Leisha Washington: Liberal, Whitby

 
Leisa Washington

 

WHITBY — Leisa Washington, a community leader and sport trailblazer, has been nominated as the 2018 Ontario Liberal Party candidate for Whitby. December 8, 2017.

WHITBY — Whitby’s Liberals have nominated community leader and sport trailblazer Leisa Washington to carry their banner in the next provincial election.

Washington is the first Canadian female WNBA (Women’s National Basketball Association) and NBA agent, and she was named Woman of the Year in 2016 by the Whitby Chamber of Commerce.

“For the first 22 years of my life, I lived in Toronto Community Housing. Those years shaped me. I learned that you can’t just sit back and wait for good things to happen,” she said in a statement.

“You’ve got to go out and make them happen. You have to get involved, work hard and stand up for what you believe in. I was fortunate, like many others, to be given a fair shot at success and I am proof that programs and services meant to give people a fair shot at a good life, work. That’s why I’m a Liberal.”

 Washington, a mother of two, is the founder of Camda Sports Foundation, and previously served as manager of member services at the Abilities Centre in Whitby. She was a part of the team before the facility’s doors opened in 2014 and brought the Ontario Basketball Association’s head office and training facility there.

She also previously worked for Starlight Children’s Foundation and Norcast Casting and was one of 150 women profiled for HERStory in Black on CBC.

“Whether a $15 minimum wage or free tuition, whether affordable child care or improving transit — government has the responsibility, and Premier Kathleen Wynne has the plan to ensure fairness and opportunity,” Washington said.

“I am running to ensure Whitby can thrive, and so that everyone has a fair shot at success, like I did.”

Earlier this year, the Whitby Progressive Conservatives nominated incumbent MPP Lorne Coe as their candidate and local NDP members nominated human rights lawyer Niki Lundquist.

Ontario’s next election is scheduled for June 2018.

Source: Durhamregion.com