TSU Spring Election Fever!

Yes, with Spring comes the OECTA TSU May 23 Executive elections. I usually decide what position I am going to run for first. Then I consider who I can work best with to serve our membership. We should have the same goals, but it doesn't matter if everyone thinks exactly the same. From diversity can come good direction and strength, as long as everyone has the memberships' best interests at heart. This year I will probably run for 2nd or 3rd VP. I think so. I will see.

President? 1st VP? Everyone on executive gets an equal vote. I like to teach and serve you on the union, which makes 3rd great right now. 2nd VP is a release time position. Then one is committing themselves to a very steep learning curve requiring you be in the office or on the road almost 24/7. I kid you not. For now I am interested in keeping my union involvement as grassroots as possible as I consider my options.

Maybe there will be other candidates I feel I can work with as a team, or maybe not. I can run as an independent. My Blogspot Manifesto spelled this out pretty clearly I think. I last reposted it on November 15th, and it's still there in my Blog Archives. To that end, I 've posted almost 100 blogs by now and have had over 12,500 reader visits, with well over 1000 this month alone. In January I had 2300 reader visits, much more than during the TSU election last May. Up and down it goes but over the past ten months it's definitely been  upwards.

I'm glad. I like to be able to speak directly to you, the members who elect me, to explain the important issues and what I think and do. I hope you will continue reading my site. You can think about what I say and then decide whether you will vote for me come election time. My work as your TSU 3rd VP is all laid out here for your consideration. I don't think I can be more transparent or accountable than that!

Come election time, I will explain my platform in detail for you to read at your leisure. I always plan for my blogspot to be a positive read. I will explain the good work I aim to do, and be able to point out the good qualities of other executive candidates whom I support, and who support me. It's a new 21st century approach to a TSU election campaign. I hope to help inform you so you can vote wisely for the candidates and issues, regardless of whether in the end you decide to re-elect me or not. To paraphrase the great diarist Samuel Pepys, in our new electronic age, the information is the thing!

We've had a pretty good year on executive since Christmas. I am pleased how it has worked out despite the rough start. There's some strong executive members on board. New members with good ideas and fresh perspectives are always important too, especially as councillors, while they find their political feet. Beginning Teachers can be especially good that way! The future of our union is yours.

Regardless of whether you are new or old to our TSU election process, if you are interested in running, maybe it's a good time to start thinking about it now. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you'd like to talk, whether we end up running together or not. We need a strong pro-active TSU Executive. Our members deserve nothing less!

Anyway, it's still early my dear readers. I hope that you continue to read my posts and perhaps even explore my Blog Archives, to consider my vote, once my candidacy is officially announced in April. Until then, it's back to business.....

Expect a Windsor AGM summary blog coming very soon!

PS: My Blog Archives can be found at the bottom of this Blogspot column.