Campaign School Oxford County to Host First Event Tonight

Wednesday, 10 November 2021 06:29

Campaign School Oxford County will be hosting it's Are You Election Curious panel over Zoom tonight and there's still time to sign up for the free event.

OXFORD COUNTY - Campaign School Oxford County is about to host it's first official event.

Lindsay Wilson says the Zoom meeting will get underway at 7:00 p.m. tonight.

"We are starting off with a virtual panel, we are calling it Are You Election Curious. We have four panelists, who are going to share their perspective of what it was like in municipal politics, how they balanced their family or career and some of the systemic obstacles they faced."

Wilson runs Campaign School Oxford County alongside Kate Leatherbarrow. Leatherbarrow is very excited for tonight's event.

“We are so excited to be offering this online learning for community leaders who want to explore what is involved to run for municipal council or school board trustee. This free session will be full of insights and practical advice from female leaders who have run for office. We hope their voices and experiences will inspire other female candidates to think about running for leadership positions next fall.”

Campaign School Oxford County part of the Municipal School Campaign. It's happening in Wellington, Guelph and Oxford and the goal is to encourage, empower and support candidates who come from the female, Indigenous, Black, racialized, LGBTQS2+ and youth communities.

Wilson explains why they're focusing on women right now for their campaign in Oxford.

"Women are really under represented in politics, I think it is only 18 percent of mayors in Canada that are female and just 26 percent for councillors. Also, Kate and I, that is really where our experience and passion lies, in supporting women in our community, so that is where we decided to focus our efforts."

Regional Chair for Waterloo and former MP for Kitchener-Centre Karen Redman is one of the featured panelists for tonight's Zoom event. She says running for office is a brave thing to do.

“It is especially hard for non-traditional candidates like women and members of the Black, Indigenous and other marginalized communities who might not have thought about running or have an established network to ask for support. I am so excited to be a part of this session to encourage all community leaders to explore what it means to run for office. We need their voices around our decision making tables!”

You can find more information by following Campaign School Oxford County on social media:

Facebook: @municipalcampaignschooloxford

Instagram: @municipalcampaignschool_oxford

Email: mcsoxfordcounty@gmail.com

You can learn more about the panelists and register for the event online here.