(This story has been corrected since it was first posted Oct. 3.)
Dianne Watts did it in Surrey. Carole Taylor did it in Vancouver. Now Sandy Garossino hopes to be counted among the few whove landed seats as independent candidates.
Garossino, co-founder of the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Not Vegas! Coalition, announced a bid Monday morning to run for Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»city council in the Nov. 19 municipal race.
Historically, independent candidates have fared poorly in Vancouver. Taylor was the last to secure office as an independent on city council. The odds havent dissuaded Garossino.
Its a very purposeful decision and a choice to run as an independent, Garossino told the Courier. The political mudslinging is not doing anybody any good. Its great theatre, it draws a lot of eyeballs, but it doesnt get problems solved. We need to work collaboratively. Weve got to stop being pitted against each other in a winner-takes-all dogfight. This kind of politics, this kind of way of dealing with problems, is keeping the best people out of the game.
Garossino said her involvement in the successful anti-casino campaign, as well as community work with non-profits and arts groups, has given her a profile that will translate into votes.
My roots and relationships extend across the entire city, she said.
Garossino also cited social medias role in drawing attention to causes.
I dont think there is anybody who will do a better job on that side, so were quite confident that we will get our message through and into every household, she said.
Garossino describes herself as a committed pragmatist whose ideology is to do what works. She promises to improve public consultation and focus on making the city more affordable.
Financial support for her election campaign is coming from a variety of individuals that are concerned about getting the publics voice heard more clearly at city hall.
We were able to stop the casino on a budget of under $10,000, she said. So were not concerned about the financial side of this. We know what people want. People want an alternative. It doesnt cost a lot of money. When youre doing what people want, you dont need money to get your message out. You need money when youre having trouble getting your message out.
Garossinos list of endorsers includes Ian Pitfield, a retired justice of the B.C. Supreme Court who was active in Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Not Vegas. Pitfield wrote the Insite decision upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada last week.
Garossino wouldnt say if a mainstream political party approached her to run for office, but Sean Bickerton, another founder of Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Not Vegas whos running for an NPA seat on council said he had talked to her. I have tremendous admiration for Sandy Garossino for all the hard work that we did together organizing the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Not Vegas CoalitionI would have loved to see Sandy run with us. I certainly made efforts to have Sandy run with us, he said.
Garossino lives on the West Side and is in her mid-50s. She worked as a Crown prosecutor until 1988. She and her brother took over the family-run taxi business after her father died. Shes currently CEO of a company that uses technology to help businesses and legal firms drive down legal costs.
Garossino is married to Ravi Sidhoo who runs East India Carpets. They have five grown children.
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