“I left the military, got into raving and became a DJ”

I grew up in a small farm town south of Buffalo called Eden, NY. I went to college in Pennsylvania but dropped out for financial reasons and joined the army. One weekend, in 2002, I came to Toronto. I went to a rave at the Opera House – “Digital Outlaws,” one of the “Hullabaloo” series of events – and my life changed. After I was discharged from the military, I got into raving and became a DJ. That’s what brought me to Canada – the incredible nightlife here in Toronto. I started coming up all the time and built a life up here and eventually moved here for good in 2012. I’ve lived in Etobicoke ever since, although I returned to the U.S. for a couple of years in 2016, when I went to work for Bernie Sanders.

COVID dominates the concerns back home. It’s been badly mishandled by the Trump administration. We are lucky that New York has managed to put a tight lid on it, but my sister recently moved to Florida and that is one of the epicentres of the outbreak these days. It’s frightening, and it’s made worse by the U.S. health-care system. My mom lost her job due to the outbreak and now she is losing her health insurance. Most of my friends are also quite worried about Trump’s authoritarian impulses. It seems clear that if he loses the election, he simply won’t accept the result and will claim it was rigged. They’re worried about how to protect American democracy.

People often ask if it’s better here. I always say that it is. My partner and I often discuss how grateful we are to live here. It’s not perfect, but having lived on both sides of the border, Canada simply offers a lot more support for regular people and as a result a lot more opportunity. When I first moved here I was able to start my own business, in part because health care was covered. Doing that in the U.S. would have literally put my life at risk for lack of coverage. I also always tell people that if Trump wins again, my door is always open for people ready to get out. I’m nervous, obviously. Trump has been such a disaster, but we can’t underestimate him either. He’s popular with a lot of people, partly because he’s a very accomplished performer, which brings him skills that translate well to campaigning. But I think he’s also tapped into a very real anger at the system, and although I strongly disagree with all of his solutions and I think he’s incompetent, I do understand people who feel like the system is failing them. For many, it is. But I believe in democracy and it’s clear that Trump doesn’t. That’s why I’m putting so much time and effort into helping to elect Joe Biden, even though I didn’t support him in the primary. I volunteer with Democrats Abroad to help make Americans in Canada – there are nearly a million – aware that they can vote quickly and easily using VoteFromAbroad.org. I think Americans are ready to put an end to the Trump era, to elect someone who can get COVID under control, restore America’s standing in the world, and maybe get through even a single week without yet another scandal. So I’m cautiously optimistic, but mostly I am determined to do everything I can to ensure we get a change.