Meanwhile, across the pond...

(Click on image to enlarge.)

So this post is about London, 2012 UK mayoral candidate Siobhan Benita. 

Here's some background info on her. 

Here's an article from the New York Times Style Magazine. 

And here's a SkyNews interview: 

The first thing that should be noted about her is that she ran as an 'independent'; in the UK, even municipal politics are 'party politics'. 

The second thing is that she's clearly not one of the 'Old Boys' Club'; she's a woman of colour. 

She had a very small team supporting her. But she made major inroads; she garnered more than 83,000 votes to finish fifth in the balloting, held in May. 

Clearly, our municipal systems are different; we don't have political parties at the local governance level. But in her experiences are some important lessons available to be learned by anyone wanting to make a go at running for office in Hamilton, be it for mayor, or for a ward councillor. 

Because when it comes down to it, she was running on the notion of genuine change, to get people thinking about practical solutions and escaping from the short-term strategies typical of party-politics.  

(Thanks to Mahesh P. Butani for making me aware of Ms Benita.)

M Adrian Brassington