When you receive your ballot this week, send the OMA a message they can’t ignore. Vote for real change. Vote for openness, transparency and democracy. Vote for Suzanne Strasberg and the rest of The Coalition Candidates.

X Strasberg, Suzanne

X Studniberg, Allan

X Weinberger, Tom

You and I know that when something needs to be changed, it’s not enough to stand around on the sidelines waiting for someone to do something about it. This is why I have decided to run for the position of District Director for District 11.

Above all else, I believe that the OMA must make a greater effort to be more responsive to its grassroots members. It must also be more open and transparent. To this end, I will fight to have recorded votes and the minutes of each Board and Executive Committee Meeting posted on the OMA Web site so that members can see exactly what their representatives are up to.

I will also fight to ensure that the OMA has a professional negotiating team – along with a professional labour negotiator – in place by the time the next round of fee-for-service negotiations with the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care get under way. If you’re like me, you’re tired of being told that 1.9% was “the best that we could do.”

I have spoken out on behalf of all physicians – not just family doctors – during the six-plus years I have spent as an Executive Committee member of the Coalition of Family Physicians of Ontario. Dealing with these issues every day has taught me the importance of staying informed and listening to what we, the grassroots, really want.

I believe I have the passion, the dedication and, most important of all, the honesty to serve as your representative on the OMA Board. With your support, we can make a difference.