Liz wrote an article in The Rec about visible minorities in the municipal election. It features Raj Gill who is running in Ward 6 (Victoria Park-West).

Gill said immigrant issues such as housing, employment and race relations are her passion, but other issues are important as well, including the environment and neighbourhood concerns such as recreation, traffic calming and bike trails.

“I don’t put on my diversity hat,” she said of her campaign. “I bring it to everything.”

As a first-generation Canadian, she said she understands immigrant issues and wants council to address them.

But Gill [...] said immigrant issues should not be compartmentalized into “silos,” since they affect everyone, regardless of race. If ethnicity affects decisions by voters, it’s just one of many factors. “Hopefully, they will vote for me because I can bring their issues to the table.”

On occasion, while knocking on doors, some potential voters have spoken to Gill in Hindi or Punjab. She understands some of the language but can’t speak it well. French, her second language, came in handy when she spoke to a Congolese voter at the door recently.

[...]

But Bob Williams, a political scientist at the University of Waterloo with a specialty in municipal affairs, said turnout in municipal elections is low in general. Income and education levels, along with home ownership, play heavily on whether constituents become informed voters, he said.

Visible minorities and the election The Rec 26 Oct 2006