Posts Tagged ‘Margarett Best’
Ontario Liberals Being Blown Away in Scarborough
Ontario Energy Minister Brad Duguid’s re-election hopes in Scarborough Centre threatened by plummeting Liberal support in Scarborough brought on by Green Energy Act opposition and his failed industrial wind strategy.
A recent poll released by Forum Research showed some very interesting numbers for the City of Toronto. When voters were asked to indicate which political party they’d support in the October 2011 election, the Liberals held a 26% to 24% lead over the PCs among Toronto voters. This is a statistical dead heat and critical because the Liberals currently have 18 of 22 seats in Toronto, while the NDP hold the remaining four.
The field work on this poll was conducted days before Mayor Rob Ford threatened to unleash ‘Ford Nation’ on Premier Dalton McGuinty if the Premier doesn’t give in to the City’s financial demands. Taking a look at the breakdowns among Toronto voters, it becomes clear, the move away from the Liberals isn’t be driven by Mayor Ford, at least yet.
Take Etobicoke for instance. Not only is this Mayor Ford’s home base, but it also represents his strongest part of the city by way of percentage of vote. The Liberals hold all three seats in Etobicoke at present and are leading the PCs by 10% (34% to 24%) making Etobicoke the Liberals strongest pocket in Toronto. These two facts combine would suggest the Liberals slide in independent from Mayor Ford’s strength with voters.
In Scarborough – my home town and an area I’ve been politically active for years as a former Liberal organizer and now in a grassroots issue based capacity that has me attacking the Liberals, the Ontario Liberals hold six of six seats, and are currently 8% behind the PCs (22% to 30%). By way of percentage of vote and real seat count, this probably represents the PCs largest opportunity for a break through in the City of Toronto.
Brad Duguid (Scarborough Centre – Minister of Energy), Margarett Best (Scarborough Guildwood – Minister of Health Promotion), Lorenzo Berardinetti (Scarborough Southwest), Wayne Arthurs (Pickering Scarborough East) each represent ridings that have elected a member of the incoming government in 1987, 1990, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007. That’s a six election run, and in the 1985 election when the PCs won a minority, but the Liberals governed with the support of the NDP Scarborough Centre elected a PC member, Scarborough East (now Guildwood and Pickering Scarborough East) elected a Liberal and Scarborough West (now Southwest) elected a New Democrat.
Besides having a tendency to move with provincial trends, the Ontario Liberals in Scarborough have been on the receiving end of growing attacks in response to Dalton McGuinty’s decision to name call Scarborough residents, – attacking our community by name in bringing down the Green Energy Act to deny our rights. Brad Duguid, Margarett Best, Wayne Arthurs and Lorenzo Berardinetti have all been hearing from angry constituents, who I’m proud to say we’ve been effectively organizing around a very simple message – ‘defeat those who don’t stand for you’. Incidentally none of these party whipped Liberals have been.
33% of Scarborough voters are undecided, which is significant because it’s the highest undecided rate in the City. This also indicates the Liberals are going to have a real problem getting Brad Duguid, Margarett Best, Lorenzo Berardinetti and Wanye Arthurs re-elected. With the industrial wind issue alive and well on the ground I’m certain this will only get worse for them as we get closer and closer to the polls.
In conclusion, I agree with Former Liberal Finance Minister Sobera who said he didn’t believe Ford was the cause of the Liberals position in the polls, and former Progressive Conservative Minister Elizabeth Witmer who believed the Liberals energy policy is killing their chances of re-election all around the province. Between now and October 6th 2011, Brad Duguid and members of the government are going to have a choice – continue to stand for industrial wind until the dying hours of this government, or abandon this failed energy policy, put in place a full moratorium on all wind development and hope the government can survive it’s date with democracy.
No Comments »Giving Credit Where Credit is Due
I was very happy to see the Federal and Provincial governments commit the significant sum of nearly $5.4 million dollars to community recreation infrastructure spending in Scarborough Guildwood last week. The Federal and Provincial governments will each spend a total of $2.6 million dollars on six projects to benefit residents of Scarborough Guildwood.
Money for community recreation infrastructure is important because it will allow for either the expansion of physical space or improvement of existing space, which in turn will allow for enhanced community use and a greater capacity for recipients to enhance their positive impact on the community they serve.
I look forward to seeing the good work that the community organizations and facilities do be expanding will have on the Scarborough Guildwood community and think both the Ontario Liberals and Federal Conservatives each found themselves on the right track by allocating funding to support community based organizations like these.
