¤¤
00:00:00.76\00:00:36.46
>> Hello and thank you for
00:00:38.43\00:00:39.23
joining us on
00:00:39.23\00:00:40.20
It Is Written Canada.
00:00:40.20\00:00:42.37
>> It has been said that the
00:00:42.37\00:00:43.77
only greatness is the
00:00:43.77\00:00:45.21
greatness of humility
00:00:45.21\00:00:46.71
and if you think about it,
00:00:46.71\00:00:47.81
truly great men and women
00:00:47.81\00:00:50.48
are always humble
00:00:50.48\00:00:51.98
and teachable.
00:00:51.98\00:00:53.38
And René and I witnessed the
00:00:53.38\00:00:55.12
truth of this the other day,
00:00:55.12\00:00:56.82
first-hand when we visited
00:00:56.82\00:00:58.82
City Hall and we met our
00:00:58.82\00:01:00.79
mayor, Mayor Dan Carter.
00:01:00.79\00:01:03.36
>> Dan welcomed us into his
00:01:03.36\00:01:05.19
office and openly shared his
00:01:05.19\00:01:07.23
time, his wisdom, and his life
00:01:07.23\00:01:09.53
story with us.
00:01:09.53\00:01:11.43
>> Dan showed great humility.
00:01:11.43\00:01:13.74
He was vulnerable, unguarded,
00:01:13.74\00:01:15.50
and an immediate friend.
00:01:15.50\00:01:17.77
And so we invited Dan Carter
00:01:17.77\00:01:19.47
to be our guest on
00:01:19.47\00:01:21.18
It Is Written Canada today.
00:01:21.18\00:01:23.45
>> Yes, Dan is here to tell us
00:01:23.45\00:01:25.41
about how he turned his life
00:01:25.41\00:01:27.18
around from struggling with
00:01:27.18\00:01:29.42
alcoholism and homelessness
00:01:29.42\00:01:32.25
to becoming the mayor of
00:01:32.25\00:01:33.96
Oshawa, Ontario, a major city
00:01:33.96\00:01:37.43
in the Greater Toronto Area.
00:01:37.43\00:01:39.69
We are so thankful to have him
00:01:39.69\00:01:41.46
here visiting with us.
00:01:41.46\00:01:43.70
Welcome, Mayor Dan Carter to
00:01:43.70\00:01:45.47
It Is Written Canada.
00:01:45.47\00:01:47.24
>> Well, first of all,
00:01:47.24\00:01:48.34
thank you very much for the
00:01:48.34\00:01:49.07
opportunity to be with you
00:01:49.07\00:01:50.34
today and yeah, you're right,
00:01:50.34\00:01:51.61
I mean having a second chance
00:01:51.61\00:01:53.54
through recovery is one thing,
00:01:53.54\00:01:55.11
but the first chance really
00:01:55.11\00:01:56.28
came early in my life.
00:01:56.28\00:01:58.15
>> This is fascinating to me,
00:01:58.15\00:02:00.18
your story of how you went
00:02:00.18\00:02:02.68
from-- having a second chance,
00:02:02.68\00:02:05.22
from being on the streets and
00:02:05.22\00:02:07.02
homeless and struggling with
00:02:07.02\00:02:08.39
addictions to getting that
00:02:08.39\00:02:10.63
second chance at life, but
00:02:10.63\00:02:12.13
before we go there, I wanna
00:02:12.13\00:02:13.96
talk about that first chance,
00:02:13.96\00:02:15.06
the first chance
00:02:15.06\00:02:16.13
that you got at life.
00:02:16.13\00:02:17.23
>> I was the last of seven to
00:02:17.23\00:02:19.03
be born in my biological
00:02:19.03\00:02:20.90
family and in the early days
00:02:20.90\00:02:23.64
of my life, my mother passed
00:02:23.64\00:02:26.51
away and if you had children
00:02:26.51\00:02:28.61
under the age of two, fathers
00:02:28.61\00:02:30.05
didn't bring up children
00:02:30.05\00:02:31.81
and especially if you had
00:02:31.81\00:02:32.91
seven children and you just
00:02:32.91\00:02:34.15
didn't look after them and
00:02:34.15\00:02:36.02
myself and my brother, Tommy,
00:02:36.02\00:02:38.62
were put into care at the
00:02:38.62\00:02:39.85
Children's Aid Society.
00:02:39.85\00:02:41.16
And I always say that my life
00:02:41.16\00:02:42.59
has been tested and blessed
00:02:42.59\00:02:43.69
and I think it was blessed
00:02:43.69\00:02:45.03
because the reason I--
00:02:45.03\00:02:46.16
Not only the many foster homes
00:02:46.16\00:02:47.40
that I went through,
00:02:47.40\00:02:48.36
but I ended up in the
00:02:48.36\00:02:49.40
Carter household.
00:02:49.40\00:02:50.77
And I think that that was a
00:02:50.77\00:02:52.33
blessing in disguise.
00:02:52.33\00:02:53.94
They were just the right
00:02:53.94\00:02:56.20
parents at the right time
00:02:56.20\00:02:57.57
and I think that even though
00:02:57.57\00:02:59.11
they had three of their own
00:02:59.11\00:03:00.24
children, they welcomed me
00:03:00.24\00:03:01.74
into their family.
00:03:01.74\00:03:02.94
I'd have to say that that was
00:03:02.94\00:03:05.01
my very first chance at life.
00:03:05.01\00:03:08.22
>> And, Mayor Dan Carter,
00:03:08.22\00:03:09.78
I understand that school
00:03:09.78\00:03:12.15
was not easy for you.
00:03:12.15\00:03:14.62
>> It was pretty difficult.
00:03:14.62\00:03:16.42
I always think about my school
00:03:16.42\00:03:18.29
years and I always--
00:03:18.29\00:03:19.79
I like to tell the story
00:03:19.79\00:03:20.70
about, you know, going down to
00:03:20.70\00:03:22.20
see the principal or going out
00:03:22.20\00:03:23.40
to the smoking lounge to see
00:03:23.40\00:03:24.60
the principal and I was in
00:03:24.60\00:03:26.67
grade 4 at the time and I went
00:03:26.67\00:03:27.94
down to see him to be able to
00:03:27.94\00:03:29.44
say, "Listen, I think you and"
00:03:29.44\00:03:30.67
"I better talk about parking"
00:03:30.67\00:03:32.11
"'cause apparently I'm gonna"
00:03:32.11\00:03:33.14
"be here a long time."
00:03:33.14\00:03:34.34
And uh...
00:03:34.34\00:03:35.64
So yeah, it was a difficult
00:03:35.64\00:03:37.05
period of time.
00:03:37.05\00:03:38.35
And I had what is now known as,
00:03:38.35\00:03:41.38
something very well-known and,
00:03:41.38\00:03:42.82
I mean, really well-known
00:03:42.82\00:03:44.15
people around the world have
00:03:44.15\00:03:45.85
dyslexia, but in the 60's you
00:03:45.85\00:03:48.16
were either a student that was
00:03:48.16\00:03:50.59
fully engaged or you were a
00:03:50.59\00:03:52.13
student that wasn't engaged
00:03:52.13\00:03:53.13
and I think that that really
00:03:53.13\00:03:54.36
kind of set the tone for my
00:03:54.36\00:03:55.83
education as I moved forward
00:03:55.83\00:03:57.60
as it was a painful period of
00:03:57.60\00:03:59.10
time because of my learning
00:03:59.10\00:04:00.14
disability.
00:04:00.14\00:04:00.90
And so I failed grade 1
00:04:00.90\00:04:02.27
a couple times and grade 2
00:04:02.27\00:04:03.47
a couple times,
00:04:03.47\00:04:04.61
grade 3 a couple times...
00:04:04.61\00:04:05.91
So it got to a point that by
00:04:05.91\00:04:07.31
the time I was in grade 4,
00:04:07.31\00:04:08.71
I was like 6-foot-2 so you knew
00:04:08.71\00:04:10.65
that I was gonna be there a
00:04:10.65\00:04:11.81
long, long time, but...
00:04:11.81\00:04:13.38
It was a painful experience
00:04:13.38\00:04:14.62
but I'm glad that later in
00:04:14.62\00:04:15.92
life I finally came to terms
00:04:15.92\00:04:17.62
with my dyslexia, but also
00:04:17.62\00:04:19.65
understanding what education
00:04:19.65\00:04:20.86
really can do for one.
