Ellen Michelson

Welcome!

Posted by admin on 07 Sep 2008 at 04:32 pm | Tagged as: Uncategorized

5 Responses to “Welcome!”

1. on 09 Sep 2008 at 8:29 pm   Jeff Hall
   
   

   Hi there.

   I’ve just moved to Toronto Centre from Trinity-Spadina. I’ve been a member of the NDP since I was 18 years old. I’m a high school teacher with the Peel District School Board.

   Even though I’ve been a dyed orange NDPer since 1997, I’m considering changing my vote, to Green, mostly because of the debate issue. I think that Ms. May very well should be allowed in the debates.

   Can I be honest, I think the thing that makes me nervous about Green is sometimes it seems like a bunch of ex-Conservatives who seem to have environmental concerns. Sometimes it seems like sheep in wolves clothing.

   But I’m interested, and I’m really really disappointed in the NDP I used to be proud of.

   I guess my question is, what do the Greens have to offer people who typically vote NDP?

   Hope this doesn’t sound too silly.

   Best,
   Jeff Hall
   jeff.hall@peelsb.com

2. on 12 Sep 2008 at 7:15 am   David
   
   

   When will the all candidates debates be held. I’d like to attend. Please advise.

3. on 13 Sep 2008 at 11:08 pm   Kenn Chaplin
   
   

   It’s good to see the website coming to life.

   I am specifically responding to Jeff Hall’s message as it could have been written by me about a year ago.

   Like Jeff I supported the NDP from the first time I could vote, or maybe it was the second time as I helped Trudeau defeat Joe Clark in 1980 🙂 Nice to see how Joe has progressed over the years.

   I had a few of the same concerns about the Greens, Jeff, as I thought about changing parties. Former dipper ‘friends’ still give me breathless warnings of clandestine neo-cons. Let’s just say there’s a broad spectrum of ideas in the Green Party, and I’ve met members of all stripes.

   Jack’s mishandling of the debate issue has brought a lot of inquiries to Green headquarters, I understand, and had I not been a Green already this definitely would have been the last straw for me, too.

   In a subtler way it was what brought me here last year. I had been waking up to the environment being a key voting issue for me and I could not for the life of me understand Jack’s unco-operative attitude towards the Greens (other than the obvious territorial issues). Then, after a nine month break from riding level work, it was even clearer to me that I did not want to be part of what had started to become a nastier machine that I could not identify with as much.

   As luck would have it, there was a by-election in this riding last March and a pamphlet from then-candidate Chris Tindal of the Greens sealed the deal. I didn’t just vote for him (I tend to leap into things) I joined the party.

   So, Jeff, I’m only writing from my experience but I can say we’d all love to have your vote for Ellen.

4. on 14 Sep 2008 at 9:08 pm   Pauline
   
   

   Hi – I just joined the green party though I’ve voted green in the last provincial and federal elections. The climate crisis and environmentally related illnesses that impact our auto-imune systems really frighten me. I have 3 sons and feel I owe them a better legacy than a planet that can no longer sustain itself. I have volunteered to help out with this campaign but was ready to do something on my own which I called plan “vote abc” – anything but conservative. I was ready to print brochures imploring my community to vote with environmental ethics. The conservatives are the only party without environmental commitments. How are they ahead in the polls??? These same polls tell us that the environment is slightly ahead if not tied with the economy. How is this not reflected in the way voters intend to vote. Jeff, I think you will find that the people supporting and the members of the green party are “anything but conservative” – they are sheep in sheep’s clothing.

5. on 14 Sep 2008 at 9:42 pm   Jeff Hall
   
   

   Thanks for responding, both of you.

   Firstly, I hope that people don’t take offense to my hesitations. I’m pretty open to the fact that my initial perceptions of the party are completely unfounded. I’m still agonizing over my vote, if you can believe it. Such a silly thing. But I’m much more open, I think, to Green.

   Can I tell you a tiny bit about myself?

   I guess some would consider myself a “foodie”. I’m very passionate about all types of different sustainable local food. I think we have some of the best food around. I try to go to farmer’s markets 2 or 3 times a week.

   I’m not a vegetarian, but I hold the same passion for seasonal, local vegetables, as I do for ethically raised hogs, or grass-fed beef. I L-O-V-E food and I love knowing the names of people who grow and raise it. And no matter what, whether it’s a head of oak-leaf lettuce in July, or a shoulder of Suffolk lamb in February, I try to approach it with a sense of humility.

   So, I guess that’s my main environmental passion/concern. It’s pretty microcosmic, I know. I should probably be more concerned about greenhouse gases (which I am). But I’m mostly concerned about my/our food.

   There’s something so simple and wonderful about the way our great-great grandparents used to raise food. There was no concept of “organic” because everything was. Who, a hundred years ago, would think of putting chemicals in the soil for tomatoes or antibiotics in livestock? Who, then, would think to feed cattle CORN(!) rather than the green grass they were meant to eat?

   I spend a lot of money on food. And I don’t care, it’s worth it. When I buy meat, I usually buy a half or whole animal from a farmer I know, that way, I can be sure that my food is only coming from one living thing…

   Sorry, I’m rambling…
   this is silly…
   Thank you so much for helping me clarify some things.

   This has really helped.

   Maybe, if it’s possible, I can even help with the campaign…(?)

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