Elections Victoria

To You, the people;
I have notified the media that I am folding up my campaign and endorsing the candidacy
of Steve Filipovic. Yesterday afternoon I extended an invitation to Dean Fortin and to all
the other incumbents and new candidates, calling for a last-minute, emergency public forum
to be held at the Save on Foods arena. I felt this was the last chance for the public to see first-hand
what the candidates are like, without interference from the media. I did not receive an answer to my
invitation from Dean or from anyone else. This didn’t surprise me; my request was grand and the
current council members seem to be afraid of grandness, as most of us are.

Late last night I ran into Steve outside the market on Yates where he was burning the midnight oil
canvassing for votes. It occurred to me all of a sudden that I could endorse him. I mentioned this to him,
saying I would know by sunrise. By sunrise I knew. I called him and together we notified the media.

I by no means agree with all that Steve stands for. The Green party in general disgusts me, and I don’t like
Steve’s stance on harm-reduction; I stand opposed to the harm-reduction model as put forward by, for instance,
Phillippe Lucas, also of the Green Party. Further, Steve will advocate for a much greater degree of government
involvement in the lives of individuals than would make me comfortable. He’s nowhere near as conservative or as
radical as I am, or as I would like a ruler to be.

All that said, Steve is an honest man–a carpenter by trade committed to protecting the average citizen from the flagrant abuses of
power perpetrated by the business interests and the police. I visited his modest Vic West home this morning, met his wife and 4 month
old daughter, and felt that the Spirit of Life looks very fondly on this family.

He has a chance of winning tomorrow. Monday magazine has endorsed him, as have Ben Isitt, Janine Bancroft, and other
members and organs of the “Progressive Left.” My politics do run counter to the spirit of the Progressive Left, so it’s not
surprising that they wouldn’t endorse me. As personally irritating as I find much of the views of the Progressive Left, Steve is still
better than a Dean Fortin or Rob Reid plutocracy. And I don’t feel he is irrevocably indoctrinated into the Green machine. He’s open and
curious and ready to learn. So–vote Steve Filipovic and not Woodruff.

Of course, I remain at your service as a leader, if not an elected official. What I said at the beginning of the campaign remains true to this day—
I am willing to lay down my life for you who are my people. Mayor or no, this is how it is. Remember this and seek my counsel when you need it
and the spirit moves you. I am no less your public servant today than I was yesterday.

We may well be heading into some very very severe economic times, with the structure of our society changing so as to be unrecognizable
from its current state. Should such an eventuality come about, we are all going to need guidance beyond what the discourse of mainstream politics,
Green or Business, allows. Indeed, the crisis is already upon us, and expresses itself variously—from the more obvious signs (desperate
addicts flooding our streets) to the less obvious signs–the creeping despair that haunts an unknown housewife in Fairfield, whose desperation goes
un-noticed by our rulers.

Steve is up against some frightening and powerful people committed to maintaining a tight grip on their version of how city life should be. He is going to need
our prayers and our support. And if he does get elected, he will need those prayers and that support even more.

To everyone who supported me variously in this campaign–thank you beyond what the words “thank you” can express. We will talk more in person; I will be at the 3 p.m.
all-candidates meeting at the library this afternoon, where I will address the public for the last time as a candidate for mayor.

for now and in peace,

Kristen Woodruff.