00:04:20.86\00:04:22.96
>> It must have been very hard
00:04:22.96\00:04:24.79
for your mom or for your
00:04:24.79\00:04:26.46
parents to see you struggling
00:04:26.46\00:04:28.40
like that, but specifically
00:04:28.40\00:04:29.50
your mother because as a
00:04:29.50\00:04:31.10
mother, we're nurturing and we
00:04:31.10\00:04:32.47
don't like to see
00:04:32.47\00:04:33.54
our children struggle.
00:04:33.54\00:04:35.17
So what role did your mother
00:04:35.17\00:04:37.17
play in helping you through
00:04:37.17\00:04:38.87
your difficulty in school?
00:04:38.87\00:04:40.11
>> Significant role.
00:04:40.11\00:04:41.44
And my mother loved books and
00:04:41.44\00:04:43.11
loved to read and she really
00:04:43.11\00:04:45.45
could see the joy in reading
00:04:45.45\00:04:46.58
and it really--
00:04:46.58\00:04:47.75
And I think she really
00:04:47.75\00:04:48.85
suffered seeing me suffer so
00:04:48.85\00:04:51.32
much about reading that it
00:04:51.32\00:04:52.85
became so difficult that she
00:04:52.85\00:04:55.26
couldn't translate that love
00:04:55.26\00:04:56.99
for reading and learning into
00:04:56.99\00:04:58.56
me and I just got more and
00:04:58.56\00:05:00.23
more frustrated and angry
00:05:00.23\00:05:01.26
because I couldn't
00:05:01.26\00:05:02.36
do the work.
00:05:02.36\00:05:03.63
My mother's belief in me and
00:05:03.63\00:05:05.17
really believing that I had
00:05:05.17\00:05:06.87
the ability, that I had--
00:05:06.87\00:05:09.67
my brain could learn.
00:05:09.67\00:05:11.87
I think the problem being is
00:05:11.87\00:05:13.41
not understanding, truly
00:05:13.41\00:05:15.18
understanding what dyslexia
00:05:15.18\00:05:16.44
was doing or being diagnosed,
00:05:16.44\00:05:17.95
I think it made it frustrating
00:05:17.95\00:05:19.45
for both of us, but she played
00:05:19.45\00:05:20.75
a significant role.
00:05:20.75\00:05:22.18
>> And you father, he wanted
00:05:22.18\00:05:23.39
to give you confidence...
00:05:23.39\00:05:24.69
>> Yeah, yeah.
00:05:24.69\00:05:25.95
>> And he knew he couldn't do
00:05:25.95\00:05:27.66
it that way so he got you to
00:05:27.66\00:05:29.62
do a paper route.
00:05:29.62\00:05:30.53
>> Yeah.
00:05:30.53\00:05:31.66
I wasn't very good--
00:05:31.66\00:05:33.43
like, I never had skills or
00:05:33.43\00:05:34.93
abilities in regards to fixing
00:05:34.93\00:05:36.36
anything, I've never been.
00:05:36.36\00:05:37.53
I always say that I--
00:05:37.53\00:05:39.67
you know, I've got a telephone
00:05:39.67\00:05:40.84
book at home and it's there
00:05:40.84\00:05:42.20
for a particular reason
00:05:42.20\00:05:43.10
because I can phone a repair
00:05:43.10\00:05:43.97
man because I can't
00:05:43.97\00:05:45.11
fix anything.
00:05:45.11\00:05:46.21
But my dad was really handy,
00:05:46.21\00:05:47.61
but my mom and dad both could
00:05:47.61\00:05:49.08
see that I was struggling
00:05:49.08\00:05:50.38
really early on in my life and
00:05:50.38\00:05:51.85
I was becoming--
00:05:51.85\00:05:53.58
I don't know if you'll find
00:05:53.58\00:05:54.85
this surprising, but at one
00:05:54.85\00:05:55.98
time I used to be--
00:05:55.98\00:05:57.15
like, I talked a lot and I've
00:05:57.15\00:05:58.55
changed a lot apparently.
00:05:58.55\00:06:00.99
But they could see that I was
00:06:00.99\00:06:02.46
starting to kind of pull back
00:06:02.46\00:06:04.46
and I was starting to isolate.
00:06:04.46\00:06:06.16
They could see that I was
00:06:06.16\00:06:07.60
losing my confidence and I
00:06:07.60\00:06:09.16
think my dad thought a paper
00:06:09.16\00:06:10.93
route to 14 houses, you know,
00:06:10.93\00:06:13.94
his natural ability to be able
00:06:13.94\00:06:15.40
to connect with people and I
00:06:15.40\00:06:16.44
would say it was the best job
00:06:16.44\00:06:17.64
I ever had.
00:06:17.64\00:06:18.67
I got hot chocolate and
00:06:18.67\00:06:19.64
cookies at every door and I
00:06:19.64\00:06:22.04
don't even get that as mayor
00:06:22.04\00:06:23.28
and uh...
00:06:23.28\00:06:24.15
>> And I just--
00:06:24.15\00:06:25.45
I absolutely loved it and so
00:06:25.45\00:06:28.02
my parents always said,
00:06:28.02\00:06:29.18
"We know the 14 houses that"
00:06:29.18\00:06:30.65
"you deliver the paper to,"
00:06:30.65\00:06:31.52
"but you don't go into"
00:06:31.52\00:06:32.85
"the gas station because we"
00:06:32.85\00:06:33.99
"don't know who owns that."
00:06:33.99\00:06:35.76
And unfortunately through that
00:06:35.76\00:06:39.23
experience one day I did go
00:06:39.23\00:06:40.53
into that gas station and I
00:06:40.53\00:06:41.56
never spoke about what
00:06:41.56\00:06:42.63
happened in that gas station
00:06:42.63\00:06:44.17
for thirty years.
00:06:44.17\00:06:45.80
And I was a young boy and,
00:06:45.80\00:06:47.57
unfortunately I was raped in
00:06:47.57\00:06:48.97
that place by the owner.
00:06:48.97\00:06:50.71
And that did a lot to me
00:06:50.71\00:06:54.34
at a young age, didn't really
00:06:54.34\00:06:55.58
understand what went went on,
00:06:55.58\00:06:57.35
but I was so ashamed that I
00:06:57.35\00:06:59.38
never shared that until I had
00:06:59.38\00:07:01.85
the opportunity to be in
00:07:01.85\00:07:02.95
rehab so...
00:07:02.95\00:07:04.92
It was difficult,
00:07:04.92\00:07:06.09
it was really difficult.
00:07:06.09\00:07:07.66
>> So you experienced one
00:07:07.66\00:07:10.23
trauma after another...
00:07:10.23\00:07:11.76
[Dan] Yeah.
00:07:11.76\00:07:12.53
>> And yet you just
00:07:12.53\00:07:13.63
kept on going.
00:07:13.63\00:07:15.20
Was there ever a time in your
00:07:15.20\00:07:17.03
life that you felt like,
00:07:17.03\00:07:18.23
"I just--"
00:07:18.23\00:07:19.13
"I can't do this anymore,"
00:07:19.13\00:07:20.67
and you were ready to give up?
00:07:20.67\00:07:21.94
>> Absolutely.
00:07:21.94\00:07:23.07
I mean, I think that you get
00:07:23.07\00:07:25.54
to a point where--
00:07:25.54\00:07:27.18
I always say that my life is
00:07:27.18\00:07:28.31
being tested and blessed.
00:07:28.31\00:07:29.84
So tested losing my parents
00:07:29.84\00:07:31.48
when I was young,
00:07:31.48\00:07:32.55
blessed because I was brought
00:07:32.55\00:07:33.58
into a really wonderful
00:07:33.58\00:07:34.85
family and...
00:07:34.85\00:07:36.52
Tested because I went to
00:07:36.52\00:07:37.62
school and I did poorly,
00:07:37.62\00:07:39.65
but blessed because I had a
00:07:39.65\00:07:41.16
parent that believed in me.
00:07:41.16\00:07:43.46
Tested because of the reason
00:07:43.46\00:07:46.09
that, you know, I was going
00:07:46.09\00:07:47.46
through depression young
00:07:47.46\00:07:49.46
and blessed that I had people
00:07:49.46\00:07:52.30
that loved me so much and
00:07:52.30\00:07:53.54
surrounded me.
