James Dean

THE CANDIDATE WITH A CAUSE
Knoxdale-Merivale

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Latest News

June 2nd, 2010

James Dean Wants Lansdowne Decision Handed to Newly Elected City Council.

read more here

March 29th, 2010

James Dean Launches the Can You Hear Us Now? Campaign for Voter Turnout!

read more here

          

  Can You Hear Us Now?

 

 

 

Can You Hear Us Now?

A dream is a goal.  A wish for something in your life to make it what you want.  We all have them.  My dream has always been to be a community leader.

When I was a young man I dreamt of many things.  I dreamed of one day having a family; and now I have my terrific son Thomas.  I moved into a co-operative living development and dreamt of making it a better place; and now I am President of that co-op.  I dreamed of making a decent living; and now I have a super property management company serving hundreds of residents.  I dreamed of always having a great relationship with my immediate and extended family; and I have maintained those through time invested, communication and love. 

As I matured I became more involved in my community.  Kids will do that to a man’s life.  We become enmeshed in the school system, the extra-curricular activities of our family, like scouts and soccer.  We begin to pay taxes and start to pay attention to where our money goes.  We take our children to the emergency room and begin to notice the quality of our health care.  We go to church and learn what community leaders can truly accomplish.  We learn that when a congregation gets together to take care of their own they have the heart of a mother lion protecting its cub and are truly a force with which to be reckoned.

The lesson I have taken from all of these observations is that we can do nothing without the support of others.  Coaches teach little league, nurses and doctors work together to heal us, religious leaders work with parishioners. As has been quoted many times, “no man is an island”.  I do not call myself a politician.  I am and will continue to be a community leader.

So how do we keep our dreams alive in the face of nay-sayers and adversity?  We seek out inspiration.  We seek personal inspiration, many of us, in the form of a personal faith in our God.  We seek inspiration from watching our family members overcome obstacles in their lives.  We find inspiration from many sources.

One of my favourite examples of people who have overcome obstacles is, funny enough, Abraham Lincoln. 

Did you know that :

At 22 he failed in business and soon declared bankruptcy;
He was defeated for legislature twice;
At 26 he was engaged to be married, but his sweetheart died.
At 27 he had a nervous breakdown and spent the next six months in bed.
He was defeated for Congress 3 times
At 47 he was defeated for Vice-President – he got less than 100 votes.
At 49 he was defeated for Senate for the third time.
At 51, never wavering in his dream to be a community leader, he was elected President of the United States.
This man who had suffered immeasurable loss and defeat went on to abolish slavery freeing many and setting the stage for innumerable successes, not the least of which is the election of President Barack Obama.

So who inspires you?  Most recently Luka “Crazy Legs”, a differently-abled breakdancer,  made it through the first few rounds of the finals for “So You Think you Can Dance Canada”.  It inspired the heck out of me.  Terry Fox, Rick Hansen are two more. 

Goals are achieved when they are clearly defined and you make a plan.  Sometimes the plan has to evolve.  That’s okay.  One must persevere and stay on the path.  One must have principles in place and a strong moral compass.  One cannot succeed at the expense of others.

I have had a dream for this great city of Ottawa for a very long time.  I dreamed it when I ran in 2006 and I will continue today, tomorrow and every day forward. 

I have a dream of responsible leadership.  I dream of fiscal responsibility.  I dream of a city where each citizen has someone who will listen and take their voice to city hall.  I dream of a city where new Canadians are welcomed and integrated gracefully.  I dream of a city that welcomes all cultures and religions.  I dream of a city where our youth are well mentored and occupied in those hours between 3 and 8 pm when most of the trouble can occur.  I dream of more green space, more water fountains, more play areas for families and smaller classrooms.  I dream of a city where special needs citizens can get the attention and skills they need.

I dream of a city that works together and cares.  I dream that communities will come together to create a greater quality of life where neighbours know and support one another, inter-cultural relations are increased and we are not divided by rural versus urban.

But mostly I dream of a city of citizens that care enough about their communities to educate themselves, weed through the rhetoric and vote vote vote.  I believe that we cannot complain unless we take responsibility and vote. We cannot allow cynicism and a jaded attitude in this very political town to keep us away from the voting booth.  While I want to be a voice for this community, yours is the voice that counts.

And so I created a website where adults and children alike can take a pledge to vote.  This is a city wide website created from my heart to encourage all of you to have a loud voice in your own futures and a strong hand in our dreams for this city.  We create and accomplish our dreams ourselves.  No one else can do it for you. 

This website is entitled CanYouHearUsNow.ca? Will you make yourself heard on October 25th?  Will you have a voice?  Will you teach your children to have a loud voice in their future by setting the example? 

So, come on let me hear you… by voting on October 25th!

 

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