"Thank you very much Mario

Dear Friends thank you for being here tonight to launch my campaign to be elected City Councillor for Ward 18 Davenport.

I wish to start by thanking my parents and all the people who helped organize tonight's event.

Anne Bermonte: António Dionisio: Augusto Pires: Brito Fialho: Bruce Davis: Celio Jordão; Cristina Marques; Fatima Pinheiro; Felicidade Macedo; Francisco Sapateiro; Gabriel Teves & António Araújo; Jack Prazeres; Manuel de Paulos; Mario Gomes; Mike Cruz; Paulo Cabral; Pedro Lopes; Sónia Tavares; Ted Lojko; Tony Bellas; Tony Silva; Verónica e Paulo Santos

And my future colleague at Council Berardo Masciolli.

And last but not least, I thank Councillor Mario Silva. Mario inspired me to run for City Councillor. He encouraged me to become involved in the community. Tonight I am declaring my commitment to continue working for the community that I love. So Mario, I start my new career by thanking you for the five years of guidance, inspiration and for encouraging me to step up to this incredible opportunity to represent ward 18 on City Council.

Like many of us who adopted Toronto as our home, I grew up believing that hard, work and intelligence are vital to success. In this next term of City Council, Torontonians want leaders they can count on. They want to be assured City Council's decisions are made on the basis of what's in the best interests of the City. We need trust that City government for the people. I will work to ensure that our city processes are fair, accessible and accountable. At the same time, Toronto has to be open for business. I believe that it is possible for Toronto to be all these things and much, much more.

We need City Councillors with experience. I have that experience. I have worked with you on development projects, by-laws, community safety issues and improvement projects. I know how the City works and, from conversations with many of you, I know how the City can work better.

I believe that positive change happens from the ground up. That means that it happens because of the work that we do together. Toronto needs city builders, people who will make this city great, and I see them many of them in this room.
We need to rebuild our subways.
We need to rebuild our roads and our sewers. We need to build a great waterfront.
We need to build housing.
So let me ask you who is best suited to take on this task of city building?
We are!
I need your help to get to city council so that we can rebuild this city and create real jobs for the people in this ward and in our city.

Our community has great potential. We're starting to see some positive changes. But we need to improve services for our families, for our children, for our teenagers, for our parents and for our sick.

Over the course of the next 4 months, I will continue the work I started in Mario's office. I will talk to you, meet with you and, most important, hear you. In fact, my cell phone number is found on thousands of windows in homes and businesses in this community. Don't hesitate to call me if you have an idea, a concern or just to let me know that I can count on your support.

Representation on City Council has to cross all political stripes. My campaign will represent the diversity of cultures and communities that make up Ward 18. I am proud of my Portuguese roots and understand the importance of celebrating our cultures. It leads to understanding and a healthy society. The more we know about each other, the mote we know how to live, work and play side by side. I also think that our celebrations, through dance, theatre, art, music and festivals, make our neighbourhoods interesting and enjoyable places to live and work.

Our community has just had an important success. Together we prevented a convicted child abuser from being located in a community that has more than its share of half way houses and convicted child abusers living here. Our victory this week was a start. We need to do more to ensure the safety of our children. We need to tell federal government "no more dumping on Davenport." And when Mario gets to Ottawa, I will work closely with him to fight for this community on this issue and many others.

DIRIJO-ME AGORA EM PARTICULAR AOS PORTUGUESES, COMEÇANDO POR AGRADECER A TODOS AQUELES QUE ME INCENTIVARAM A CANDIDATAR-ME E ACARINHARAM DESDE O PRIMEIRO MOMENTO.

FIZERAM-ME ACREDITAR QUE EU SERIA A MELHOR CANDIDATURA AO CARGO.

ACEITEI ESSA ASPIRAÇÃO, ESSE DESAFIO, COM UM ENORME SENTIDO DE DUPLA RESPONSABILIDADE.

RESPONSABILIDADE PELA CONFIANÇA QUE DEPOSITARAM NAS MINHAS CAPACIDADES, E RESPONSABILIDADE PERANTE A NOSSA PRESTIGIADA COMUNIDADE, QUE MERECE QUE OS SEUS FILHOS VENÇAM CADA VEZ MAIS E MELHOR, QUE MERECE UMA VOZ ACTIVA NA CÂMARA MUNICIPAL DESTA CIDADE QUE TÃO BEM NOS ACOLHEU E QUEREMOS PARTILHAR NO SEU DESENVOLVIMENTO.

COMUNGANDO DESSA IDEIA COMPLETAMENTE COMPREENSÍVEL, DESSE SENTIMENTO INTEIRAMENTE CLARO, CONSCIENTE DAQUILO QUE JUSTAMENTE ESPERAM DE MIM, QUERO GARANTIR-VOS QUE TUDO FAREI PARA VOS ORGULHAR, DESEMPENHANDO BEM AS FUNÇÕES PARA AS QUAIS CONTO CONVOSCO PARA SER ELEITA.
MUITO OBRIGADO E AGORA, AO TRABALHO!

You can hire a politician who attends every protest, who cheers for very cause or you can hire one with experience who gets things done. I am that person who will get things done efficiently and with a social conscience.

I need your support. I need volunteers. But most of all I need you to vote for me on November 10th.

Thank you again for joining me this evening. I look forward to working with you over the next for months and three years. Now on to Victory!"