If I lived in Hamilton, without hesitation I would vote for Scarlett Gillespie for mayor. She has embraced the platform of the Municipal Socialist Alliance and enjoys MSA full endorsement.

But what should one do as a resident of Toronto, or of most other cities across Ontario, if there is no socialist candidate for the top job in your municipality?

What if there is no candidate who pledges to fight for free public transit? What if none call for expropriation of vacant habitable space in multiplex buildings, or demand the launch of a crash program of mass public housing construction, call for radical expansion of social services, for slashing the police budget, and for heavy taxation of giant banks, retail chains and the owners of mansions and luxury accommodations?

What if there is no contender for mayor willing to admit that capitalism can’t be fixed? What if none insist on public ownership, under workers’ and tenants’ control, and none stress that socialist transformation of society is absolutely indispensable to a healthy future fit for humanity? More than abundant bike lanes are urgently needed to reverse ever-rising GHG emissions.

In that instance, voting for a vague and unaccountable ‘progressive’, or plumping for the ‘lesser evil’ placeholder, only perpetuates the problem. The truth is: it may come down to a choice between abstention and spoiling one’s ballot.

I made my choice.