UNDERDOG DANCE CORP.: DANCING INTO SUCCESS

NEW GROUPS SUPPORT NEW CANDIDATES IN UPCOMING ELECTIONS

For candidates, their campaign team can become very close, which is the idea behind the name “The Kitchen Cabinet”. KURTIS RIDEOUT GRAPHIC

HARLEEN KAUR DHILLON

EDITOR IN CHIEF

The last municipal elections took place in 2018. Since then, life in Waterloo Region has changed significantly.

While the pandemic severely limited movement, social justice movements such as Land Back, climate action and anti-racism continued to gain momentum. In light of the evolving needs of the region, two local organizations were created to address the need for more representative municipal governments.

The Kitchen Cabinet was started by Rebecca Petricevic to create a database of volunteers for women, trans* and non-binary candidates. Petricevic was inspired by a keynote given by Laura Mae Lindo, MPP of Kitchener-Centre, for the Waterloo Region Women’s Campaign School wherein Lindo noted that diverse perspectives are necessary to making better decisions.

For a Better Waterloo Region (FABWR) grew out of isolated conversations that converged with the efforts of some community members into an organization aiming for a progressive slate of candidates in the 2022 elections. Among the organizers are Paul Okoye and Andres Fuentes, both of whom have backgrounds in social justice.

Both groups hope to gather and provide resources for first-time candidates including, financial help, volunteers, guidance on running a campaign and more. Most importantly, they hope to give firsttime candidates a fighting chance in the upcoming elections.

“Oftentimes, when people think of municipal and regional election, they don’t think of it as exciting as, as the federal and provincial space while in reality...the regional and municipal space have a significant bearing on how we engage in our day to day life [and] who we are as a community,” Okoye said. “[W]hat we’re hoping to do is translate sort of the energy behind progressive movements into in our community into actual political action.”

Running for council is not cheap. When Fuentes ran for council, he spent close to $7,000, others can spend nearly $50,000 or $60,000.

“And the other thing is to provide those resources...[newcomers don’t have] political connections, they don’t know how to organize volunteers, they don’t know how to fund raise, they haven’t been involved in political process before—and that can be very intimidating,” Fuentes said.

“When you look at running for city council, or regional council, it’s not free...There’s a reason why the council’s look as unrepresentative as they as they do across the region,” he said.

Still, the need for change in regional and city councils is dire as the current councils are not representative of the diversity of the region. As it grows, the governments that represent and make decisions for the region must also evolve. Petrocevic said the issues the region faces are complex and interconnected, diverse voices are needed at the table to have better decisions for the region at large.

“I think having more perspectives at any table is a good idea...I think it is absolutely necessary to get people who can hold each other accountable, who can hold our leaders accountable and who can create more discussion around what we as a community need,” she said. “I think that extends into our provincial election coming up as well.”

Representation is not only a matter of checking boxes—with diversity comes diversity of qualifications, life experiences, skills and more. Fuentes said having multiple with the same life experiences would result in very determined outcomes.

“We need a diversity, not just of qualification, but of life experiences, of ways of seeing the world. You know, it’s so easy to forget, if you’ve lived here all your life, that there’s a very different world out there, that people do things very differently,” he said. “Qualifications are one thing, but how you translate those qualifications to actual decisions is a whole other thing that we’re missing.”

Petricevic said gender is key in how people interact with each other. With the Kitchen Cabinet, she centres the gendered experience and its importance in the political sphere. While getting more women in politics is a valuable endeavour, Petricevic said it is important to expand that understanding of gender to include trans* and non-binary voices as well to ensure diverse and representative governments.

“Your gender absolutely impacts how you view the world and how the world reacts to you or how society reacts to you, as well...if we get people who have different gender identities, and gender experiences with gender in society, that can only lead to better policies really, more inclusive policies,” she said.

In order for change to happen, the issue of incumbency needs to be addressed. Fuentes said there are many reasons incumbency is so common in municipal governments including a lack of media coverage for elections, less marketing, fewer resources, lower voter turnout and the disproportional importance of name recognition.

