In episode 25 of Ellected host Sarah Elder-Chamanara talks with politician, political scientist, activist, author and mother Dr. Kate Graham about her election loss, the election, they get into discussing if and how electoral reform might increase voter turnout in future elections with two different takes on the topic, the metrics that matter during a campaign, conversations with girls at the doors and the release of Kate's new book No Second Chances: Women and Political Power in Canada.
More about Dr. Kate Graham:
Dr. Kate Grapham researches, writes, speaks and teaches about politics in Canada. She holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Political Science from the University of Western Ontario. Her areas of focus include Canadian politics, local government, urban politics and public policy.
Her PhD dissertation, Leading Canada’s Cities: A Study of Urban Mayors, examined the role and power of big city mayors in Canada. The research process involved travelling across Canada to conduct 70 interviews with political and community leaders across Canada. She blogged throughout the experience and developed an online following for what became affectionately known as the “Mayors Project."
Kate is a regular media commentator and speaker on local politics in Canada. Kate teaches in the Political Science departments at Western University (Local Government Program), King’s University College and Brescia University College. She currently teaches two courses on women and politics. She is an associate producer of the 25% documentary (see: 25percent.ca) about the underrepresentation of women in Canadian politics.
Before entering academia, Kate spent a decade working as a public servant. Most recently she served as the Director, Community & Economic Innovation at the City of London where she was responsible for the City’s government relations, strategic initiatives, culture and economic partnerships portfolios.
Kate is an active community member and volunteer. She served as the Chair of the Pillar Nonprofit Network Board of Directors, on the Executive of the ReForest London Board of Directors, and as a volunteer for numerous community organizations. She was named one of London’s Top 20 Under 40 in 2015. Kate ran in the 2018 Provincial Election in Ontario and ran for the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party in 2020 and most recently ran as a candidate again in the June 2022 Ontario provincial election.
Kate lives in London, Ontario with her family.
More about Sarah Elder-Chamanara:
Sarah Elder-Chamanara is the founder, creative director, designer and owner of Madame Premier, a feminist, political and activist clothing company and community based in Calgary, Alberta. With the underlying principle of seeing more women and diversity in politics, elected and in backrooms, at every level, Sarah and Madame Premier create opportunities for conversations about how politics works, why it needs to change, who it needs to change for and how the time for that is now.