I especially look forward to seeing the East Scarborough Boys and Girls expansion. It’s hard for people I think who aren’t from Scarborough to truly appreciate the impact that the East Scarborough Boys and Girls has on the Galloway and Kingston road community especially. In many ways the East Scarborough Boys and Girls is the very example of community based, supportive programming that is required in at-risk and lower income communities.
With the funding that Cedar Ridge will receive, it is my hope it will assist the City in ensuring that that beautiful structure which serves so many great community purposes is better preserved than the Guild Inn has been.
Below is the link to Minister Best’s Press Release on the funding.
Scarborough-Guildwood Organizations to Receive Funding For Recreational Upgrades
Below is the link to the Scarborough Mirror’s story on the annoucement. Government funding to help create more recreation space in East Scarborough
No Comments »No One Will Threaten Me Into Silence. Not Even Dean Rivando, a Liberal Staffer at Queen's Park.
This is my response to a totally inappropriate comment made in what is a clear attempt to scare me into silence by a member of Dalton McGuinty’s staff. You see, a hyper partisan who works at Liberal Caucus Services Bureau – the nerve centre for hyper-partisanship at Queen’s Park – has tried to insinuate that my standing up for my community against the complete and utter abuse it has seen at the hands of the Provincial Government will have political consequences for me. It was my coverage of the Progressive Conservative leadership race that led to his thinly veiled threat. Dean Rivando, Political Staff at Liberal Caucus Services Bureau (read Premier’s Office) made it clear, through his thinly veiled threat, that I could expect LCSB’s bag of dirty tricks to make an appearance, should I seek public office at the municipal level in response to my coverage of the PC leadership campaign and standing up for my community against his party’s corrupt practices.
‘Good luck with your next municipal campaign’
No one could expect the Provincial Liberals to want to see a candidate that disagrees with them elected to anything, but if you knew that Provincial Liberals literally emptied out political staff from MPP, Ministry and the Premier’s Offices to fight their campaigns with the unfair advantage of salaried managers and workers whose pay cheques not only do not count towards campaign expenses, but are covered by the taxpayer – you’d know this threat was even more disgusting. The opposition parties have no where near as many staff to complete in this completely ethic-less cesspool the Ontario Liberal Party has been able to exploit in all bi-elections since 2003 and the general election of 2007.
In fairness the Ontario Liberal Party has company. During the 2006 municipal election I ran in, Paul Ainslie’s current Executive Assistant and Constituency Assistant were each campaigning, and neither took a leave of absence. I’d bet he wasn’t the only Councillor who did so either.
I am not a candidate for public office. But, I certainly would not allow that decision to be impacted by the threats of a man whose profession limits him to hiding in campaign offices and deep inside Queen’s Park, and whose function has virtually no involvement with any of the aspects of politics that actually matters. People and policy. I will not be bullied, I will not be threatened and those who seek to try and use tactics like this against me should consider themselves warned.
If I were to seek public office again and you intend on using taxpayer dollars illegally, whether collecting or directing someone else to collect a salary while not doing the job, for a day, for a week or for a month, whether using a publicly funded print shop to print flyer’s or create other materials – I promise I would document it, and where possible record you in the act, and I would seek legal action against the candidate and campaign who benefited in addition to posting the names and faces of the staff involved.
This has nothing to do with me, it has to do with a simple principle. Elections should be free and fair. Fair means that one side doesn’t use paid staff illegally while the other relies on volunteers. Fair means the Government of Ontario doesn’t hijack your right to vote for the candidate of your choice, by silencing or trying to silence an outspoken member of your community.
When I stand on principle, I stand strong and I stand tall. I am unwavering in my determination to defend those who are mistreated, ignored or marginalized by government and one thing I’ve learned since seeking public office and losing – you don’t need to be a candidate or a politician to have an impact. Since losing, I’ve learned to appreciate the office of Citizen. It’s one I am working harder and harder with each day to live up to the responsibility I have as a holder of this office. It sees me stand up against injustice where I see it, it sees me stand up and fight back against bullies and the moneyed interests that back them. It’s seen me step back from partisan politics, and recognize that when a government is doing something that harms you community, it doesn’t matter what party it is, it’s wrong and needs to be vigourisly fought.
