John Tory Tribute
I’ve written about John Tory before, and I’ve often said that I don’t dislike him and have often been critical immediately following my expression of not disliking him. Fundamentally John Tory is a good guy who means well and has made real sacrifices to participate in public life. He is thoughtful, hard working, honest and has gone through far more in a shorter period than many politicians do in an entire career.
When John Tory stepped down after his bi-election defeat, I felt for him. The raw emotion he displayed at his final press conference as leader made it very difficult to not see the well intentioned man who was unfairly pilloried right out of public life.
Over the last number of weeks, as speculation has mounted about whether Tory will run for Mayor of Toronto – its an idea, I frankly think is a good one, and a candidacy I could easily find myself supporting and encouraging others to.
I spoke with John Tory today after his tribute and had a really good chat with him about a number of topics. He shared with me that two of his proudest accomplishments as leader of the Ontario PCs has been the work the party did on outreach, making the PC Party a bigger tent, and the fundraising work he undertook to clear the party of it’s debt and prepare for the fight in 2007.
We spoke about the intense political career he’s had, the six elections in five years he’s faced and the great challenge and impact on his ability to do other things as leader. On that point, if viewed through the lens of John Tory’s commitment to public service and participation, it is nothing but admirable.
Tory recognizes the need for a clearer message when facing voters, and I made a point of not asking or talking about the religious education funding thing and instead focussed on Tory’s timing issue. In 2003 when he ran for Mayor, Torontonian’s were close but not totally open to the idea. In 2006, many Torontonians had wished Tory had not become Leader of the Opposition so he could re-contest that fight. I suspect with the current economic crisis, folks who cared and voted based on religious education are re-thinking their decision.
Now that John Tory has left public life and isn’t a candidate for anything for the first time in five years, I think someone like me would be ready to give a guy like John Tory a try. I guess that’s what being post partisan has done to me at least.
1 Comment »Ontario PC Leadership Race Second Ballot Results
The Story? The unstoppable Tim Hudak.
Second Ballot Results:
Elliott 2903 (+ 175)
Hudak 4128 (+ 617)
Klees 3299 (+ 206)
Elliott dropped from the ballot. Her supporters second choices will be redistributed based on their second choices.
Tim Hudak received the lion’s share of Randy Hillier’s supporters second votes, with Klees and Elliott basically splitting the difference, both falling further behind Hudak as Elloitt is dropped.
At this point Frank Klees would need to receive 65% or more of Elliott’s supporters to beat Hudak. It should also be noted that many of Elliott’s supporters may not have cast a second option, partly because she was one of two perceived front runners, and secondly because her policies positioned her as an outlier.
While the folks who are tabulating the result tabulate, I will speculate that Tim Hudak will be the next Leader of the Opposition.
1 Comment »Ontario Liberal Shenanigans at the PC Leadership Convention
I post this with some hesitation. I have said threats will never silence me, but I would be lying if I said they don’t stick in the back of your mind, especially when you do something that you know will ruffle the feathers of the folks who threatened you.
But what the folks at the Ontario Liberal Party, or more appropriately the political staff at Queen’s Park have done this weekend requires comment.
This video below will cover two press releases I received from two Liberal staffers that were being distributed to all media. They can hardly say they didn’t want it covered, but they may not like my angle.
5 Comments »
