Matt Jelly

Matt Jelly is an activist and multi-disciplinary artist from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He was a candidate in the Hamilton, Ontario municipal election, 2010 for the seat of Ward 2 Councillor and finished 2nd out of 20, with 18.72% (1434 votes). His activism focuses on municipal community issues in Hamilton. He has undertaken such projects as a mayoral campaign in 2003, By-Law Crawls in which he leads community members to sites of concern around the city with aim of creating awareness that will lead to positive changes and Garbage Crawls in which he organizes and leads volunteers to actually clean up the city. He was nominated for 2010 Royal Bank Hamilton Distinguished Citizen of the Year award.
Biography
He grew up west of downtown and graduated from Westdale Secondary School. It was during a civics class that Matt first debated an elected official: long-time Hamilton mayor Bob Morrow. The debate was over the Red Hill Creek Expressway, which Matt opposed. Matt attended Mohawk College, taking his first classes on 11 September 2001 but did not complete his studies. He walked and hitchhiked through Mexico for four months in 2003.
Art
His artistic work has included theater, painting and currently involves a vocals/electronica solo act. He has released two EPs: Appropriation EP and Unofficial EP. The Hamilton Music Awards' rated placed him runner-up in 2008 and second runner-up in 2009 for Poster Artist of the Year. His paintings have shown in galleries in Hamilton.
Professional Citizen
His 2003 mayoral campaign was unique in that it was not about winning votes. He opposed the Red Hill Creek Expressway, citing the plan's environmental drawbacks. Amalgamation and Red Hill were easily the two most prominent issues in the election. He was known for ending his campaign speeches with the line, "Don't vote for me, thank you and good night". His "Don't Vote For Me" campaign was massively successful in that more people did not vote for him than did vote for any other candidate.
As a community organizer he brings together volunteers for both By-Law Crawls, in which he leads community members to sites of concern around the city with aim of creating awareness that will lead to positive changes, and Garbage Crawls in which he organizes and leads volunteers to actually clean up the city. In July 2010, after discovering unsealed barrels of toxic waste in an abandoned building, he blew the whistle, obliging the municipal government to act. He was enshrined in a political cartoon in the Hamilton Spectator on July 28, 2010 in response.
He was a candidate in the Hamilton, Ontario municipal election, 2010 for the seat of Ward 2 Councillor and finished 2nd out of 20, with 18.72% (1434 votes). He was 173 votes short of Jason Farr.

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