This is the casting call for…City Idol? It’s not the name of a new television series, but a new competition coming to Toronto. Like the American and Canadian Idol series, it’s looking for young, talented contestants. But unlike those pageants of bad hair and worse Marvin Gaye covers, City Idol hopes to judge contestants’ political voices, not their octave range.
The competition bills itself as an opportunity for would-be politicians to voice their ideas on what politics and politicians in Toronto should be. The prize is a fully staffed and funded campaign for the upcoming municipal elections in November 2006.
The project’s founder, David Meslin, who is known for many city projects, including the creation of the Toronto Public Space Committee, created City Idol as part of a larger project called “Who Runs This Town?” which was designed to encourage broader participation in municipal politics.
A self-proclaimed “guerilla activist,” Meslin once paintballed billboard-size tobacco ads that were aimed at the youth market. With the Toronto Public Space Committee Meslin has also helped campaign against billboards, block postering bylaws, and run a guerilla gardening program.
Eventually, however, Meslin found that while he was garnering support from a select activist community, participation was limited, and ultimately, City Hall was not responsive.
“You can’t change the world by preaching to the converted,” he said. He hopes that City Idol will breathe some new life into City Hall-a place Meslin feels is dominated by “stupid” councillors who put corporate interests at the expense of their commitment to their constituents.
On April 28, 100 candidates-who are mostly university-aged, but come from all walks of life-will face off in front of an audience of around 1,000 at the Danforth Music Hall. Candidates will be given 30 seconds to express their likes and dislikes about the city, what a city councillor should embody, and why they believe that they have what it takes to be that councillor. There is no need to worry about being heckled by Simon Cowell-type judges-Meslin reassures that this is a safe forum to test out one’s political abilities without fear of having your performance trashed in front of your family and friends.
Following the first round of competition, half of the candidates will be voted out, leaving 50 candidates to compete in a series of political exercises, such as public speaking, policy formation, and emergency scenario response. Meslin has even set up workshops to help hone the skills of budding politicians. At the end of it all, between four and eight candidates will be awarded with their very own election campaign, equipped with all the resources needed to run for office, from signage to volunteer staff that will act as fundraisers, researchers, and advisors.
One of Meslin’s goals is to get people to vote for the candidate who inspires them the most, rather than for the candidate they dislike the least. With only a 38 percent voter turnout in the last municipal election, there is a temptation to dismiss the Toronto public as apathetic. But Meslin said it is simply a sign that candidates are not offering anything that people want to get behind. For him, getting idealistic college students to compete in “Who Runs This Town?” and “City Idol” is part of the solution.
About 45 candidates have signed up so far-some of whom seem more promising than most of the current body of councillors. Among the candidates are a few students from U of T-predictably, many are political science students, but others hail from more surprising disciplines.
Shaun Alphonso, a first-year political science student at U of T, is an 18-year-old with a five-point platform which includes ideas from how to stop the increased marginalization of downtown Toronto’s lower-income residents, to projects for urban renewal in Toronto’s isolated, car-dependent suburbs.
Edona Caku is about as far from poli sci as you can get-she’s a third-yea – r medical radiation science student. She’s passionate about local health delivery initiatives and environmental protection. Another candidate is Helen Dimaras, a PhD student at U of T who is studying molecular and medical genetics. She said that she’ll be concentrating her presentation on issues of garbage and waste management, the city’s homeless population, and gun violence.
Skeptics might wonder how these candidates expect to compete against municipal heavy-weights like Howard Moscoe, Case Ootes, and Frances Nunziata, but Meslin is dismissive of anyone who would doubt young candidates’ ability to bring fresh ideas to the city.
“Nobody cares as much about your past achievements as much as they care about how well you can represent their interests,” he said. “All [the constituents] want is your commitment in representing their needs at City Hall.”
For more information, check out www.cityidol.to and
www.whorunsthistown.to.
Ben Hacking is a third-year U of T political science student who will
be competing in City Idol.
