Dave "Mez" Meslin in a bus shelter in 2007 for a photo shoot by Toronto Life magazine.
Name: Dave "Mez" Meslin
Position: Torontopreneur,
Elsewhere: Blogs at Mez Dispenser, tweets via @meslin
Notoriety: He founded the Toronto Public Space Committee, came up with the City Idol contest to get Torontonians to run as municipal candidates in the 2003 Municipal Election. He then came up with the Toronto Cyclists Union
Profile: Dave Meslin is an activist, journalist, community organizer and professional rabble-rouser.
With one foot planted firmly in the world of mainstream politics and the other foot dancing in the more vibrant universe of grassroots activism, Meslin has found ways to bring them both together and turn energy into action.
Meslin's activism started with guerilla-style street antics. Painting bikelanes directly onto the street, altering billboards, and hanging pictures of Bill Cosby and Bill Clinton over "Post no Bills" signs were all part of his repertoire. In 1998, he organized the first “Reclaim the Streets” demonstration in Toronto. Seeing hundreds of people dancing in the street without a permit was motivation enough to continue organizing. Watching the police shut down the party and arrest many of the celebrants was a motivation to explore new ways to organize.
Chosen as one of the Top Ten Activists of the year by NOW Magazine in 2000, Meslin went on to form the Toronto Public Space Committee. During the following five years the TPSC grew to become one of the most effective unfunded non-profits in Toronto, and was chosen in 2005 as the “Best Activist Group” by both EYE Weekly and NOW magazines. The Toronto Public Space Committee published the first issue of Spacing Magazine, which has since grown into an award-winning urban affairs publication.
In 2006, Meslin coordinated a project called ‘Who Runs This Town?’, a campaign aimed at injecting some fun and creativity into the 2006 municipal elections in Toronto. The highlight of the project was ‘City Idol’, an attempt to get alienated citizens to explore and share their political ideas by competing for a spot on City Council in front of a live audience. City Idol was filmed and turned into a full-length film that now airs frequently on the Documentary Channel.
Meslin's political adventures have taken him in many directions. On the inside, Meslin has been flown to Bogota to represent Toronto at a United Nations conference about Car-Free Cities, he's been appointed to Toronto's Cycling Committee and Pedestrian Committee, and has worked as an executive assistant at both Queen's Park and City Hall. On the outside, Meslin's rabble rousing had him labeled by the Globe and Mail as a “constant thorn” in City Council’s side. He's encouraged hundreds of people to get involved in local activism, he's successfully derailed two major projects at City Hall that threatened public spaces and he's also landed himself in jail.
Meslin has toured Europe with The Hidden Cameras (a “gay folk church music” band), spent six months in Argentina making a documentary with Avi Lewis and Naomi Klein, and was a founding member of the New Politics Initiative along with Judy Rebick, Jim Stanford, Svend Robinson, Libby Davies and others in 2001.
His most recent political project was the creation of Toronto’s first membership-based bicycle advocacy group: The Toronto Cyclists Union. After one year, the group has over 500 paid members, full time staff and has made a substantial impact at City Hall. Meslin also created and published the first issue of Dandyhorse Magazine, Toronto’s first urban cycling magazine.
His next gig is the Better Ballots initiative.
