Born in Nova Scotia, Wright lived in Toronto's Regent Park neighbourhood in the 1980s, where she was chair of the community residents association.
She ultimately graduated from York, and found a job as a community worker running computer literacy classes for underprivileged children.
[3][4] She ran against sitting mayor Art Eggleton in the 1988 Toronto municipal election,[5] placing second with 17% of the vote.
[2] Her campaign was organized by the Basic Action Poverty Group, a group of church and community workers, and supported by "Reform Toronto", a coalition of community activists that included sitting city councillor Jack Layton and Metro Toronto councillor Roger Hollander and former councillors William Kilbourn and Allan Sparrow/ She ran on a platform of raising welfare payments by 25%, an amnesty for illegal apartments, more rooming houses.
Wright ran on advocated raising increasing welfare payments by 25%, licensing more rooming houses in the city, and legalizing "illegal" apartments in subdivided houses[4] Two years later, she ran in the 1990 Ontario general election against Ian Scott for MP of St. George—St.