Hi Toronto,

Today is the day! I want to offer my sincere thanks for everyone who has supported me and my campaign these past 7 weeks. It has been an incredible experience - I have learned much about our city and the many ways it can be improved.

The Brunswick house event incredible, thank you again to everyone who came out.

I will post more after the election is over, and I offer you my thanks again.

Shaun

Tags: shaun bruce

Hey Toronto,

I am pleased to announce a 19+, free admission concert to encourage youth voting in our city! Even ,Jack Layton has agreed to help me out.

Here are the details:

Time: FRIDAY NOVEMBER 10 at 7:00 p.m.
Location: Brunswick House (481 Bloor St. West)

Jack Layton will be speaking at Shaun Bruce Rocks the Vote, a free concert event held at BRUNSWICK House in Toronto to encourage youth voting for the upcoming Municipal Elections. He will be onstage at approximately 7:00 p.m. All are welcome to attend (19+).

The band Eden Ants will kick off the concert at 8:00 p.m. followed by Black Hat Brigade, Birds of Wales, and Rides Again.

For more information, check out www.voteforshaun.ca

Shaun

Tags: jack layton, shaun bruce, shaun bruce rocks the vote

Here is the article Shaun posted about yesterday:

Race to win young hearts
Shaun Bruce, 22, hopes to lure more youth voters
Class discussion inspires student to run for mayor
Nov. 3, 2006. 01:00 AM
VANESSA LU
CITY HALL BUREAU CHIEF


They seem like seasoned political organizers.

They rhyme off plans for sending media alerts and printing up T-shirts. They finalize canvassing areas. They talk about campaign "lit" drops. They assign volunteers to attend all-candidates meetings.

But they're not experienced campaigners.

In fact, most of the 35 students in the public affairs class at University of Guelph-Humber have never worked on a campaign, except for student council ones.
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Source

Tags: brunswick house, shaun, toronto star
Current Mood: cheerful

hello Toronto,

Vanessa Lu, City Hall Bureau Chief from the Toronto Star, spent over an hour with me and my campaign team on Tuesday October 31 to write an article on my progress and what is coming up.

It was unnerving to have someone that much in the heart of this election in the room with a photographer to hear everything I said. I think we did ok, and my team really came through to answer any questions she had to ask them. Look for the article any day!

Now it's time to break news: Next week, I will be filming with the Comedy Network on a show called "Punched Up!" in an effort to increase my profile in this campaign. The Network will help me get an on-air interview on the radio and help hold a Pub next FRIDAY NOVEMBER 10 @ BRUNSWICK HOUSE to celebrate the election and increase awareness among youth voters on the how, where, and why of voting.

More on Shaun Bruce Rocks the Vote in the coming days.

On a personal note, I had a 10+ page thesis proposal due Monday, a Midterm on Tuesday, and another midterm due today (Thursday). If my intentions were ever in doubt, it should be clear that I am running for Mayor to help the youth of this city.

My media section has been updated on my profile, unfortunately we haven't scanned copies of some smaller articles from Humber and Guelph-humber publications.

Cheers, Shaun.

Tags: brunswick house, comedy network, pub, shaun bruce, toronto star
Current Location: Guelph-Humber
Current Mood: busy

Shaun was profiled by National Post contributer Adrienne Robertson for this article:

Candidate drives zamboni
Young politicos, Part 1. Shaun Bruce believes students can make him mayor
Adrienne Robertson, National Post
Published: Saturday, October 28, 2006
Picture this: A student, spurred on by an impassioned class discussion about low turnout among young voters, decides to run for mayor and recruits his entire class as his campaign team.

Now, make that student a part-time Zamboni driver and set the whole thing in Toronto and you've got the real-life story of Shaun Bruce, a 22-year-old public-relations student at the University of Guelph-Humber who's challenging David Miller et al. in the mayoral race.
( More )

Source

Tags: national post, shaun bruce

Shaun's website is profiled alongside others in an article from the Toronto Star today.

Municipal politicians try webcasting
Candidates post YouTube videos to reach young voters
Oct. 30, 2006. 10:10 AM
DONOVAN VINCENT
CITY HALL BUREAU


A growing trend for American politicians to use popular websites such as YouTube to reach younger voters seems to be picking up steam here.

Whether they're blogging, offering paperless "e-campaigns" or posting audio and video segments on their websites or on sites like YouTube, candidates in the upcoming municipal election are using the latest electronic means to reach wider audiences.

And oftentimes, younger voters, too.
( More )

Voteforshaun.ca
Source

Tags: shaun bruce, toronto star, website

Shaun met with Carolyn Bennet, the MP for the St. Paul's riding in Toronto, on Friday October 27, 2006.

The pair had a long conversation regarding the importance of youth voting and how to engage youth in the political process. Shaun said that the meeting was extremely informative and was pleased to see his campaign iniatives reach this level of government.