00:07:53.54\00:07:55.77
You know, tested, when I was
00:07:55.77\00:07:57.54
raped, but also in the back
00:07:57.54\00:07:59.24
end many years later,
00:07:59.24\00:08:00.54
blessed that there was
00:08:00.54\00:08:02.01
forgiveness found.
00:08:02.01\00:08:03.61
You can't walk around with
00:08:03.61\00:08:06.05
all of this and continue to be
00:08:06.05\00:08:08.35
able to carry it because I
00:08:08.35\00:08:09.55
think what happens is
00:08:09.55\00:08:10.75
it'll destroy you.
00:08:10.75\00:08:11.55
But absolutely,
00:08:11.55\00:08:12.62
I think, you look at it after
00:08:12.62\00:08:14.89
a while, event after event
00:08:14.89\00:08:16.52
after event after event
00:08:16.52\00:08:17.43
after event...
00:08:17.43\00:08:18.53
Mike, you can relate to this
00:08:18.53\00:08:19.69
and Rene, I--
00:08:19.69\00:08:20.76
It just-- it's--
00:08:20.76\00:08:23.16
After a while just sit there
00:08:23.16\00:08:24.43
and you just say, you know...
00:08:24.43\00:08:25.40
[Mike] "When is it gonna stop?"
00:08:25.40\00:08:26.43
>> "When's it gonna stop" and
00:08:26.43\00:08:27.44
"Why is this happening to me?"
00:08:27.44\00:08:29.34
And I think that you really
00:08:29.34\00:08:31.17
buy in to the victimization,
00:08:31.17\00:08:34.34
being a victim of things.
00:08:34.34\00:08:35.94
And I think you have to come
00:08:35.94\00:08:37.21
to terms with that and in my
00:08:37.21\00:08:38.41
circumstance, unfortunately,
00:08:38.41\00:08:40.68
it got to a point that when my
00:08:40.68\00:08:42.65
brother, Michael, was killed
00:08:42.65\00:08:43.79
when I was 13 and he was a
00:08:43.79\00:08:45.29
police officer, I just--
00:08:45.29\00:08:47.19
it didn't make sense to me.
00:08:47.19\00:08:48.42
And I-- you kinda sit there
00:08:48.42\00:08:49.96
and go, "OK," like, "I don't"
00:08:49.96\00:08:51.26
"understand what this means."
00:08:51.26\00:08:52.39
but you--
00:08:52.39\00:08:53.29
>> That was the straw.
00:08:53.29\00:08:53.90
>> Yeah!
00:08:53.90\00:08:55.10
It really did and it's--
00:08:55.10\00:08:57.33
You really-- you kinda wake up
00:08:57.33\00:08:58.67
the next day and think,
00:08:58.67\00:09:00.14
"Well," you know, "everything"
00:09:00.14\00:09:01.37
"will be fine, it's just a"
00:09:01.37\00:09:02.40
"bad dream," and what you find
00:09:02.40\00:09:03.27
out is that it's not.
00:09:03.27\00:09:04.84
And I reached out to,
00:09:04.84\00:09:06.37
of course, drugs and alcohol
00:09:06.37\00:09:07.54
at that time and...
00:09:07.54\00:09:08.41
>> Mmhmm.
00:09:08.41\00:09:09.94
How bad did that get for you,
00:09:09.94\00:09:11.58
the drugs and the alcohol,
00:09:11.58\00:09:13.38
and how long did that last?
00:09:13.38\00:09:14.48
>> So it lasted about 17
00:09:14.48\00:09:15.78
years, 13 to about 31
00:09:15.78\00:09:18.05
and I always say that I was
00:09:18.05\00:09:19.79
mentally, emotionally,
00:09:19.79\00:09:20.62
physically, financially, and
00:09:20.62\00:09:21.76
spiritually broken.
00:09:21.76\00:09:22.92
I was broken in every aspect.
00:09:22.92\00:09:25.23
I got to a point that by
00:09:25.23\00:09:27.66
you know, near the end of my
00:09:27.66\00:09:30.70
drinking career, I mean, I had
00:09:30.70\00:09:32.63
lost my friends, I lost my
00:09:32.63\00:09:33.90
family, I lost everything.
00:09:33.90\00:09:35.74
I mean, it was just--
00:09:35.74\00:09:37.24
You destroy everything around
00:09:37.24\00:09:38.17
you, it's like, you know,
00:09:38.17\00:09:39.77
you're engulfed in
00:09:39.77\00:09:40.91
this kind of...
00:09:40.91\00:09:42.71
You're poisonous to everybody
00:09:42.71\00:09:44.01
and, you know, you treat
00:09:44.01\00:09:45.88
people badly and you lie and
00:09:45.88\00:09:47.15
you cheat and you steal and
00:09:47.15\00:09:48.15
you do all the things that--
00:09:48.15\00:09:49.55
That's not who you are, but
00:09:49.55\00:09:51.49
it got really bad.
00:09:51.49\00:09:52.89
>> So how did you
00:09:52.89\00:09:54.82
decide to change?
00:09:54.82\00:09:56.36
Like, when was the turning
00:09:56.36\00:09:58.03
point in your life?
00:09:58.03\00:09:59.69
>> So it was June of 1991 and
00:09:59.69\00:10:02.63
my ss-- I woke up one day, I
00:10:02.63\00:10:04.97
was in a rooming house that I
00:10:04.97\00:10:06.90
was staying in temporarily and
00:10:06.90\00:10:09.37
I woke up that morning and I
00:10:09.37\00:10:11.07
shake really bad,
00:10:11.07\00:10:12.87
I'm hypoglycemic, but also the
00:10:12.87\00:10:14.68
drugs and alcohol had done a
00:10:14.68\00:10:16.24
lot of bad things to me
00:10:16.24\00:10:17.38
and I woke up that morning and
00:10:17.38\00:10:19.41
went-- there's a bathroom that
00:10:19.41\00:10:20.78
was on the main floor,
00:10:20.78\00:10:21.75
everybody had to use it
00:10:21.75\00:10:22.92
kind of thing.
00:10:22.92\00:10:24.19
And I looked in the mirror and
00:10:24.19\00:10:26.39
I really-- for the very first
00:10:26.39\00:10:27.99
time I really saw what I had
00:10:27.99\00:10:29.92
become and I think it was the
00:10:29.92\00:10:31.36
first time that I realized
00:10:31.36\00:10:32.79
that I was in a lot of trouble
00:10:32.79\00:10:34.20
and instinctively I knew that
00:10:34.20\00:10:36.00
day that I would die if
00:10:36.00\00:10:38.03
I didn't do something
00:10:38.03\00:10:39.33
immediately.
00:10:39.33\00:10:40.67
And so I had a couple dollars
00:10:40.67\00:10:42.77
in my pocket, I phoned my
00:10:42.77\00:10:44.07
sister from a pay phone and
00:10:44.07\00:10:45.44
just said, you know,
00:10:45.44\00:10:46.54
"Maureen, I'm in a lot of"
00:10:46.54\00:10:47.44
"trouble," and she said,
00:10:47.44\00:10:48.64
"Why don't you come to the"
00:10:48.64\00:10:49.51
"house and we can talk."
00:10:49.51\00:10:50.58
And sh-- you know, my sister
00:10:50.58\00:10:52.21
still-- in a way she had
00:10:52.21\00:10:54.52
distanced herself from me,
00:10:54.52\00:10:56.18
but she also believed in me.
00:10:56.18\00:10:57.95
She never gave up on me.
00:10:57.95\00:10:59.35
She kind of thought, "I know"
00:10:59.35\00:11:00.76
"there's something good"
00:11:00.76\00:11:02.06
"there, it's this poison that"
00:11:02.06\00:11:04.33
"it's kind of grabbed him."
00:11:04.33\00:11:06.49
And I went over to see my
00:11:06.49\00:11:07.76
sister and my sister kinda--
00:11:07.76\00:11:10.83
She lived in a very large
00:11:10.83\00:11:12.50
house and she had a maid
00:11:12.50\00:11:14.10
and she opened up the door
00:11:14.10\00:11:15.34
and she kinda looked at me
00:11:15.34\00:11:16.40
and thought, "Geez,"
00:11:16.40\00:11:17.41
"I know this guy,"
00:11:17.41\00:11:18.37
"but I don't really know..."
00:11:18.37\00:11:18.91
>> Oh, wow.
