Today, I’m speaking with the irrepressible Chloé Brown.
Chloé literally means blooming or fertility in Greek and this is one policy analyst who is all for vibrant growth spearheaded by empowered communities making decisions that will revitalize a city, and a province, that has been poorly governed for far too long.
Combining experience and elegance with brilliantly innovative, collaborative, inclusive ideas, Brown has plans to stem the growing inequality those in power not only created, but continue to feed.
Don’t kid yourself, Brown is anything but the new kid on the block. She entered politics during the Occupy Toronto Movement (2012). In 2014, Brown was a protégé of Councillor Pam McConnell and began getting involved in community and policy development. That work exposed the disconnect between the public service and politicians.
During the Rob Ford years, Brown saw how councillors ignored the situation making them complicit in the decay of leadership. Brown also saw the inequity between who gets help and who does not.
Brown ran for Ward 2 Councillor in the 2016 by-election. Michael Ford, nephew of Doug Ford, got that seat at the council table.
With a budget of $2,000, Brown ran for mayor of Toronto in 2022 coming third with 6.31 per cent of votes. That is really impressive considering the average cost of running for mayor is $2 million.
Tired of watching democracy decay due to personalities and name recognition – something she calls ‘capitalism branding,’ Brown ran for mayor in 2023. Out of 102 candidates Brown came 7th.
Working at the Future Skills Centre, Brown hears first-had accounts of what folks are enduring and the difficulties they face navigating the systems politicians have created.
The political agnostic realizes there’s no interest in ending poverty because it’s a really great business if you control the resources or are the ones in power making the rules.
Brown sees knowledge everywhere, but acknowledges it’s not equally valued. Input from early childhood educators, nurses, bus drivers, and garbage collectors is not valued the same as that from executives. That’s why this progressive actionist with a proven track record wants to redesign what we as a collective — not just the 1 per cent — value.
I invite you to listen to my conversation with Chloé Brown and then encourage you to support her vision for a co-operative future where workers are valued, thrive and in control of their destiny.
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