don't blow it people - VOTE!

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Carmen Mills
Date: Fri, Nov 14, 2014 at 7:15 PM

Hello my friends,

(if you do not live in B.C. please feel free to ignore this email)

Tomorrow, Saturday, is civic election day in B.C. Wherever you live, I urge you, please select a few minutes within your busy day and live them well: get out in the sunshine and VOTE.

Let me say that I really and truly loathe party politics. I am convinced that where party politics begins is where true democracy ends. So, I am not suggesting that you vote for any party as defined by their logo or their name. But if you love this city, please think of what you love about it, and who you really believe can bring that love to light. We have a lot to lose, and your vote could be the one that changes everything.

Vancouver certainly has all the challenges inherent in city life. But it is also a place of huge beauty, courage, and possibility. In the past few years I have grown to love Vancouver even more, as I have watched it blossom in so many small but huge ways: farmers' markets, street festivals, curbside composting, transit improvements, backyard chicken coops, laneway housing, community farms, social innovation, greenways and neighbourhood projects and public spaces, and of course, the genesis of a bicycle paradise which most of us would never have dreamed of even a decade ago. Every one of these small miracles has required courage, and each one has needed a champion at City Hall to stand up and fight for it.

Our current City Councillors, Park and School Board Reps, and our Mayor are those people. They are people like you and me: teachers, farmers, social workers, city planners, environmental activists. They ride bikes, they take transit, they live in rental housing. They stand in opposition to casinos and pipelines and tankers. They come to our demos, they dance with us at our parties, and they live with us on our streets. 

Please do not let the bankers and oil execs and lawyers get their greedy claws back into our beautiful home. We have come so far. Lets not blow it.

The polls are open 8am to 8pm. Walk, bike, drive if you must, whatever - just please, get out there tomorrow and VOTE. 

This has been a publicly self-serving announcement, in aid of all the good stuff. Thank you, enjoy!

Carmen