00:11:18.91\00:11:19.91
>> I walked into the kitchen
00:11:19.91\00:11:20.91
and my sister was sitting
00:11:20.91\00:11:22.04
there reading the newspaper
00:11:22.04\00:11:23.31
and she dropped the newspaper.
00:11:23.31\00:11:24.41
She didn't say a word, she
00:11:24.41\00:11:25.45
walked right across the room,
00:11:25.45\00:11:26.78
slapped me across the side of
00:11:26.78\00:11:28.05
the head and she said,
00:11:28.05\00:11:29.18
"You have two choices today."
00:11:29.18\00:11:30.42
"You can either die"
00:11:30.42\00:11:31.79
"or you can sober up."
00:11:31.79\00:11:32.92
"But you're gonna make one of"
00:11:32.92\00:11:33.79
"those choices today."
00:11:33.79\00:11:35.46
And it was just--
00:11:35.46\00:11:37.49
I broke down because it came
00:11:37.49\00:11:39.39
from such a place where you
00:11:39.39\00:11:40.96
knew she was so sincere.
00:11:40.96\00:11:45.23
She-- you knew instinctively
00:11:45.23\00:11:48.67
there was no other choice.
00:11:48.67\00:11:50.07
There wasn't a third choice.
00:11:50.07\00:11:51.37
That choice was gonna be
00:11:51.37\00:11:52.91
made that day.
00:11:52.91\00:11:54.18
And I think my sister's
00:11:54.18\00:11:56.71
kind of in-your-face,
00:11:56.71\00:11:59.65
"something's gonna change"
00:11:59.65\00:12:00.82
"today" kind of made me say,
00:12:00.82\00:12:03.92
"Something has to change."
00:12:03.92\00:12:05.45
>> It's either I do that
00:12:05.45\00:12:06.69
or I die.
00:12:06.69\00:12:07.66
>> Yeah.
00:12:07.66\00:12:08.62
I knew who I was at that point
00:12:08.62\00:12:10.09
wasn't who I really was.
00:12:10.09\00:12:11.46
>> Ahh, that's a big one...
00:12:11.46\00:12:12.66
>> Yeah.
00:12:12.66\00:12:13.50
>> To understand.
00:12:13.50\00:12:14.63
"This is not me."
00:12:14.63\00:12:15.56
[Dan] Yeah.
00:12:15.56\00:12:16.60
>> "I am not this person I'm"
00:12:16.60\00:12:17.70
"looking at in the mirror."
00:12:17.70\00:12:18.53
>> Yeah.
00:12:18.53\00:12:19.40
>> So you-- what did you--
00:12:19.40\00:12:20.77
You went into recovery?
00:12:20.77\00:12:22.14
>> Yeah, my sister arranged
00:12:22.14\00:12:23.47
through a friend of hers that
00:12:23.47\00:12:24.51
I would go into recovery.
00:12:24.51\00:12:25.54
I had to go to the United
00:12:25.54\00:12:26.51
States to get recovered.
00:12:26.51\00:12:27.91
I was in the hospital for
00:12:27.91\00:12:28.84
about a year.
00:12:28.84\00:12:29.84
And so the program was in
00:12:29.84\00:12:31.05
Los Angeles, California and I
00:12:31.05\00:12:33.38
was fortunate enough to get
00:12:33.38\00:12:34.45
into that program, my sister
00:12:34.45\00:12:35.72
arranged for it and I was able
00:12:35.72\00:12:37.22
to get into this
00:12:37.22\00:12:38.45
year-long program.
00:12:38.45\00:12:39.79
And really what it was is
00:12:39.79\00:12:41.19
I spent about the first three
00:12:41.19\00:12:42.66
months in ICU
00:12:42.66\00:12:43.63
really kind of--
00:12:43.63\00:12:44.89
because I couldn't eat solid
00:12:44.89\00:12:46.03
foods, you know, I was--
00:12:46.03\00:12:47.86
just physically, I wasn't in
00:12:47.86\00:12:48.83
good shape.
00:12:48.83\00:12:50.33
But I spent that period of
00:12:50.33\00:12:52.17
time in ICU and really kind of
00:12:52.17\00:12:53.94
recovered in regards to
00:12:53.94\00:12:55.20
physical aspects.
00:12:55.20\00:12:57.14
Then came the emotional aspect
00:12:57.14\00:12:59.74
that I had to recover from.
00:12:59.74\00:13:01.11
And there was a lot of really
00:13:01.11\00:13:03.18
interesting moments at the
00:13:03.18\00:13:04.48
time and it was the very first
00:13:04.48\00:13:05.75
time that I talked about being
00:13:05.75\00:13:07.35
adopted and really trying to
00:13:07.35\00:13:08.48
understand what that meant and
00:13:08.48\00:13:09.78
why it impacted me
00:13:09.78\00:13:11.55
in the way it did.
00:13:11.55\00:13:12.65
Very first time I talked about
00:13:12.65\00:13:13.72
being raped as a little boy
00:13:13.72\00:13:15.76
and how I-- that affected me.
00:13:15.76\00:13:19.23
And it was the first time that
00:13:19.23\00:13:20.43
I talked about my reading
00:13:20.43\00:13:21.96
difficulties and I don't know
00:13:21.96\00:13:23.73
if I shared it with you, but I
00:13:23.73\00:13:25.20
still remember, I went to my
00:13:25.20\00:13:26.47
very first 12-step group and I
00:13:26.47\00:13:28.90
had my Big Book which is a
00:13:28.90\00:13:31.17
part of Alcoholics Anonymous
00:13:31.17\00:13:33.01
and you have to stand up and
00:13:33.01\00:13:34.44
say, "Hi, my name's"
00:13:34.44\00:13:35.54
"Dan Carter, I'm a cigarette,"
00:13:35.54\00:13:36.78
"alcoholic, and drug addict."
00:13:36.78\00:13:37.95
And they go, "Hi, Dan,"
00:13:37.95\00:13:38.78
"How are you?"
00:13:38.78\00:13:39.95
And 12-step groups, by the
00:13:39.95\00:13:40.82
way, are tremendous.
00:13:40.82\00:13:42.28
And I went to sit down and the
00:13:42.28\00:13:44.22
counsellor said,
00:13:44.22\00:13:45.32
"What're you doing?"
00:13:45.32\00:13:46.45
And I said, "Well, I was just"
00:13:46.45\00:13:47.19
"gonna sit down."
00:13:47.19\00:13:48.26
He said, "This is a group"
00:13:48.26\00:13:49.26
"that participates,"
00:13:49.26\00:13:50.33
"Mr. Carter, and I see that"
00:13:50.33\00:13:52.13
"you have your Big Book here."
00:13:52.13\00:13:53.19
And he said, "You're lucky"
00:13:53.19\00:13:54.56
"enough 'cause you're gonna"
00:13:54.56\00:13:55.86
"do our first reading today."
00:13:55.86\00:13:57.63
And I was 31 years old and I
00:13:57.63\00:14:00.50
know that some of your viewers
00:14:00.50\00:14:02.54
may be able to relate to this,
00:14:02.54\00:14:03.71
and I know, Mike, you can
00:14:03.71\00:14:04.84
relate to this,
00:14:04.84\00:14:06.01
but I was absolutely ashamed
00:14:06.01\00:14:08.64
and I just broke out in a
00:14:08.64\00:14:10.78
sweat and I was red and I was
00:14:10.78\00:14:12.51
shaking and I had to sit there
00:14:12.51\00:14:14.62
and say, "I can't read."
00:14:14.62\00:14:17.42
And he said, "Mr. Carter,"
00:14:17.42\00:14:18.75
he said, "do you want your"
00:14:18.75\00:14:20.22
"life to change today?"
00:14:20.22\00:14:21.32
And I said, "Yes, sir."
00:14:21.32\00:14:22.76
And he said, "I just need"
00:14:22.76\00:14:24.03
"you to try."
00:14:24.03\00:14:25.13
This is a moment you can
00:14:25.13\00:14:26.36
invest in someone's life and
00:14:26.36\00:14:27.66
it can change their life
00:14:27.66\00:14:28.60
forever and he knew
00:14:28.60\00:14:29.40
it instinctively.
00:14:29.40\00:14:30.53
And that changed me.
