Broken Voting Scene

by Michael Wheeler

RaBIT is a grassroots initiative to change the way we vote in Toronto municipal elections to a ranked ballot.

Over the past five years, many places have switched to ranked balloting including San Francisco, Minneapolis, Memphis, Oakland and The Academy Awards. There are a number of benefits to this system, but two of the biggies are it ensures majority support and encourages a more positive political environment.

Viewed in this context, RaBIT is proposing a transformative adjustment to what politics is in Toronto. Gone would be talk of pushing lower profile candidates out of races to eliminate vote splitting, candidates would be respectful to opponents whose support they may need, and extreme candidates would have to convince a majority of voters their extreme ideas are attractive to win.

In the current first-past-the-post format that defines our voting system, none of this is possible. Divisional and oppositional wedge politics are the most effective route to power. Candidates are routinely elected with a majority of electors casting their ballots for other candidates who wanted different policies from the ones they support. I can understand how this ethos alienates a huge swath of people from engaging with politics.

So I’m going to the meeting this Monday to learn how to volunteer. There are a lot of problems in Toronto and issues I would like to put my energy into, but you have to pick your battles and this one seems like it could have some far-reaching consequences for many future administrations. The RaBIT team has done a great job to get this issue on the public agenda and taken seriously by city councillors and the media. Now is the time to push for this – and there is no substitute for a well-organized group of passionate citizens. As of publication there were already 90 confirmed attendees on the Facebook.

Hope to see you there!

Facebook Event: Hop to it! RaBIT volunteer meeting!

Monday December 17, 7pm @ Toronto City Hall

Some summertime vids

by Michael Wheeler

If you were in Toronto this summer it was hard not to run into the two weeks of heavy construction at Queen and Spadina. In this video, long-time friend of the show Amy Pagnotta serenades the construction with a dedicated version of ‘Downtown’ filmed by Vanessa Guillen.

The Toronto Star reports that Toronto appears poised to adopt run-off voting in 2018. In this video, Dave Meslin, who spearheads RaBIt (Ranked Ballot Initiative), explains what the deal is with run-off voting on The Morning Show. Separate from the information, it’s fun to watch how ‘Mez’ slowly wins over the hosts who seem unimpressed with his props at the top of the piece – before realizing this guy is totally truthing them.

Actress Amy Rutherford has established herself as one of the top theatre artists in Toronto appearing recently in shows by Studio 180, Volcano Theatre, Necessary Angel, Tarragon Theatre and The Wrecking Ball. She also adopted a starling briefly and wrote/filmed a v-log for Ryeberg about it. The above is of the moment she releases the bird back onto the world. You can read/watch the whole piece here.

The Pop Group’s Fierce Monsters at Summerworks is the most Praxis non-Praxis show ever created. Produced by Artistic Producer Aislinn Rose, starring frequent Praxis performers Margaret Evans and Laura Nordin, directed by Tim Buck 2 performer and You Should Have Stayed Home illustrator Jody Hewston and written by Dungeons and Dragons participant Becca Buttigieg – it’s a no-brainer to end up on the blog. Check out the video they made about weapon training for the show (It’s a Western!)

This is just a pic for social sharing