[Learn more about your local community and Green Party candidate James O'Grady at jamesogrady.ca]
Dear fellow Nepean residents,
My name is James O’Grady. I am the Green Party of Ontario candidate in Nepean, my home for the better part of 48 years. In 2010, I ran for Ottawa City Council in Ward 9: Knoxdale-Merivale where I finished second out of 10 candidates with 20% support. My municipal campaign focused on ideas to make old-Nepean and the City of Ottawa more family-friendly, sustainable and reflective of the people who live there. One of these ideas was to “tap into the collective intelligence” of our community—in essence—to crowd source decision-making.
We are an intelligent lot here in Nepean and Ottawa. We have the soluitions to our problems amoung us, we just need government to connect with us in an intelligent and meaningful way. Something I believe all three levels of government intentionally fail.
I have always believed that there can be no accountability without transparency. The best way to ensure transparency, I believe, is to engage as many stakeholders as possible in the decision-making process. If we don’t seek to understand all perspectives of an issue before we make a plan to solve it, it’s unlikely the plan will succeed. This is the fatal flaw which I believe undermines much of our governments’ decisions, whether municipal, provincial or federal. No matter which party occupies government.
The Green Party doesn't believe in whips
One of the great things about the Green Party is that it does not WHIP its candidates or elected members. This means that I can vote according to the wishes of Nepean’s constituents rather than just along partisan lines. And, this is why I am offering to share the power of the position of MPP with you--Nepean residents--if I am elected on June 7.
My promise to you is that I will consult with anyone who wishes to consult before every vote at Queen’s Park. I will build the tools necessary to make sure as many people as possible can participate in these public consultations in a timely, effective and empowering way.
I am not running because I seek power. At 51 years old, it’s too late for me to become a career politician. I’m running because I recognize the need for CHANGE. Change that is transformative, educational, empowering and enlightening all at the same time.
The Green Party’s approach to decision-making is collaborative. It reaches across party lines to seek out common ground. We believe that we are stronger if we work together--that we can solve any problem if we put our minds to it. “If there is a will, there is a way…”
The CHANGE I am offering you is one that sees Nepean residents working together to solve our common problems. It is CHANGE that ONLY the Green Party can offer because only the Green Party respects you enough to seek your opinion more than once every four years.
It’s an opportunity ONLY I can offer you because I am a social media entrepreneur and a politico. I have the skills and experience necessary to build what is required. Very few do, but I know what’s required to tap into our collective intelligence—so we can crowd source ideas and solutions together.
In fact, I'm building a tool right now to do exactly this. Unpublished.Vote will launch Wednesday, June 6--A voting tool and education forum that allows voters to express their opinion on issues with one simple click. Unpublished.Vote will be an extension of the social medai website I currently own and operate called UnpublishedOttawa.com.
UnpublishedOttawa.com allows anyone to publish to the internet and to share ideas and opinions with friends, colleagues and interested Canadians. It is a viral communications tool that helps anyone get their message out free of political and media interference.
No other candidate running in Nepean can offer you the opportunity to take part in how your MPP votes in Parliament. They do not have the skills or the know-how. Nor do they have any interest in sharing power with you. Its not the way of Minions to do anything other than what they are told.
Let's work to solve Nepean's problems together!
It’s a new approach to governance, I know, but one that doesn’t ask you to give up your political power every four years. And, its one that gives you a stake in the outcome.
Independent Nepean—as I know you have always been—I’m not asking you to trust me, but I am asking you to give me a chance to show you a better way. A way where the people who live together and share the same space, also work to solve their problems together.
Let’s show the province of Ontario our pioneering spirit. Let's show them why transparent and accountable grassroots politics is the future of politics in Canada.
Once we do this, you can be sure every riding will want it—So, Let’s do it together!
On June 7, vote for People Powered Change. Vote for James O’Grady, your Green Party candidate.
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