Markham Ward 2 City Councillor Candidate Ritch Lau held his biggest campaign event to date since he registered as a candidate in May 2022 on July 17, 2022 – “Encourage! Ritch Lau Campaign Fundraising Concert & Ward 2 Residents Meet and Greet”. There were more than a hundred Markham residents that came to meet Ritch and support his campaign.
In his opening speech, Ritch emphasized the importance of a candidate having basic political knowledge. As a professional in journalism for more than 15 years, Ritch has been involved in every federal, provincial, and municipal election for nearly two decades. As a newscaster and a reporter, Ritch’s daily work involves learning about the federal, provincial, and municipal governments’ latest announcements and grants. Therefore, Ritch is familiar with the differences in responsibilities of the three levels of governments in Canada. As a quality candidate, Ritch said he would not give false promises to voters, especially with regards to policies that belong to the work of a MP or MPP. Ritch urges all voters to do their research and look at other candidates’ platforms, and listen to their campaign speeches to find out if they have the required knowledge and competency for the position they are running for. An incompetent candidate getting a seat on the council would be disastrous for all our Markham residents.
Ritch acknowledged the perception that some voters may think of him as a “young candidate”. At 36 years of age with a 1-year-old daughter, Ritch told the audiences with confidence that he in fact, might be the Ward 2 candidate with the most experience in public policies and community leadership and services. Ritch was one of the youngest recipients of the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Award this year, and it showed how much community work Ritch has already done before becoming a candidate. Ritch convinced the audiences that he was not only qualified for the job of a city councillor, but also the best choice for Markham Ward 2.
Teaming up with Toronto Metropolitan University lecturer and engineer Mr. Cliff Chan, Team Ritch came up with a unique platform named Bright City. Currently, inflation is at a historic high, and costs of living and services are causing tremendous stress on the city budget. City of Markham was previously known for keeping its property taxes frozen for a few years. However, the latest budget determined that our property taxes must be increased this year or a deficit would be inevitable. This shows that our city council needs to be smarter and more efficient in spending taxpayers’ money. For a “Big City” like Markham, we need a “Bright Plan” in order to build a Brighter Future. Theses are the areas that Ritch will be focusing on:
Budget Management
Community & Road Safety
Increase Recreational & Green Spaces
Traffic & Public Transit
Youth Development & Seniors Support
(For details of the Bright City platform, please click “Platform” on top of the menu of the website.)
Ritch’s campaign event on July 17 was his biggest one yet, with more than a hundred supporters, and a dozen community leaders and celebrities attended to show their support. The atmosphere at King Square Shopping Mall last Sunday afternoon was beyond exciting.
Ritch has a background in Psychology, Mental Health and Early Childhood Education, and youth development is a big part of his platform. Before the election, Ritch organized a Youth Speech Contest as the President of Active Community Engagement. Kathy, the winner of that contest, came back this Sunday with her teenage friends as the show opening performers for Ritch.
A special appearance by Sibbie Ho, finalist of the “Miss Chinese Toronto Pageant 2021” was there on Sunday to support Ritch. The two met more than 10 years ago. Ritch was only in his 20s, as the host for a children’s show on radio station AM1430 and Sibbie, who was around 11, was one of the “Junior DJs” on the show. Sibbie and Ritch were delighted to have a reunion and look forward to supporting each other for many years to come.
Following the footsteps of his mother, who was a social worker who specialized in senior services, Ritch received support from local senior organization members in Markham Ward 2. Ritch said he will fight for more recreational spaces for seniors to organize social events in the future.
“There is no point if only the candidate wants to be elected. How about the residents? Your voice is the most important. Do you actually want me to be your city councillor?” Ritch asked the crowd and received a big round of cheers and applause.
Alice P Cheung, President of Ward 2’s Buttonville Residents Association made an appearance on stage to give her opinion on this election. “I have lived in Ward 2 for more than 30 years.” She said, “With my experiences as a community leader, Ritch is the best candidate that I would pick, and at the end of the day, I believe he has the best chance to win.”
Donations were paid using personal cheques and e-mail transfers only to Ritch Lau Campaign. Some donors also showed support by volunteering to sing and perform for this event. In June, Team Ritch stated that they had raised around $15,000 dollars. It is estimated that Ritch has reached almost $20,000 dollars after receiving donations from this fundraising event, which means that Ritch has completed nearly 90% of his fundraising goal as a City Councillor Candidate of Markham Ward 2. Many donors came to support and took pictures with their favourite candidate and the event concluded with beautiful live music and songs.
To join Team Ritch as a volunteer, donate or request a lawn-sign, please email vote@ritchlau.ca
Ritch Lau, Markham Ward 2 City Councillor Candidate
#VoteRitch #Ward2OneFam #Markham
