
Why vote for me?
• I believe parents should be involved in school board decisions, because parents know their kids best and care about them the most. I want to hear from parents and community members so we can work together. Contact me with any questions or even just to say hi.
• I attended Greenbank P.S. for French Immersion and Merivale H.S. for the Gifted Program, and was a camp counsellor and teacher’s aide for special needs kids. So I know every student has different skills and interests and that we should offer programs to help everyone achieve their potential.
• As an advertising copywriter, I’ve written commercials that built billion dollar brands and won the world’s top awards. Since school board funding is based on number of students, I’ll use my ad skills to help promote the board so it can be well-funded.
• In my copywriting career, I’ve used my various skills in unique ways. I acted as the Mini Man for Nutri-Grain bars in commercials I wrote, was the voice of Zeller’s radio, wrote songs for commercials and did stand-up comedy for brands. I’ll use my creativity to come up with new solutions for our schools.
• This summer I advanced in both the Yuk Yuk’s and Absolute Comedy stand-up comedy contests. Comedy requires looking at the world in new ways, and I’ll use this skill to bring a fresh perspective to the school board.
• I care about the environment. I was in the Green Party of Ontario’s Shadow Cabinet. I was trained by Al Gore as a Climate Reality presenter. My love song for Green Party leader Elizabeth May went viral in the 2011 election. When I walk along the Canal, I pick up litter (and carry treats for dogs I meet). I want schools to be green, from green roofs to food gardens, because green space helps mental and physical health, especially after the pandemic’s online learning and masking has been hard on kids.
• Covid is top-of-mind for parents. I think we need to do what we can to keep kids and their family members safe from Covid. I think it’s also important to consider all sides of the issue. For instance, do masks and lockdowns negatively affect the mental health and learning of students? If so, how do we achieve the right balance? I want to bring public health experts and parents together to collaborate on how best to keep students both physically and mentally healthy.
• I love that Canterbury H.S. is there for arts-loving students. I’d explore having another arts school and schools with other specializations.
• I’ve drawn cartoons for The Ottawa Citizen, hosted Rogers TV shows, told stories on CBC Radio, and hosted talk radio on Toronto’s CFRB, all because I love engaging with the public. If you want, you could come on my podcast to discuss issues and come up with solutions together. And I’d love to do a weekly show about school board issues and other Ottawa issues to keep you informed.
• I’m recognized around town because I post my adventures on Facebook. Which shows that you can always check my social media to hear my thoughts and to work with me on what’s important to you.
• I’m single and don’t have kids, which means I can devote my time to helping students, and it means that I’m not coming in with preconceived notions and can look at issues logically. I want the school board to be great for our community’s kids, and for my kids if I’m blessed enough to one day start my own family.
• People recognize me from my Facebook Neighbourhoods posts about my adventures. I’ll continue being open with you. Follow me on Facebook.
• I’m open to hearing all sides of issues. I invite all comments so I can learn from you and work with you. Email josh@joshrachlis.com
You can follow me at: