Sisters & Brothers;Thank you to everyone who came out to our founding convention on May 28th.It was a great day of discussion, debate and socialist democracy in action.A special thanks to our keynote speaker Joe Higgins from Ireland. We will have his speech to the party convention up on-line as soon as possible. The convention voted to adopt the name Socialist Party of Ontario as the now official name of the party and passed a comprehensive set of initial polices aimed at creating an avowedly socialist platform in the upcoming provincial election.The policies passed at the convention will be up for review and discussion in the very near future. But the democratic socialist process in our party does not end there. The fight to express and fight for socialism in the political arena is an on-going and evolving process and as a non-sectarian grouping of anti-capitalist leftists of many different stripes we need your views, your ideas and your vision to make the party’s complete.These first policies and discussions represent a starting point only. Our platform is in a very real sense your platform and it is open to new ideas on an ongoing basis through its constitutionally mandated open Executive meetings, Policy Assemblies and General Conventions at which all members can propose, participate and vote and where the decisions made become the one and the only platform of the party.The party structure as voted on and adopted May 28, is a structure of collective governance with no leader and in which the membership has very real and mandated control of the party.Your decisions ARE the platform!As stated earlier, the first policies adopted after much debate and amendment will be up as soon as possible as will the completed constitution.But it is here our pleasure to announce those who were elected by the delegates to serve on the Executive of the Socialist Party of Ontario.Chairperson: Andy Lehrer, arlcanada@gmail.comSpokespersons: Jan Maxwell (janhelmaxwell@gmail.com) & Michael Laxer (michaellaxer@hotmail.com)Organizing Coordinator: Jack Forrestall (info@thegingerproject.org)Treasurer: Joey Schwartz (joeyschwartz@rogers.com)Fundraising Secretary: Liz McLean (clydeside_red@yahoo.ca)LGBT Coordinator: Leia Rowan Kelly (leiarowan@yahoo.com)Women’s Coordinator: Natalie Lochwin (natalielochwin@hotmail.com)Diversity Coordinator: Keith Pinto (kpinto@ryerson.ca)Labour Coordinator: Scott Mcwhinnie (mcwhinni@uoguelph.ca)Please note that as Riding Associations and Campus Clubs are formed, they will be empowered to elect two voting members to the Executive under the following formula as constitutionally adopted May 28.”Every officially recognized RA and CC has the right to elect two members to serve on the party’s Executive, one male and one female. If the RA or CC cannot find a male representative, it may elect two female representatives. However, if the RA or CC cannot find a female representative it may elect only one representative until such a time as it can fulfill its equity obligations.”If you are interested in starting an RA in your area, or finding out about any that may be forming, please email us at info@thegingerproject.org and we will put you in touch with our Membership Secretary, Jason Baines.Our first Executive meeting, open to participation by members as well as to observors, will be announced as soon as possible.
