Newsletter #4

This is the 4th Newsletter from my campaign

Hi Folks,

Voting is now open so I'm writing with news about what I've been up to, links to videos of recent events, and info about the last ten days of the campaign and the election night hangout.

***Spoiler: You're invited***

What I've Been Up To

The last few weeks have been busy.
All candidates Meetings: There have been two all candidates meetings. The first was hosted by the Chamber of Commerce on September 29th. You can watch the whole recording of that evening here or watch just my portion here.
The second took place October 12th at the Harmony Centre hosted by Rebound Owen Sound. You can watch that recording here.
Both events were well attended which is proof again that folks care about our City and are hungry for ways to be informed, engaged, and involved.

Community Conversations: I've had a few more community conversations over the last while. One was with residents at St. Francis' Place (which has incredible views of the City) and the other was at a private residence. It's been great to hear such a cross section of concerns and perspectives. Largely, we want the same thing: the best quality of life possible for the greatest number of people.

Door Knocking: I've been out regularly knocking on doors to introduce myself, hear folks' hopes and concerns, and distribute materials. There are only a handful of the 5,000 brochures I ordered left and we've been in neighbourhoods all around Owen Sound. I owe a huge debt of thanks to Ted, Jim, Barbara, Joachim, Mary Anne, Liz and Patti for joining me on many of those jaunts rain or shine (and there were some REALLY rainy days).

Signs: We've now put up more than 175 signs around the City. I'm only placing signs by request and I'm so grateful to have had so much support from folks who wanted to help spread the word. See below for some of the more creative places they've ended up. Some signs have also gone missing or been damaged but I owe another thanks to the hosts who let me know about that so I could replace them. There are still some signs without posts available for windows, balconies, etc.

Postcards: We were going to run out of brochures before election day and with more doors left to canvas. So I ordered a final run of 750 postcards. We have about 300 left to hand out over the next ten days.

Radio: I recorded a 30 second ad that will air next week on Mix 106.5. I wanted to connect with an audience that might not already know me and radio seemed like a good way to try and reach the largest number of people. Let me know if you listen to the Mix and hear it.

My Next Steps

There are only ten days left in the election. Over the coming week I'll be working to hand out the remaining postcards by knocking on doors, sharing social media posts, potentially calling folks, and planning an election night celebration at the Harmony Centre.

Door knocking: We're going to keep door knocking until all of the print materials have been distributed. Let me know if you'd like to join in.

Phone Bee: Some folks have offered to make calls to remind residents about voting closer to election day. We haven't ironed out the plan yet but if you would like to join the team, please let me know.

Election Night Gathering: I've booked the Harmony Centre for Monday October 24th so that we can gather together, celebrate the last few months of community conversation and campaigning, and wait for the results from City Hall.

I've booked the hall from 6-9pm. It will be an alcohol free event but there will be coffee, tea etc. I'll arrange for some snacks and I'm asking folks to bring a baked good or treat to share if you can. Potlucks are great examples of how we collectively benefit when we share as we're able. Arrive at 6 if you want to help set up or come for 7-9pm for the hang. Please RSVP here to let me know you're attending and whether you're bringing a snack so we can plan accordingly.

How You Can Help

Yes, I'm thinking about election night but the campaign isn't over yet. There's lots of work to do between now and October 24 and I need your help with some of it.

It's a great help to have you:
- do what you can to increase voter turn out by telling your friends in Owen Sound about the election and voting process,
- share social media posts,
- and get the word out through letters to the editor or calls to the Open Line. See my previous newsletters on the blog at www.electjonfarmer.com for the contact information for local media.

Voting: You can vote starting at 10am on Oct 14 online or by phone. You should have received your voter info letter already with an individual pin number. If you haven't gotten that yet, then you need to contact City Hall. There will be help centres set up at the City Hall and Heritage Place Mall to assist with voting.

I need your vote if I'm going to bring my ideas and perspective to City Hall. You can vote for 1 Mayor, 1 Deputy-Mayor, and up to 7 Councilors. You don't have to use all of your votes. Don't feel the need to vote for someone who you wouldn't want to represent you.
If you have questions about the election process, visit owensoundvotes.ca or call the Election Help Line: 519-370-7340

Thank you for reading this far and for your interest in and support for my campaign. We're into the final stretch for the campaign but the work to make Owen Sound the best that it can be is ongoing. We need to keep public interest and engagement up between elections if we're going to successfully meet the challenges we're facing.

Please forward this email to anyone who you think would support the values and perspectives I want to bring to the City Council.

Chat soon and I'll see you on the 24th,
Jon