So in the end my municipal campaign spent only $3,390.78. Given that I know the two major well-to-do mainstream candidates both spent at least the maximum (campaign launch parties, fundraisers and some other expenses can allow you to go over the limit) that means we were outspent by them alone by in excess of $76,500! One of them, for all of that, still managed to lose rather badly on their expensive say-nothing platform and cynically negative campaign. With $3,390.78 we managed to get at least one, and in some areas multiple, leaflets calling for important reforms and initiatives like municipal minimum wages, landlord licensing, police accountability, defending public services and workers and more into the hands of almost every household in the ward. An explicitly socialist message. I must say I am, realizing now what we spent as I prepare my papers, very proud and even retroactively somewhat surprised at just how far the message and ideas got spread and discussed in Ward 6 given the resources financially. Despite not having (unlike the other campaigns) any full-time workers, any phone banks, any money for mail walks or last minute negative pieces or targeting the voters of other campaigns, we still get people emailing or coming in to talk about the ideas and the campaign all the time. Nearly daily when I am in. I am still regularly giving out information on these policies, where these initiatives are happening globally and who is fighting for them in the city, and we are referring people to other groups and movements or websites and articles. And this is in Etobicoke!!!! In fact, we plan to continue to fight for these ideas in Ward 6 in a more formal way soon (details to come in the coming months! :) ) While the defeatist logic of strategic voting really hurt our campaign this time round (and failed, as it almost always does, to deliver anything other than a negative campaign that lost rather badly and was centred entirely around personality) and while there are other things we could have done differently (which I will talk about in my post-mortem analysis which, despite delays due to how busy I have been personally, will be out shortly) imagine what an impact (win or lose) a campaign somewhere in greater Toronto, running avowedly on important and real principles allegedly supported by most of Torontos institutional progressive organizations and unions could have with a budget of double, triple or quadruple what we spent (which would still only be $13, 563.12). Or one that could also spend what these liberals spent. Imagine what a slate of such campaigns city wide working together could achieve, instead of throwing money away on campaigns that say very little but promise to be better in largely defensive and personality centred ways. Especially over the course of two or three elections. It would be certainly far more important and interesting than what the progressive left did achieve this past municipal election, which was exactly nothing. It would also be fighting around issues that actually matter, in very real and immediate ways, to real people in the real world right now. Now I must admit these campaigns are tiring and I am not sure I really want to line up for a third, but they are not about personality anyway, and if not this or that specific person, I am certain that people with energy and important ideas can be found to run in every city neighbourhood, including mine, (even if not in every ward). Maybe they could even reflect the diversity of this city, which our council rather notably does not! Building such a slate, building such an anti-capitalist, anti-austerity, hopeful and pro-active municipal political force that is focused on advancing the conditions of workers, tenants and the people, as opposed to the constant do-nothing rhetoric of fiscal responsibility, cynicism, getting oneself elected and realism (and since reality sucks and is getting worse for people living in poverty, minimum wage workers, the marginalized and countless others, political realism sucks for them as well...it always abandons them with nice words and vague intentions and no actions), in my opinion is critical to change the stale and sad state of affairs that exists now. Creating such a slate and force can serve to counter the faux legitimacy granted by the perceived institutional organizations of authority within the progressive establishment and create a broader legitimacy for left ideas. Especially with the possibility of ranked ballots in 2018. This will by no means be easy, but a lot can be achieved starting with little. No exciting left electoral force or movement has ever just arisen or arrived fully formed and strong out of nothing after all! They are built. And given that the realists have delivered nothing aside from constant retreat, I also think we have little to lose in a least trying to build one in Toronto.
Posted on: Fri, 09 Jan 2015 21:58:58 +0000