Dear Editor:
I was much moved by your comments in reference to the New Mayor of Toronto, Olivia Chow in your last edition of Share Newspaper in response to whether she is the best choice for this large city.
Your article says, “Is Olivia Chow the best choice for mayor of this large, important metropolitan city? I don’t think she could be worse than people we have had in the past. Remember the Ford brothers – Rob and Doug?”
I volunteered for Olivia Chow in 2014 and the experience was very valuable for me while participating in this experiment. I got to see Olivia up close and was very sad when she did not get elected then. I remember Judy Rebick making the point that if women and minorities get out and vote Olivia will win, and we would have been better off for it.
I felt that Olivia Chow was the choice then and she is the best choice now.
As a police officer working in downtown Toronto, on a few occasions I happened to attend complaints on the street where Olivia Chow lived and she always came out from her home and would say: “Officer, I am Olivia Chow, what can I do to help”.
This action of hers was from her heart and not an action to try to get votes. She is genuinely concerned about helping those in need to catch a break in this life that can be very exhaustive and hard to make ends meet. I believe that the promises she has made in her campaign of making Toronto a place for all, she will work towards that goal during her time in office.
There were the pundits whose motto was “this is not the time for Olivia Chow”. That is the same motto used whenever someone wants to help ordinary people improve their lives. The same motto was used when Barack Obama was running for president of the United States of America. As Denzil Washington said in the movie “The Debaters” “If not now, when?”.
For the pundits against this, the time will be NEVER. That is their objective, to make sure that ordinary people never get that helping hand to improve their lives. Only their kind should be allowed that privilege. There were also views of others who supported other candidates saying that Toronto wants a mayor who would work for all and not just downtown Toronto. That view was very swiftly negated by Mayor Olivia Chow when she immediately reached out to the residents of Scarborough and indicated that she will fix the transit issue in that area.
It is obvious that the new mayor will have challenges to get her agenda put in place but we who believe that she CAN would have to give her the encouragement to do her work and keep keeping on.
I for one am wishing her all the best knowing that any success that she has will benefit everyone, not just a few.
And, in conclusion, I will quote the esteemed Dr. Clem Guracha Marshall in his last letter to the Editor in Share June 8-21,2023, “Having seen up close the competence and community-building talent of hard-working politician, Oliva Chow, I’m confident that in her we have a candidate who can again become a beating heart for our beloved hometown.”
Best Regards,
Jim Gibbons, Toronto.
“The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.” Albert Einstein.
