Quite a weekend. I was very excited to be with New Democrats on Sunday afternoon. Great energy in the room--a mixture of long term and new members. It was a proud moment to receive the nomination with family present. What an honour to represent the party in the coming campaign. There was then a fantastic outpouring of pledges, too, a nice start to the fund raising. (More details on how to give in the weeks to come.)
I was disappointed with Conservative candidate Frank Klees' broadside in the local paper on Sunday. He came out swinging at the Working Families Coalition, going so far as to suggest that they could "buy" the election with their spending on ads. This seems curious coming from the party with the biggest war chest, and a demonstrated eagerness to run attack ads. A court told the Tories there simply was no evidence that the coalition is affiliated with another party, but that didn't stop Mr. Klees making that same allegation in his large, multi-thousand dollar ad. The coalition represents nurses, teachers, industrial workers and many others, the people the Tories claim to fighting for. Not surprisingly, when they look closely at the Conservative platform they see the assault on wages, benefits and dignity resuming if the Conservatives form a government.
Today was another happy one for me: down to Queen's Park to be with Andrea Horwath, leader of the party, as she introduced about ten of us new candidates to the media, and spoke about the appetite of Ontarians for real change. She was wonderful, as usual. She has the ability to be practical and visionary at the same time. What a great premier she will make. The event was outside on the grounds. In fact, it was right up against the large, elegant monument to William Lyon Mackenzie, one-time member for York in the provincial government, and honoured as a fighter for responsible government in Ontario. Mackenzie roused the citizenry in Newmarket before his little band headed down Yonge Street to take on the establishment in 1837. The rebels objected to the creation of a class system in this country, and the creeping elitism taking place then. (Some things never seem to change.) Great legacy to remember whenever we go to the polls around here.
It was a beautiful, sunny morning, more family turned up, and I was again thrilled to be in this race, raising the issues that matter for the people of Newmarket-Aurora. Got home easily on that publicly funded GO system, and joined a room full of fellow citizens giving blood. I have another appointment for September, and that's the only blood I expect to shed in the election (barring uneven sidewalks or unfriendly dogs), but I'm willing to spend sweat, and, depending on how sad the stories I meet along the way, even tears before October 6.
No comments:
Post a Comment