This month’s spotlight is Saron Gebresellassi, Principal of Saron Legal Professional Corporation (SLPC), but most well known for her run for Toronto Mayor. Read her all about Saron and her fight for human rights and transformation change.

Could you briefly explain some of your responsibilities in your current career role?

I am the Principal of Saron Legal Professional Corporation (SLPC), a Human Rights Lawyer and am sometimes referred to as a Political-Legal Locksmith. Our legal and political systems have many gatekeepers. I view my role to be to unlock those doors so that more of us can walk through. When people come to me, every door has been shut and without Legal Counsel they will never be able to walk through the halls of court, provincial or federal parliament. Our courts operate not unlike the Oval Office. No one can get in except a very privileged few.

I have managed a range of cases ranging from quasi-terrorism to homicide to wrongful death. I also attend at the Canada-U.S. Border to provide legal relief to asylum seekers exiting the United States in the wake of the Trump election. I have assisted survivors of the Toronto Van Attack (more accurately characterized as the Toronto Terror Attack). There are a number of cases profiled online and I invite those interested to look them up.

You recently ran for Mayor of Toronto. How did you come to decide to embark on this journey? 

When I was in Los Angeles for the Mayoral Race, I saw Mayoral Candidates really champion social justice and challenge the status quo. Here in Toronto, we were not seeing that. For too long, so many communities have been shut out of the political process and the mayoral process. As a ‘Political-Legal Locksmith’, I had the skillset to unlock those doors and mobilize a significant number of votes. I wanted to show the city and indeed, the international community that this process belongs to all of us. I also know that marginalized communities represent the majority of the city’s population and have the ability to elect a Mayor that represents the needs of the majority not the very privileged few. It is worth nothing that when Mayor Tory first ran for Mayor, he was almost double my age and got a similar voter turnout to my campaign. I say this to demonstrate that ordinary people have more influence and power than perhaps realized.

Why did you decide to run for Mayor of Toronto?

I decided to run for Mayor of Toronto because I believed it to be good for democracy, good for our communities and necessary for those who believe transformative change is possible and necessary.

What were some of the things you learned during your campaign? 

I learned to be very grateful to everyone and anyone who contributed to the campaign, no matter how small or large. My advice to young people reading this is be sure to be gracious and appreciative to all your volunteers and classmates who might have contributed anything valuable to your projects. It doesn’t matter whether they contributed one hour or one month of their time. It is valuable. I also learned that there are truly no limits to what is possible to realize in our lives.

What are some challenges you faced and how did you overcome them?

There were some challenges in the area of fundraising. I was outspent a lot by Mayor Tory. Competing with big money is no light endeavour. Our team continually worked through this by constantly strategizing on unlocking new sources of potential donations and developing new techniques to communicate with the public.

Is there a philosophy that drives your career?

“No Guts No Glory’ is a mantra I quite enjoy.

What do you consider to be your greatest professional accomplishment?

This might be unexpected but in 2014, I was the winner of the Ontario Arts Council Artist of Color Award for my work in the area of piano and flute performance.

What’s one piece of advice you would give someone looking to transition into your line of work and/or running for office?

Nike said it best. Just do it.

What are some of goals or resolutions you are setting for yourself in 2019? 

Time Valuation. I really value my time and I want to ensure that it is always used as wisely as possible. I know it sounds so generic, but the truth is a day spent on a useless project is a day that could have been spent on a ground-breaking or historic project. The same amount of time is required for both.

Outside of all of your hard work and efforts- what do you do for fun? Hobbies?

I am enrolled in dance, music and language arts programs in the City of Toronto. Music and extra-curriculars is a big part of what I do and being well-rounded is also very important to me.