00:14:30.53\00:14:31.77
And he said, you know,
00:14:31.77\00:14:33.10
afterwards he came to me and
00:14:33.10\00:14:34.87
he said, "Who's the one"
00:14:34.87\00:14:36.64
"person you'd like to meet"
00:14:36.64\00:14:37.74
"in your life?"
00:14:37.74\00:14:38.94
And I said, "Oh, I'd like to"
00:14:38.94\00:14:40.54
"meet Martin Luther King."
00:14:40.54\00:14:41.54
He said, "Well, you know"
00:14:41.54\00:14:42.48
"he's dead." I said,
00:14:42.48\00:14:43.41
"You didn't qualify,"
00:14:43.41\00:14:44.55
"so...you just asked me."
00:14:44.55\00:14:46.85
And he said, "Let me see what"
00:14:46.85\00:14:48.78
"I can do."
00:14:48.78\00:14:49.95
And, you know, a little
00:14:49.95\00:14:51.42
while-- about a--
00:14:51.42\00:14:52.89
within the week, he came back
00:14:52.89\00:14:54.82
and he said, "I want you to"
00:14:54.82\00:14:55.76
"meet a friend of mine."
00:14:55.76\00:14:56.76
And I said, "OK."
00:14:56.76\00:14:57.59
And he had the autobiography
00:14:57.59\00:14:58.83
of Martin Luther King and he
00:14:58.83\00:14:59.89
said, "Martin Luther King,"
00:14:59.89\00:15:00.90
"meet Dan Carter, Dan Carter,"
00:15:00.90\00:15:01.90
"meet Martin Luther King."
00:15:01.90\00:15:03.33
It changed my perspective,
00:15:03.33\00:15:04.33
you know what I mean?
00:15:04.33\00:15:05.53
It changed that relationship
00:15:05.53\00:15:07.24
instead of shame and
00:15:07.24\00:15:09.14
embarrassment, it showed me
00:15:09.14\00:15:11.67
that I could connect with it.
00:15:11.67\00:15:13.88
>> So you learned a lot
00:15:13.88\00:15:15.11
in recovery.
00:15:15.11\00:15:16.28
How long did that last?
00:15:16.28\00:15:18.38
>> Well, I'm almost 30 years
00:15:18.38\00:15:19.65
sober and I'm continuing to
00:15:19.65\00:15:21.38
learn, but I mean, the year
00:15:21.38\00:15:23.25
in California helped me
00:15:23.25\00:15:24.49
tremendously.
00:15:24.49\00:15:25.49
When I came out of
00:15:25.49\00:15:26.49
rehabilitation I had to do a
00:15:26.49\00:15:27.86
lot of things.
00:15:27.86\00:15:29.19
I had to ask for forgiveness,
00:15:29.19\00:15:30.13
I had to make--
00:15:30.13\00:15:32.43
I had to make amends, I...
00:15:32.43\00:15:36.00
I had to repair my
00:15:36.00\00:15:37.03
relationship with
00:15:37.03\00:15:38.10
my sister and my brother.
00:15:38.10\00:15:39.20
I had to repair my
00:15:39.20\00:15:40.94
relationship with
00:15:40.94\00:15:41.97
my mother and father,
00:15:41.97\00:15:44.24
They needed to see that
00:15:44.24\00:15:45.34
I really had changed.
00:15:45.34\00:15:46.61
It took about three years for
00:15:46.61\00:15:47.51
them to really see
00:15:47.51\00:15:49.28
did Danny actually change or
00:15:49.28\00:15:50.45
is this just another...?
00:15:50.45\00:15:51.81
You know.
00:15:51.81\00:15:52.91
And I think, you know, a lot
00:15:52.91\00:15:53.88
of parents go through that.
00:15:53.88\00:15:55.15
When they see loved ones that
00:15:55.15\00:15:56.28
have an addiction problem,
00:15:56.28\00:15:57.82
they see that that individual,
00:15:57.82\00:16:00.26
they really-- they're hoping
00:16:00.26\00:16:02.02
that this is the moment,
00:16:02.02\00:16:03.39
right?
00:16:03.39\00:16:04.13
But they don't want to be so
00:16:04.13\00:16:06.73
bought in that they get so
00:16:06.73\00:16:07.93
disappointed so it took about
00:16:07.93\00:16:09.36
three years and through that
00:16:09.36\00:16:10.80
period of time there was a lot
00:16:10.80\00:16:12.00
of things that were happening.
00:16:12.00\00:16:12.97
My dad was diagnosed with
00:16:12.97\00:16:14.34
Alzheimers, so that really
00:16:14.34\00:16:16.17
kind of-- the fact my parents
00:16:16.17\00:16:17.24
were elderly and--
00:16:17.24\00:16:19.11
But I'm really grateful and
00:16:19.11\00:16:22.11
I'm blessed because of the
00:16:22.11\00:16:23.38
reason that I was given the
00:16:23.38\00:16:24.68
opportunity to be able to show
00:16:24.68\00:16:26.25
my parents that who they saw
00:16:26.25\00:16:28.98
as a 2-year-old they adopted
00:16:28.98\00:16:31.49
was the same boy that sat in
00:16:31.49\00:16:33.49
front of them when I was 31.
00:16:33.49\00:16:35.02
So I that that was--
00:16:35.02\00:16:36.39
I was very, very lucky that
00:16:36.39\00:16:37.39
that way and...
00:16:37.39\00:16:38.66
>> So, Mayor Dan, tell us
00:16:38.66\00:16:40.16
about your Christian
00:16:40.16\00:16:41.36
experience during recovery.
00:16:41.36\00:16:44.53
>> So a big part of it is,
00:16:44.53\00:16:46.03
you've probably heard this
00:16:46.03\00:16:47.54
before, is people that go
00:16:47.54\00:16:48.57
into recovery, they--
00:16:48.57\00:16:50.11
there's a-- there's a
00:16:50.11\00:16:52.81
difficulty with God.
00:16:52.81\00:16:54.11
They-- a lot of people
00:16:54.11\00:16:55.21
struggle with God.
00:16:55.21\00:16:56.68
And there's a couple things,
00:16:56.68\00:16:57.65
I think one is is because
00:16:57.65\00:16:58.55
people that have battled
00:16:58.55\00:17:01.12
addiction and mental health
00:17:01.12\00:17:02.75
issues, they blame somebody
00:17:02.75\00:17:06.05
and the only person that they
00:17:06.05\00:17:06.99
can really blame is their
00:17:06.99\00:17:08.06
creator and whoever that--
00:17:08.06\00:17:09.92
For some people, they,
00:17:09.92\00:17:11.53
you know, they have different
00:17:11.53\00:17:12.79
faith beliefs.
00:17:12.79\00:17:14.10
In my circumstance, I was
00:17:14.10\00:17:16.03
brought up through my parents
00:17:16.03\00:17:17.50
that we were Presbyterians,
00:17:17.50\00:17:19.93
I went to church and,
00:17:19.93\00:17:21.77
you know, I didn't really
00:17:21.77\00:17:23.37
relate to it as a child
00:17:23.37\00:17:24.64
because, having a learning
00:17:24.64\00:17:25.97
disability and hearing the
00:17:25.97\00:17:27.11
Old Testament is, to me
00:17:27.11\00:17:28.48
anyway, is very difficult
00:17:28.48\00:17:30.05
to-- How does that make sense?
00:17:30.05\00:17:31.78
So it didn't make sense me and
00:17:31.78\00:17:33.55
it wasn't relatable and so it
00:17:33.55\00:17:34.68
was hard.
00:17:34.68\00:17:35.32
I always say my father--
00:17:35.32\00:17:37.12
We'd go to church,
00:17:37.12\00:17:38.55
my father got some of his best
00:17:38.55\00:17:39.62
sleeping done at church,
00:17:39.62\00:17:40.99
I've gotta be honest ya.
00:17:40.99\00:17:42.99
It's-- And, uh...
00:17:42.99\00:17:45.19
But as a child I went to
00:17:45.19\00:17:46.90
church, but it wasn't
00:17:46.90\00:17:47.93
relatable.
00:17:47.93\00:17:49.00
But in recovery, part of it is
00:17:49.00\00:17:51.50
you have to give your life up
00:17:51.50\00:17:52.97
to a higher power and in the
00:17:52.97\00:17:55.17
circumstances, it is God.
00:17:55.17\00:17:56.50
You have to give your life up
00:17:56.50\00:17:58.51
to that and put it--
00:17:58.51\00:17:59.74
Because the kind of control we
00:17:59.74\00:18:01.81
had in our lives didn't work.
