I confess, I did a bit of pleading to get Dave to agree to run for the Green Party Federal Council. Looking forward to retirement, after decades as a high school teacher, Dave wondered why he would want to add being a member of Federal Council to his list of advocacy and artistic projects.

Hmm… good question.

In Dave, I saw the opportunity for Ontario EDAs to have a real voice on Council – to be represented by someone who has a ferocious belief in grassroots democracy and the power of a Constitution to either hinder or help an organization in both the short- and long-term.

I knew that Dave loves Constitutions and By-laws, not because of his years of service on the OSSTF Provincial Council, but because he kept asking me questions about our EDA and Federal Constitutions. ‘What do we do in this situation?’ ‘What does this mean?’ ‘Who is responsible for this?’

All great questions. Questions that it had never occurred to me to ask. And definitely questions I did not know how to answer. While I take pride in my ability to balance a love of details with a passion for the big picture, Dave’s focus on Constitutional details blew me away, as did his positive attitude and great ideas for local EDA work.

There are a lot of gaps in our Constitution, gaps that Dave noticed right away, and made proposals to help close.

There also seem to be a lot of people at the Federal level willing to ignore the Constitution and the grassroots nature of the Party while they concentrate power at the centre and present us as a Party of One. Several of the Constitutional amendments proposed cause me a great deal of concern about where the Party is headed and how committed Federal Council is to an impartial, grassroots approach. I do not believe that we have had a truly effective Provincial Councilor in the past. In my years of CEO I can attest that I was never consulted by our Provincial Rep, and received the most minimal support from Provincial Organizers. I would love to see this change, would love to see more focus on supporting local EDAs.

We are more than one candidate, more than Head Office, and waaaay more than a climate change advocacy group and I firmly believe that Dave shares these views and will work hard as Provincial rep to ensure that the Party is guided by a vision rooted locally.

I totally support Dave Kempton in his campaign to become the new Provincial Councilor for Ontario. We desperately need new voices and ideas on Federal Council, and we desperately need the voices of those who have experience outside of the environmental lobby.

It is time for the GPC to grow up and become the federal Party that I know we can be and having Dave on Federal Council would be a great start. You can find out more about him here.

1. shavluk Says:
   July 8th, 2010 at 11:56 am

   Yes ….Vote for Dave Kempton

   I do also endorse Dave for council !

   I have had email correspondence with Dave and believe he like many of us believe our CONSTITUTION MATTERS !!

   He is a thoughtful and intelligent man.
   And importantly he listens very well and contributes wise thoughts.

   Please vote Dave Kempton for green council!!