Local Liberals looking for like-minded individuals need look no further than Bradford.
Resident Umar Abro is organizing the Ontario Young Liberals (OYL) York—Simcoe riding club, which is set to hold its first meeting on Friday, Sept. 8, starting at 5 p.m.
Abro said this is the first OYL club for the riding, which he started to help other young Liberals meet and network.
“Young liberals like me weren’t able to access and meet other Liberal politicians and personalities and discuss problems. After having this club, we have access to all the MPs, MPPs and all the leadership of Liberals. Now we can convey our message more easily than before,” he said.
The organizer was grateful for the help to start the club which he received from Ottawa Centre MP Yasir Naqvi, local Ward 2 Coun. Jonathan Scott and MacKenzie Collings, OYL riding director.
Because he felt the party isn’t very strong in the York—Simcoe riding, Abro wanted to make sure area Grits had a chance to meet with each other and share their ideas.
“For the young Liberals my message is: They should come join us, attend our meetings, see what our point of view is and ask us questions. We love to answer questions. They shouldn’t be afraid of asking questions,” he said.
In addition to networking, Abro is also hoping the club will be able to volunteer and help support local businesses, regardless of political beliefs.
At the first meeting, the club expects to elect the executive committee, including president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer and membership secretary.
Abro explained that only one candidate applied for each category, so the positions are set to be acclaimed, including for Abro himself, who applied to be the club’s president.
While the inaugural meeting is planned to be held virtually, Abro said he intends for all future meetings to be held in person once a month and for members to be able to interact with special guests such as Kingston and the Islands MPP Ted Hsu, Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie and Huzaif Qaisar, OYL president.
“This thing wasn’t available to them before. They could interact with them on social media, but meeting someone in person is totally different. When you’re in person you can ask anything you want,” he said.
So far, the club has 35 members, but Abro said it is growing daily and added it's free for anyone age 14-25 to join.
Anyone looking for more information about joining the club or attending the virtual meeting can contact Abro by phone at 905-967-4222 or email [email protected].
Abro emphasized that anyone who wants to be able to vote for the next leader of the Ontario Liberal Party needs to complete their membership sign-up before Sept. 11.