VP. Darcie has a proven record of successful Party building at the national and provincial level. I also believe she's been a voice of reason on Council since last fall's Federal election. I hope to be your next Fund Rep, and I hope to work with Darcie on Council.

I don't like slates in internal elections. I believe "parties" within the Party are terrible for Party unity and cohesion, especially at a time when the whole Council needs to work better as a team. Each internal election candidate should run as an individual. Oddly, some Greens who have complained about partisanship in Canadian politics have supported partisanship internally. This slate (Greens for Council) is worse. Before anyone says they aren't a slate, they are. They are... candidates running on a shared platform and promoting each other. They are, by definition, a slate. The argument that they aren't a slate because they include multiple regional rep candidates is spurious. We use ranked ballots, so numerous candidates for the same role do not reduce the chance that one of their candidates wins. But, why is it worse than slates in General? The name. Greens for Council is a generic name. During this election, it has been promoted as the full list of candidates. A couple of supporters have asked me if I'm running, why am I not on the list of candidates? Some of my supporters incorrectly thought that Greens for Council invited every candidate to participate. My biggest problem with the name is that it makes two claims. 1) These are the people who are Greens. 2) These are the people who are running for Council. Every candidate is a Green who is running for Council. At the risk of stating the obvious, they need to be a Green to run, and if they're on the ballot, they're running for Council. It would be difficult, if not impossible, for them to argue that the other candidates are not running for Council. So, the implication is that they're not Greens, or at least not real Greens. I have worked on Green campaigns at the provincial and national level since 2006. I was a Young Greens Councillor, an Ontario Rep and our Party's president. I chaired our national campaign committee and have worked on campaigns in 6 provinces. In Ontario, I was a candidate twice, a shadow cabinet critic and am a member of the Green Party of Ontario's Election Readiness Committee. I have authored and sponsored many motions at AGMs over the years. Locally, I have years of experience on CA/EDA executives. By any definition, I am a Green. I've earned that through 14 years of service, and I take offence to their implication that I'm not. I invite all members to evaluate my experience and plan. My loyalty is to the Green Party, its constitution and its members, not to any internal faction.