00:18:01.81\00:18:02.98
So, you know.
00:18:02.98\00:18:04.48
But also, many of us that are
00:18:04.48\00:18:06.08
in recovery, we need to blame
00:18:06.08\00:18:07.38
somebody for this.
00:18:07.38\00:18:08.28
We're a victim.
00:18:08.28\00:18:09.52
All these bad things happened
00:18:09.52\00:18:10.15
to me, by the way,
00:18:10.15\00:18:11.55
all this, this, this, and this.
00:18:11.55\00:18:13.12
And I...
00:18:13.12\00:18:15.29
I truly have grown in my faith
00:18:15.29\00:18:18.39
tremendously, especially over
00:18:18.39\00:18:20.26
the last 16 or 17 years, I
00:18:20.26\00:18:21.53
think I've really seen that
00:18:21.53\00:18:23.23
it's a foundational piece
00:18:23.23\00:18:25.63
that I relate more and more.
00:18:25.63\00:18:27.94
I understand it more.
00:18:27.94\00:18:29.24
I had a conversation just
00:18:29.24\00:18:31.51
after my sister, Maureen--
00:18:31.51\00:18:33.14
Unfortunately I lost my
00:18:33.14\00:18:34.28
sister, Maureen,
00:18:34.28\00:18:35.28
May 17th, 2000.
00:18:35.28\00:18:39.31
She made a decision to end her
00:18:39.31\00:18:41.32
life and that was devastating
00:18:41.32\00:18:42.92
for me and I was 9 years
00:18:42.92\00:18:44.05
into sobriety.
00:18:44.05\00:18:45.52
And I went to my pastor,
00:18:45.52\00:18:48.62
Pastor Doug Schneider, at the
00:18:48.62\00:18:50.06
time and I said like,
00:18:50.06\00:18:52.93
"I don't get this."
00:18:52.93\00:18:54.73
"I don't get this and I'm"
00:18:54.73\00:18:55.76
"struggling." And he said,
00:18:55.76\00:18:57.30
"Have you ever read the Bible"
00:18:57.30\00:18:58.20
"from front to back?"
00:18:58.20\00:18:59.37
And I said, "No, I haven't."
00:18:59.37\00:19:00.37
And he said, "I want you"
00:19:00.37\00:19:02.14
"to read The Message because,"
00:19:02.14\00:19:03.51
he said, "that may be"
00:19:03.51\00:19:05.24
"connectable to you."
00:19:05.24\00:19:06.61
>> In your language and you
00:19:06.61\00:19:07.31
can find--
00:19:07.31\00:19:08.38
>> Right, so I could
00:19:08.38\00:19:09.21
understand it.
00:19:09.21\00:19:10.41
So I started reading that and
00:19:10.41\00:19:13.88
I think that what happened was
00:19:13.88\00:19:16.22
I came to kind of a moment
00:19:16.22\00:19:18.45
where I had to say to myself,
00:19:18.45\00:19:21.02
"My creator is either"
00:19:21.02\00:19:22.62
"somebody that is dark and"
00:19:22.62\00:19:23.99
"vengeful and punishing"
00:19:23.99\00:19:26.36
"people or He's light and"
00:19:26.36\00:19:27.93
"love and compassion"
00:19:27.93\00:19:29.26
"and kindness."
00:19:29.26\00:19:30.60
>> That is the big question.
00:19:30.60\00:19:32.13
>> Yeah, but I, in my opinion,
00:19:32.13\00:19:34.37
right, Mike, I truly couldn't
00:19:34.37\00:19:36.81
believe that my God was of
00:19:36.81\00:19:38.84
darkness, I believed that He
00:19:38.84\00:19:40.11
was of light.
00:19:40.11\00:19:41.58
And so once I accepted that,
00:19:41.58\00:19:43.28
then I had to say to myself,
00:19:43.28\00:19:44.41
"Then why would God"
00:19:44.41\00:19:46.21
"put me through this?"
00:19:46.21\00:19:47.48
[Mike] Right.
00:19:47.48\00:19:48.15
>> And then I think what
00:19:48.15\00:19:49.42
happened was there was--
00:19:49.42\00:19:51.02
I had to make a decision.
00:19:51.02\00:19:52.55
If He-- If I believe that He's
00:19:52.55\00:19:54.39
light and love and caring and
00:19:54.39\00:19:56.06
compassion, then I also then
00:19:56.06\00:19:57.53
have to say to myself then
00:19:57.53\00:19:58.59
"He put me through this"
00:19:58.59\00:20:00.26
"to equip me differently."
00:20:00.26\00:20:01.53
So once I came to terms that I
00:20:01.53\00:20:03.77
wasn't being punished, I was
00:20:03.77\00:20:05.20
being prepared,
00:20:05.20\00:20:06.63
I think that changed the
00:20:06.63\00:20:07.94
equation all together, right?
00:20:07.94\00:20:09.07
And so then I understand,
00:20:09.07\00:20:10.47
"Oh, so I have a learning"
00:20:10.47\00:20:12.54
"disability 'cause millions"
00:20:12.54\00:20:13.91
"of people have a learning"
00:20:13.91\00:20:14.91
"disability, my experience"
00:20:14.91\00:20:16.24
"may help others."
00:20:16.24\00:20:17.61
"Oh my goodness,"
00:20:17.61\00:20:18.95
"children are being sexually"
00:20:18.95\00:20:20.05
"assaulted, millions of"
00:20:20.05\00:20:21.35
"children have--"
00:20:21.35\00:20:22.22
"Oh, now I get"
00:20:22.22\00:20:23.25
"why that's hap--"
00:20:23.25\00:20:24.32
You know, all of those
00:20:24.32\00:20:25.72
experiences in darkness helped
00:20:25.72\00:20:27.22
me understand that God wasn't
00:20:27.22\00:20:28.46
punishing me,
00:20:28.46\00:20:29.56
He was preparing me.
00:20:29.56\00:20:30.69
And when I understood that,
00:20:30.69\00:20:32.46
then things started to connect
00:20:32.46\00:20:34.20
and I think that that's where
00:20:34.20\00:20:36.23
anger, bitterness, you know,
00:20:36.23\00:20:39.03
darkness kind of was
00:20:39.03\00:20:40.27
pushed away and I said,
00:20:40.27\00:20:41.70
"OK, now I understand."
00:20:41.70\00:20:42.84
That helped me tremendously.
00:20:42.84\00:20:44.21
>> Did you ever imagine
00:20:44.21\00:20:46.61
that this is the position that
00:20:46.61\00:20:48.21
you were gonna
00:20:48.21\00:20:49.31
end up with?
00:20:49.31\00:20:50.31
[Dan] No, I mean I'll be
00:20:50.31\00:20:51.21
celebrating 30 years of
00:20:51.21\00:20:52.41
sobriety next year, next June
00:20:52.41\00:20:54.98
and I never imagined where I
00:20:54.98\00:20:57.62
would be today.
00:20:57.62\00:20:58.85
And I remember somebody
00:20:58.85\00:21:00.29
saying in recovery,
00:21:00.29\00:21:01.46
"You know, you're gonna have"
00:21:01.46\00:21:02.22
"a job and you're gonna have"
00:21:02.22\00:21:03.02
"a credit card and you'll"
00:21:03.02\00:21:03.79
"have a license..."
00:21:03.79\00:21:04.96
And I went, "Yeah, sure."
00:21:04.96\00:21:05.93
>> Yeah, sure!
00:21:05.93\00:21:06.70
>> Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:21:06.70\00:21:07.60
I don't have seven cents so,
00:21:07.60\00:21:08.40
yeah, you're-- you know.
00:21:08.40\00:21:09.93
And so I never imagined it and
00:21:09.93\00:21:13.54
it's funny 'cause when I got
00:21:13.54\00:21:15.04
elected new reels all said,
00:21:15.04\00:21:16.67
"Homeless Man Becomes Mayor."
00:21:16.67\00:21:18.44
And I said, "Wait a second,"
00:21:18.44\00:21:19.37
"here," you know,
00:21:19.37\00:21:20.38
"I wasn't homeless and then"
00:21:20.38\00:21:21.88
"somebody said," you know,
00:21:21.88\00:21:22.98
"somebody came by and said,
00:21:22.98\00:21:24.05
'What are you doing?' Right?