To be frank, Guildwood has taken enough crap from Liberal Caucus Services Bureau. Liberal members in Scarborough Guildwood have been denied two democratic nomination meetings in a row, in favour of the party picked candidate. In the case of Margarett Best, an individual who has not, and does not live in the riding, or even the City of Toronto for that matter. (Her campaign was run by paid staff from Queen’s Park.) We’ve watched as Liberal Caucus Services Bureau has expanded their attack on democratic rights, from members of their party to our community’s right to stand up and defend the environment or participate in a fair and accountable process.
Many know when Dalton McGuinty and George Smitherman took swipes at members of my community over our opposition to a wind farm project that has seen a process tainted with lying, incompetent developers, bussed in organizers and a lobby that has literally bought the ear of the Ontario Liberal Party with hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations, I was the closest thing to a politician that stood up. Our MPP (Margarett Best) said nothing, or City Councillor (Paul Ainslie) was off attempting a hostile take over of the Toronto Zoo board, and it was my voice that stood up and said ‘residents will not lay down’ in response to the Premier legislating our rights away. I promised we’d get stronger and louder. Promise made, promise soon to be delivered.
I did interviews across Ontario speaking out against an anti-democratic, anti-environment so called ‘Green Energy Act’ on behalf of all Ontarians who will be negatively affected by the bought and paid for Liberal government’s bill. I talked about the lobbyists that wrote it, and donated enough until the price was right for it’s introduction.
I also – very openly ended my association with the Ontario Liberal Party and pledged not to vote for a candidate who took part in the removal of my democratic rights.
Noticing a lack of coverage of the Ontario NDP leadership race and believing this was bad for democracy, I decided to lend my blog to ensuring Ontarians and New Democrats knew who each of the candidates who sought the leadership were. When the Progressive Conservative leadership race came along, I decided to do the same. When the Green Party of Ontario leadership race starts later this year, I will once again do the same. Why? Because I believe people should be able to get a real sense of who it is who wants to lead their province and has a right to know what those people stand for. I’m doing my part to help, while educating myself on my options as a voter who is seeking someone who will stand up for him.
For that and my refusal to support a political party that has attacked my community Dean Rivando seems to believe I should be prevented from speaking out and being heard. His veiled threat makes it clear he believes those who stand up and in opposition to the Ontario Liberal Party should be attacked with an army of taxpayer funded political soliders. I wonder what it must be like in the mind of someone who is so used to watching tax dollars being used for improper political purposes, that they don’t think twice before throwing a thinly veiled threat of such action out publicly. The only good news is real people in Ontario don’t drink nearly as much ‘Dalton Kool Aid’ as the boys and girls at Liberal Caucus Services Bureau, and I am can’t even to begin to understand how this is anything but clear abuse of taxpayers money.
Threats do not scare me. Words will never intimate me. I will never run in fear from doing what I know is right. Even if I were to seek public office, and even if you used all the resources at your disposal as creatively and illegally as you could think of and you defeated me, you still would not silence me. I lost the last election remember? I’m a stronger voice for my community than I was before I ran.
The Premier needs to decide if he wants to surround himself with the kind of folks who think this kind of behaviour is appropriate. Taxpayers, especially those in Scarborough Guildwood need to decide how they feel knowing that someone who is standing up for them is now receiving public intimidation from a member of the Premier’s staff to not dare seek to stand up and be their voice, certainly not if that person wants to be a public office holder some day.
My message is simple to those who find common cause and purpose in what I stand for – I’m not going anywhere, I won’t let a weasel hiding behind a computer, afraid to meet or speak to a real voter dictate whether or not I will stand up or in what capacity I have a right to do so.
I will always speak out, I will always stand up and I will do so without fear – because regardless of what my opponents decide to do in response, it is the right thing to do, and that sure as hell makes it easier to sleep at night, and look in the mirror in the morning and be proud of what you see.
I call on the Premier to stand up, and speak out against the kind of crap that sees these tactics used by his government and his party and ensure all Ontarians that no one, that no community will ever again be flooded with taxpayer paid staff working illegally on campaigns. There is a bi-election soon to be called in St. Paul’s – wouldn’t that be a good place to change the strategy and end this corrupt and anti democratic use of resources to impact an outcome? How can the Premier oppose the level playing field needed for a free and fair election?
I hope to have a response from Liberal Caucus Services Bureau or the Premier’s Office disassociating Dean Rivando‘s comments and pledging not to use taxpayer funded staff to interfere in any elections anywhere in Ontario. My email address is john.laforet@laforet.ca
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