An eight-week campaign aimed at increased community awareness and participation in the upcoming municipal election wraps up this Saturday with a Voting Party and Parade beginning at the Dartmouth North Community Food Centre.
Speak Up. Show Up. Voting Parade
Saturday, October 15
Doors Open: 9 AM. Parade to Voting Station: 10 AM
Dartmouth North Community Food Centre, 6 Primrose St.
Parade participants will walk together to the local polling station located around the corner at the Dartmouth North Community Centre and then have a celebratory photo taken and posted online.
“This campaign has been truly powerful because of the level of interest, engagement and leadership within the community,” says Tammy Shields, Community Action Coordinator at the Dartmouth North Community Food Centre. “The high level of community engagement means the campaign has been able to address barriers and give people the tools and information necessary to make an informed decision about voting.”
A total of 89 people participated in the campaign’s first event, a Voter Pop-Up that acted as a practice voting session. More than 50 people registered to vote over the course of the campaign and more than 60 showed up for last week’s Pre-Election Buffet where residents named and prioritized the issues that were important to them (in order: housing, food security, reliable and affordable public transit, health care, safe social spaces, fair wages, recreation, knowledge, non-discriminatory hiring practices).
Dartmouth North holds one third of the votes for District 6, yet voting rates are 8 to 9 times lower than the rest of the area. Speak Up. Show Up. was organized by the first graduates of the Dartmouth North Community Food Centre’s Community Peer Advocate program.
“Change takes time and we are patient,” says Shields. “But we are looking forward to seeing the statistics from the election!”
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Source: Media Release