00:21:24.05\00:21:24.78
'I don't know,'
00:21:24.78\00:21:25.98
'let's run for mayor.'
00:21:25.98\00:21:28.12
But I was lucky enough that I
00:21:28.12\00:21:29.48
had the opportunity to run
00:21:29.48\00:21:30.75
for-- I was the
00:21:30.75\00:21:32.05
Regional and City Counsellor
00:21:32.05\00:21:34.79
that I got elected in 2014 and
00:21:34.79\00:21:36.83
then in 2018 the mayor at the
00:21:36.83\00:21:38.49
time came to me and said,
00:21:38.49\00:21:39.69
"Dan, I need you to"
00:21:39.69\00:21:40.53
"run for mayor."
00:21:40.53\00:21:41.43
And I said, "I don't know if"
00:21:41.43\00:21:42.23
"I'm ready."
00:21:42.23\00:21:43.16
He said, "No, no, you're the"
00:21:43.16\00:21:44.00
"right guy for the"
00:21:44.00\00:21:44.87
"right time."
00:21:44.87\00:21:46.13
And with the support of my
00:21:46.13\00:21:47.27
family, I was lucky enough to
00:21:47.27\00:21:48.40
be able to be elected,
00:21:48.40\00:21:49.87
I was able to gather 70% of
00:21:49.87\00:21:51.94
the vote and so I was really
00:21:51.94\00:21:53.31
pleased about that.
00:21:53.31\00:21:54.48
And a lot of people, you know,
00:21:54.48\00:21:55.91
said, "Wow, that's really"
00:21:55.91\00:21:56.54
impressive!" I said,
00:21:56.54\00:21:57.41
"What you don't understand is"
00:21:57.41\00:21:58.71
"nobody else ran against me"
00:21:58.71\00:21:59.75
"so it's not that impressive."
00:21:59.75\00:22:01.32
But, there were a lot of other
00:22:01.32\00:22:02.32
people, but I was just really
00:22:02.32\00:22:03.75
lucky that the community gave
00:22:03.75\00:22:05.65
me an opportunity,
00:22:05.65\00:22:06.86
as broken as I was,
00:22:06.86\00:22:07.82
they gave me a chance.
00:22:07.82\00:22:09.32
And so, but it also gave me a
00:22:09.32\00:22:10.79
chance to speak to the media
00:22:10.79\00:22:12.03
all across the country about
00:22:12.03\00:22:13.29
not only our great city, but
00:22:13.29\00:22:14.36
about the struggles that
00:22:14.36\00:22:15.50
cities are facing today
00:22:15.50\00:22:17.17
and about some of the
00:22:17.17\00:22:18.30
conversations that we needed
00:22:18.30\00:22:19.07
to have.
00:22:19.07\00:22:20.40
And as-- I'm a broken individual
00:22:20.40\00:22:23.10
but I continue to
00:22:23.10\00:22:24.54
work on my brokenness and that
00:22:24.54\00:22:26.24
some day-- I really hope that
00:22:26.24\00:22:29.58
some day when I get home
00:22:29.58\00:22:32.51
that God will say to me,
00:22:32.51\00:22:34.18
"You know, Danny, I--"
00:22:34.18\00:22:35.28
"there was a couple times I"
00:22:35.28\00:22:36.35
"thought you were gonna come"
00:22:36.35\00:22:37.22
"home early,"
00:22:37.22\00:22:38.39
"but you fought through"
00:22:38.39\00:22:39.42
"and I knew that you"
00:22:39.42\00:22:40.49
"would do the right thing."
00:22:40.49\00:22:41.42
And I think that I continue to
00:22:41.42\00:22:43.73
walk into my office every day,
00:22:43.73\00:22:45.76
and you've been to my office,
00:22:45.76\00:22:47.00
and I walk in every day and I
00:22:47.00\00:22:48.16
see that name plate, I go,
00:22:48.16\00:22:49.63
"Wow! Can you believe it?"
00:22:49.63\00:22:51.23
And I can't believe it.
00:22:51.23\00:22:52.73
So I'm a lucky guy.
00:22:52.73\00:22:54.17
[Mike] So, in closing, I just
00:22:54.17\00:22:56.37
want you to take a few minutes
00:22:56.37\00:22:57.91
to talk to someone who may be
00:22:57.91\00:22:59.84
feeling a bit discouraged,
00:22:59.84\00:23:01.64
maybe share a Bible verse.
00:23:01.64\00:23:04.41
So someone who's looking at
00:23:04.41\00:23:05.85
their life and saying,
00:23:05.85\00:23:06.85
"Hey, I'm struggling."
00:23:06.85\00:23:08.22
What would you say to them?
00:23:08.22\00:23:10.32
>> My biggest things is is
00:23:10.32\00:23:11.72
that you truly need to know
00:23:11.72\00:23:14.46
this, is that God loves you,
00:23:14.46\00:23:17.23
unconditionally, as broken as
00:23:17.23\00:23:18.89
you may be.
00:23:18.89\00:23:20.00
But the reality being is is that
00:23:20.00\00:23:21.70
all of us are being equipped
00:23:21.70\00:23:22.96
by God to be able to serve for
00:23:22.96\00:23:24.93
God and for individuals that
00:23:24.93\00:23:27.44
are struggling just like us,
00:23:27.44\00:23:28.84
if you're dealing with
00:23:28.84\00:23:29.90
addiction, mental health,
00:23:29.90\00:23:31.21
you're dealing with brokenness,
00:23:31.21\00:23:32.71
a broken marriage, you lost
00:23:32.71\00:23:34.11
your job, you're struggling
00:23:34.11\00:23:35.74
right now,
00:23:35.74\00:23:36.85
understand that God is
00:23:36.85\00:23:37.85
preparing you and I think
00:23:37.85\00:23:39.05
that we all have to kind
00:23:39.05\00:23:40.42
of understand that,
00:23:40.42\00:23:41.45
I think that James 1 talks
00:23:41.45\00:23:43.18
about, really about this kind
00:23:43.18\00:23:45.22
of, you're gonna be tested and
00:23:45.22\00:23:47.19
God's gonna test you and He's
00:23:47.19\00:23:48.42
really gonna press you
00:23:48.42\00:23:49.46
to the mat.
00:23:49.46\00:23:51.29
But the reality being is is I
00:23:51.29\00:23:52.76
think that what he is saying
00:23:52.76\00:23:54.56
is is that I need you to
00:23:54.56\00:23:56.36
experience something so that
00:23:56.36\00:23:58.10
you can understand where I
00:23:58.10\00:23:59.77
need you to serve.
00:23:59.77\00:24:01.44
You know, I shared this with
00:24:01.44\00:24:03.04
you when walked together at
00:24:03.04\00:24:05.71
City Hall, I said, you know,
00:24:05.71\00:24:07.21
"There's something significant"
00:24:07.21\00:24:08.18
"when I think about Jesus"
00:24:08.18\00:24:09.24
"washing someone's feet."
00:24:09.24\00:24:10.78
And think about that humility
00:24:10.78\00:24:12.65
that comes in and even the
00:24:12.65\00:24:14.48
King of Kings, as low as low,
00:24:14.48\00:24:17.62
to be able to wash one's feet
00:24:17.62\00:24:19.72
really talks about,
00:24:19.72\00:24:21.19
that's where God needs us,
00:24:21.19\00:24:22.72
He needs us to serve.
00:24:22.72\00:24:23.96
That's where our faith and our
00:24:23.96\00:24:25.79
lives and our relationship
00:24:25.79\00:24:27.66
come together is when we're in
00:24:27.66\00:24:29.36
service, that's where God
00:24:29.36\00:24:30.70
can access.
00:24:30.70\00:24:32.00
And I think that's for all of
00:24:32.00\00:24:33.34
us that are going through a
00:24:33.34\00:24:34.74
really unusual time right now,
00:24:34.74\00:24:36.24
just know that God loves you,
00:24:36.24\00:24:37.71
that He's preparing you and
00:24:37.71\00:24:39.21
that, truly, I believe this in
00:24:39.21\00:24:41.18
my heart of hearts, because I
00:24:41.18\00:24:42.48
am living proof, that it's not
00:24:42.48\00:24:44.15
gonna be easy, you're gonna
00:24:44.15\00:24:45.68
continue to be tested, you're
00:24:45.68\00:24:47.18
gonna continue to lose people
00:24:47.18\00:24:49.15
and have hardships, but it's
00:24:49.15\00:24:51.29
not because God is punishing
00:24:51.29\00:24:52.52
you, it's because God is
00:24:52.52\00:24:53.46
preparing you.