MP Bennet agreed that the youth vote is key to democracy, something that Shaun has been saying from the beginning of his campaign.

Look for a post from Shaun on this meeting in the near future, look out for an incredible announcement this week!

Tags: carolyn bennet, shaun bruce, youth
Current Mood: proud

Updates have been short coming lately, and I apologize for that.

The last few weeks have been hectic at the campaign and my team has done their best to keep my website (www.voteforshaun.ca) and this journal on the go. Just today we linked most of my media coverage to the profile page of this journal.

The debates the past few nights have been interesting, and believe me, I've had the time to think about them since I wasn't allowed to speak at them.

I pose this question to all the people organizing 'three' person debates: How do you expect anyone outside of 'legitimate' candidacy to gain momentum and votes if you never allow them to speak? How is this democracy?

Different topic: Leafs got smoked by Ottawa last night. Not a good day today.

Thanks to everyone for the support, I swear the updates will be more frequent.

Shaun

Tags: leafs, media, shaun, updates
Current Mood: bored

Shaun was interviewed by John Spears of the Toronto Star yesterday, and the article has appeared online today:

Local boy kept out of mayoral debate
Big three candidates clash on transportation in Leaside
Oct. 25, 2006. 09:09 AM
JOHN SPEARS
CITY HALL BUREAU


Like a prophet without honour in his own land, mayoral candidate Shaun Bruce couldn’t make his voice heard at last night’s mayoral debate at Leaside Memorial Gardens.
Debate organizers invited only the Big Three candidates to address and answer questions at the meeting - Mayor David Miller, Stephen LeDrew and hometown heroine Jane Pitfield, who represented the area as councillor.

But Bruce, who is a 22-year-old student at University of Guelph-Humber making his first stab at politics as a class project, may have had the strongest claim to speak at the meeting.

After all, Bruce used to drive the Zamboni at Leaside Memorial - and was forced to take a leave to run for mayor because the city doesn’t allow active employees to run for office.

Being kept off the platform rubbed some salt in the wound.

"I’m trying to run the most professional campaign I can," he said. "I don’t see why a person in his own land would be banished."

Although his chances of winning may be slim, he said his focus on youth issues has had some impact on the campaign. Miller has just come out supporting a new transit pass for college and university students, he noted.

Bruce and the other candidates were still invited to hand out literature and greet voters at the meeting.

Fran Maclure of the Leaside Property Owners Association, which organized the debate, said the association’s directors had decided to restrict debate to three candidates to allow voters more time to hear from the frontrunners.

Other debate organizers have made the same choice.

Thirty-eight candidates are running for mayor.

"I rather disagreed with the decision, but I was outnumbered," Maclure said. "I do believe in democracy."

Bruce wasn’t the only candidate kept off the platform.

Before the meeting started, candidates Mitch Gold, Glenn Coles and Mehmet Ali Yagiz stood up from the audience to introduce themselves and ask for support.

Bruce later asked a question about reduced transit fares for students - a measure all three candidates on the podium said they support.

The candidates clashed on transportation policy. Pitfield called for a subway construction program of building two kilometers a year for 25 years.

She said surface routes are too clogged for buses and streetcars to compete with cars.

Miller said subways are too expensive for the city, since the province no longer pays 75 per cent of the cost of subway construction.

He said the St. Clair streetcar right of way, which is costing the city $68 million, would have cost about $3 billion had the city decided to build a full scale subway along the route.

LeDrew said the St. Clair project simply cuts its neighbourhood in half. The money would have better been spent on bus service to under-serviced areas like Etobicoke, he said.

Source

Here's something that is equal parts funny and ironic. The Toronto Sun published it today and tomorrow the paper will have a section called City Vote 2006. Be sure to check out all the information that's coming out and DON'T FORGET TO CAST YOUR VOTE ON NOVEMBER 13th!

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Pitfield's Catch of the Day: Flip-flopping Mayoral Campaign Head to Flippers Fish House.

By ROB GRANATSTEIN, TORONTO SUN CITY HALL BUREAU

Political astuteness and Jane Pitfield just don't seem to go together.

On Tuesday, the mayoral candidate who is becoming known for her flip-flops on issues will take her campaign to Flippers Fish House for an announcement.

Didn't anyone in her office think about this before scheduling the event?

Pitfield campaign spokesman Robert Stephens could only laugh when it was brought to his attention.

"It's irony," he said.

This week Pitfield has been grilled for backing the St. Clair streetcar right-of-way project at council, then announcing on Wednesday she'd stop the exclusive lane project.

In the past Pitfield has voted to stop the island airport bridge but now backs Porter and the island airport, voted for the city's deal to buy the landfill in London, Ont. then said she's against the deal, and said she'd look at selling Toronto Hydro, then at the same press conference tells the media she's not considering selling the utility.

Current Mood: chipper