My first encounter with the optimism of Jack Layton was over 20 years ago, around 1990, when I was managing Innstead, a housing co-op in the east end of Toronto. We had just purchased a small apartment building to convert to social housing, and I had the crazy idea of turning the adjacent vacant rail side lot into an ecology park. I faxed a letter to the Mayor, all the councillors, and the various city department heads. I received one response: Jack, on the answering machine.