00:24:53.46\00:24:54.62
I just truly believe that.
00:24:54.62\00:24:55.66
So that's what I believe.
00:24:55.66\00:24:57.49
>> Thank you so much.
00:24:57.49\00:24:58.69
Can I ask you to pray for us--
00:24:58.69\00:24:59.93
>> Absolutely!
00:24:59.93\00:25:00.93
>> As we close.
00:25:00.93\00:25:02.16
>> Absolutely, and I just,
00:25:02.16\00:25:03.23
you know, I want to take this
00:25:03.23\00:25:04.37
opportunity to to say thank
00:25:04.37\00:25:05.53
you very much for allowing me
00:25:05.53\00:25:06.84
to spend some time with you
00:25:06.84\00:25:08.00
and I only wish you the very
00:25:08.00\00:25:10.47
best in success, not only with
00:25:10.47\00:25:11.71
the show, but with your life
00:25:11.71\00:25:12.81
and your teaching.
00:25:12.81\00:25:14.01
So thank you very much.
00:25:14.01\00:25:15.58
I ask all of us to come
00:25:15.58\00:25:17.25
together today and just give
00:25:17.25\00:25:19.11
thanks today for this
00:25:19.11\00:25:20.98
opportunity to be able to have
00:25:20.98\00:25:22.25
these kinds of conversations.
00:25:22.25\00:25:23.52
We hope that today's
00:25:23.52\00:25:24.92
conversation, God, is going to
00:25:24.92\00:25:27.29
reach out to those that are
00:25:27.29\00:25:28.19
maybe suffering today.
00:25:28.19\00:25:29.36
I hope that there are
00:25:29.36\00:25:30.29
individuals sitting somewhere
00:25:30.29\00:25:32.09
by themselves and truly
00:25:32.09\00:25:33.09
understand that
00:25:33.09\00:25:34.00
God loves them.
00:25:34.00\00:25:35.10
We ask you, Heavenly Father,
00:25:35.10\00:25:36.23
to continue to equip us with
00:25:36.23\00:25:37.57
wisdom and knowledge and
00:25:37.57\00:25:39.23
courage, continue to guide us
00:25:39.23\00:25:41.54
through this path of life and
00:25:41.54\00:25:43.91
truly understand that we have
00:25:43.91\00:25:45.81
purpose and that we will be
00:25:45.81\00:25:47.78
able to walk together as a
00:25:47.78\00:25:50.15
group and as a community.
00:25:50.15\00:25:51.85
We ask You for healing of
00:25:51.85\00:25:52.88
those that are dealing with
00:25:52.88\00:25:53.88
mental health or addiction.
00:25:53.88\00:25:55.15
We ask You, Heavenly Father,
00:25:55.15\00:25:56.69
for those that are unsheltered
00:25:56.69\00:25:57.65
across this great country of
00:25:57.65\00:25:58.92
Canada, let us truly reach out
00:25:58.92\00:26:01.69
to them and let them know that
00:26:01.69\00:26:02.82
they are not alone.
00:26:02.82\00:26:04.09
We ask You, Heavenly Father,
00:26:04.09\00:26:05.36
never forget about the
00:26:05.36\00:26:06.49
struggles that all of us have.
00:26:06.49\00:26:07.96
We ask You, Heavenly Father,
00:26:07.96\00:26:09.43
to continue to place Your hand
00:26:09.43\00:26:11.47
upon our brokenness and let us
00:26:11.47\00:26:13.00
know that we are loved
00:26:13.00\00:26:14.24
and cared for.
00:26:14.24\00:26:15.24
Heavenly Father, we ask You
00:26:15.24\00:26:17.11
in Your name, to be able to
00:26:17.11\00:26:18.81
continue to lift up our
00:26:18.81\00:26:20.08
cities, our country,
00:26:20.08\00:26:21.18
our province,
00:26:21.18\00:26:21.98
lift up our leadership,
00:26:21.98\00:26:23.35
lift up Mike and René,
00:26:23.35\00:26:24.81
let them know that the work
00:26:24.81\00:26:26.31
that they are doing today will
00:26:26.31\00:26:27.98
touch so many lives across
00:26:27.98\00:26:29.62
this great nation.
00:26:29.62\00:26:30.95
We pray in Your name, amen.
00:26:30.95\00:26:32.12
>> Amen, amen.
00:26:32.12\00:26:33.22
>> Thank you.
00:26:33.22\00:26:34.39
>> When I was listening to
00:26:34.39\00:26:35.62
Dan's story, I was reminded of
00:26:35.62\00:26:37.39
John chapter 5 which speaks
00:26:37.39\00:26:39.39
about a pool where there are
00:26:39.39\00:26:41.16
many people lying around all
00:26:41.16\00:26:42.30
day, waiting for a miracle,
00:26:42.30\00:26:44.30
they were blind and lame and
00:26:44.30\00:26:46.07
paralyzed, and Jesus came to a
00:26:46.07\00:26:47.90
man who was in the most
00:26:47.90\00:26:49.47
helpless condition.
00:26:49.47\00:26:51.47
He was an incurable invalid
00:26:51.47\00:26:53.51
for 38 years
00:26:53.51\00:26:55.11
and when Jesus saw him lying
00:26:55.11\00:26:56.58
there, He asked him,
00:26:56.58\00:26:58.48
"Do you want to get well?"
00:26:58.48\00:27:01.75
>> That's an important
00:27:01.75\00:27:02.98
question because many people
00:27:02.98\00:27:04.75
are looking for healing
00:27:04.75\00:27:06.45
and for happiness.
00:27:06.45\00:27:08.39
But when it is offered to
00:27:08.39\00:27:10.09
them, they have to choose to
00:27:10.09\00:27:12.09
believe that it is possible.
00:27:12.09\00:27:14.93
They have to have hope.
00:27:14.93\00:27:17.93
As we learned from listening
00:27:17.93\00:27:19.87
to Dan's story, it is the same
00:27:19.87\00:27:21.90
with breaking free
00:27:21.90\00:27:23.00
from addictions.
00:27:23.00\00:27:25.44
If you, right now, are
00:27:25.44\00:27:27.84
suffering from any kind of
00:27:27.84\00:27:29.71
addiction, Jesus is
00:27:29.71\00:27:31.91
asking you today,
00:27:31.91\00:27:34.45
"Do you want to get well?"
00:27:34.45\00:27:37.59
>> As Dan Carter shared with
00:27:37.59\00:27:39.39
us today, there are people who
00:27:39.39\00:27:41.26
are willing to help you to
00:27:41.26\00:27:42.89
recover to set you free.
00:27:42.89\00:27:45.56
We have a little booklet,
00:27:45.56\00:27:47.23
completely free of charge
00:27:47.23\00:27:48.96
for you today, it's called
00:27:48.96\00:27:50.27
Breaking Addictions
00:27:50.27\00:27:51.47
And this little booklet also
00:27:51.47\00:27:52.77
includes resources that can
00:27:52.77\00:27:54.90
help you to break free
00:27:54.90\00:27:55.80
from addictions.
00:27:55.80\00:27:57.37
So if you have a smart phone,
00:27:57.37\00:27:58.74
get it ready or a pen and
00:27:58.74\00:27:59.87
paper, to take down the
00:27:59.87\00:28:01.41
details that you will need to
00:28:01.41\00:28:02.71
get this free offer,
00:28:02.71\00:28:03.85
Breaking Addictions.
00:28:03.85\00:28:05.81
Here is the information
00:28:05.81\00:28:06.85
you need.
00:28:06.85\00:28:07.82
¤¤
00:28:07.82\00:28:13.56
We want you to experience the
00:28:13.56\00:28:14.99
truth that is found in the
00:28:14.99\00:28:16.52
words of Jesus when He said,
00:28:16.52\00:28:17.93
"It is written,"
00:28:17.93\00:28:19.56
"man does not live by bread"
00:28:19.56\00:28:21.23
"alone, but by every word"
00:28:21.23\00:28:22.96
"that proceeds out of the"
00:28:22.96\00:28:24.23
"mouth of God."
00:28:24.23\00:28:26.10
¤¤
00:28:26.10\00:28:50.36