“[N]ame recognition becomes even more important and...I think part of what we’re looking to do is hopefully to provide some of those resources like canvassing and that kind of thing to help,” he said. “There are some incumbents that basically don’t have to campaign to get reelected and it takes a lot of work to catch up.”

Okoye also said that incumbents have support systems already in place, whereas first-time candidates must build that system. As such FABWR works on helping build equity and coalescing progressive voices to support new candidates.

“[I]t becomes a dangerous David and Goliath story where someone who’s already has the entire system working for them is running against someone who’s new to the system,” he said.

Ultimately, FABWR aims to provide a foundation for newcomers in the political arena and have a slate of candidates that aligns with their vision and perspectives on issues the region is facing.

“We may not alter all of the powers that you would have but at least we give people a fighting chance to actually run and reasonably when they say that said we are also open to having immigrants who are who are aligned with our vision or one region as well. The goal again, is to get a slate of candidates who align with those issues and how we interact with those issues,” Okoye said.

FABWR will go public this month, with their first meeting taking place on Apr. 7. For more information, visit @FABWaterloo on Twitter or @ FABWaterlooRegion on Instagram, or email FABWaterlooRegion@gmail. com.

For more information on the Kitchen Cabinet, visit thekitchencabinet.ca.

UW ALUMNUS

RELEASES BOOK

ADRIAN QUIJANO

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Aniqah Beharry, University of Waterloo alumnus and self-published author, is blazing her own trail after the release of her debut book, But Are You Really Sorry?. This poetry/journal chapbook is merged with introspective questions and is ideal for voracious readers who seek both emotional healing and poetry. The work encourages its readers to take a step back from their busy lives and look at the world from a new perspective.

“The book is rooted in experiences I had in Waterloo. I started writing this book when I was there. [In particular] I was heavily inspired by the Peace and Conflict Studies courses I took at UWaterloo,” Beharry said.

Beharry is a Muslim author and artist from and based in Trinidad and Tobago. As an artist she uses drawing and writing as a way to decompress. Beharry’s goal as a writer is to use her words as a remedy to heal. She is currently touring around the islands with her book. Reminiscent of books like Wreck this Journal and Rupi Kaur’s Milk and Honey, no two copies of But Are You Really Sorry? are the same. While many view healing in black and white, Beharry encourages her readers to see a wider view of healing and write or draw in any of the whitespace and drawings to fully engage with the book. For writers, this book gives all the free-reign required for those nights where ideas just need to be written down. For those who are drawn towards visual mediums, the freedom to draw wherever can help folks engage with the writing.

“I really wanted the book to be personalized. I wanted your copy to be yours. I try not to call it ‘my’ book. I want you to work through whatever you’re working through. That’s why at the end of every poem I ask a question and end off with a closing remark,” Beharry said.

Her debut collection reminds its readers that apologies and regrets are there to learn from. It is a work meant for constant re-reading and reflection for those who are looking to change themselves.

As a Mathematics major, Beharry was no stranger to variables. She took a Peace and Conflict Studies course out of interest. This sparked her fascination with emotional healing through written communication. Foundationally she was always interested in the written word; being influenced by romantic comedies, tragedies and creepypastas online.

Not satisfied with being a mathematician and creative, Beharry is also a national archer for the country of Trinidad. However the truly outstanding accomplishment of hers is her ability to embrace hardships as they come and grow from them.

“When you are placed in a situation where you don’t know what to say, how can you work through it?” said Beharry.

Both Beharry’s digital art and writing are vibrant with personality. Her identity as a Muslim woman of colour from Trinidad is showcased throughout her work. Vibrant colours meet soft lines in her assortment of self-portraits which capture a variety of emotions. As a poet, she chooses each word with care. But are you Really Sorry? reinforces the notion that everyone is able to change and also takes a nuanced view into the journey of emotional healing.

“I think accountability is something that we have to work on every day. And it was something I started to think more about while I was in school. Just because people can change, it does not erase all the things that they did. I think the biggest thing that I want to say is that I people go into the book with an open mind and an open heart,” Beharry said.