Emilie

Down the street, past the Poet's house, lives the incredible powerhouse known to us simply as Emilie. Emilie is the kind of woman that makes most of us wonder what we are all doing with our time. A mother of two small children, Emilie runs her own business, is active at her kids' school, has been the instigator (or in the very least the facilitator) of all manor of community projects AND as if this weren't enough she is now running for Independent Councillor of our Borough.

Despite her "independent" status, Emilie's campaign, like the woman herself, is extremely well organized. She has been everywhere and her posters are omnipresent. So much so that it has spawned a whole slew of questions from our Little Superhero: "Mummy look, there's Emilie on a poster! Look! there's another Emilie... Mummy...how come Emilie is everywhere? Mummy, what is a Borough? Mummy, what's an election?..."

Then after my short explanation, The Little Superhero came to the most extraordinary conclusion "Mummy, Emilie should win. Because she is REAL".

Of course what the little fellow meant was that he knew her and that she was not just a picture on a poster, that to him she was a real person. But the wisdom of five year olds is great. She is real. She speaks like a human being, not a politician. She is completely unencumbered by bureaucracy. And she wants a better neighbourhood for her family to grow up in.

Because she lives here. She has seen first hand the broken swings and slides that her children play on in the neighbouring parks (and she knows what parks to avoid), She has had her heart in her throat when the cars have sped by her house all too quickly while the kids played on the sidewalk, and she has sat up bolt upright in bed in the middle of hot summer nights, completely on edge, having mistaken a car's backfire for yet another shooting in the Hood.

But most importantly she is going to do something about it.

So if you are lucky enough to live in The Hood, this coming Sunday go out and vote for Emilie. You won't regret it. Really.

www.emiliebordat.com