TORONTO: LGBT residents of Toronto are preparing to contest upcoming municipal elections scheduled in October.
With the help of some rights groups, the LGBTQ aspiring candidates participated in a crash-education program on Saturday at Ryerson University to get know-how about canvassing, contesting and fundraising for this purpose.
Keeping in view that the minority groups often face barriers and ingrained prejudices, the Open Democracy Project partnered with Proud Politics, a national group that provides a venue for LGBT Canadians running for public office, organised this program to give politically curious people in Toronto an opportunity to learn more about what it entails.
“Running for office is already a difficult process, there are lots of barriers, but for members of the LGBTQ community, there are even more barriers, especially for new candidates,” said Chris Cowperthwaite, executive director of the Open Democracy Project and the son of Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne.
The ODP provides assistance to would-be politicians in an effort to diversify local councils and school boards aiming that they accurately mirror the communities that they want to represent. The group produces ‘DemocracyKit’, a resource that novice politicians can use to better understand the kinds of challenges that candidates face.
Speaking of aims of this education project, Chris Cowperthwaite said a key part of campaigning for LGBT candidates is learning to deal with personal questions that may be asked by voters while staying focused on a political platform. The event, called Out to Win, is the kind of offering that is absolutely essential for our democracy, Cowperthwaite said.
“Running for the office is a very public and a very personal thing. And so, by definition, your personal life and your family life is going to get brought in,” he said.
A lot of times it is really challenging. There is homophobia, transphobia and biphobia in politics, said Susan Gapka, a transgender activist. She added that members of the LGBTQ community face extra challenges because they may have to explain an alternative family dynamic and that they have to put themselves out there in a way other candidates who are not of the community, may not need to. There are extra questions they may need to answer, she said, adding that these are the issues needed to be tackled through such sessions.
“This session helps people walk through that experience,” said Chris Matthews, co-executive director of Proud Politics. Matthews compared launching a political campaign as an LGBT person to coming out for a second time, on an even bigger stage.
“For example, you are LGBT, you are out to your family but you are not out to the public. But now you are running for public office, your life is more transparent. So coming out and having those conversations once again and understanding how that impacts not just yourself, but your whole family,” he said addressing the participants.
This was the second time Proud Politics has offered candidate and campaign training. It is based on a model developed by the U.S.-based Victory Fund, a bi-partisan political action group committed to boosting the number of openly LGBT people in public office.
There was no real support here or any organization that was providing those details here in Canada, Matthews said. How do we diversify the public office? And how do we provide those people with the tools and resources that they need, he questioned.
It is a challenge that prominent transgender activist Susan Gapka is already aware of as she has run unsuccessfully for public office several times, including for Toronto city council in 2006 and 2010, as well as for both the provincial and federal NDP candidacy in Toronto Centre.
“A lot of times it is really challenging. There is homophobia, transphobia and biphobia in politics,” she said. The most difficult thing of all, she says, is building a base of people who potentially see you as being able to win an election. Because you need a campaign team and money as people with the big money and the political machines are usually successful, she said addressing her fellow aspiring candidates.
The ultimate value in events like Out to Win is that LGBT people come together as community and realize that even though sometimes we have partisan differences, we have that common bond, she said, adding, “That’s a really positive thing, to know that you are not alone in this really overwhelming and challenging game called politics.”
Toronto will vote for mayor, city council and school board trustees on October 22.