How to Get Involved in Municipal Elections: A Panel Discussion

What does it really take to run for city council and what is it like once you’re elected?

Join us for an engaging panel discussion that explores what municipal government looks like from the lens of a city councillor. Whether you’re interested in campaigning, how decisions get made at city hall, or considering running for local government, this session provides a glimpse of the realities of local leadership.

We will explore:

• What it’s actually like to run for local government—from deciding to put your name forward to building a campaign
• Barriers women and gender-diverse people face when running for office and how we can collectively support values-aligned candidates
• Ways to get involved in elections beyond running yourself, including volunteering, working on a campaign, or supporting civic engagement in your community.
  
  

Moderator: Trudi Goels (she/her) is a community organizer, project manager, and relationship builder. Her paid and unpaid work includes challenging local government and civic systems, finding ways to shift who has power, and building equity in communities. Trudi joined the board with a vision to expand the great work that WTC does across BC (and maybe beyond). She bravely brings forward new processes, explores ways of governing, and ensures that everything we do is values aligned. Trudi is the co-founder of Ablaze Services Workers Cooperative and The Feminist Campaign School. She loves music, connecting people, and being in water. She lives on the stolen and occupied land of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ speaking people. It is a land so ravaged by colonialism that its truth is still being re-known and she is committed to continuously learning about it.

Panelists:

Nadine Nakagawa (she/her) is a community organizer, creative writer, and a second-term City Councillor in New Westminster. As a councillor, she focuses on affordable housing, community inclusion, the climate crisis, and public engagement. She also works as an Equity and Inclusion Strategist, co-owns a consulting business called Ablaze Services, and is co-founder of The Feminist Campaign School. In her free time, Nadine prances with delight towards wildflowers and can be found hugging trees and embracing whimsy—and her cats Mitsie and Moo. Nadine is a queer Hāfu woman who lives on the territories of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ speaking peoples. She has a Master’s Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies and recently completed a Master’s Degree in Counselling Psychology.

Leslie Payne [Nelson City Councillor - Bio To Be Updated]

Women Transforming Cities (WTC) aims to radically shift social, economic, and political power to equity-deserving groups to reshape who cities are built by and for so that communities’ needs are met and everyone can belong, participate, and thrive. We do this with an intersectional feminist lens through civic literacy and education, research, advocacy and collaboration.

Become a member of WTC.

Accessibility: The event will take place virtually on Zoom. It will be in English with live closed captioning. If you have any other requests that will support your participation, please let us know by emailing us at alexa@womentransformingcities.org.

We acknowledge that the event will take place virtually on the stolen, unceded ancestral territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam Indian Band), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish Nation), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation).