#onpoli SPECIAL SIDEBAR - Part 1: the #munipoli candidates of the Ontario PC Party
Who from the world of municipal government is running for the Tories?
Welcome to another issue of #munipoil Matters, where you can find the latest updates on what’s happening in the often under-reported area of municipal elections, politics and governance happening in the local councils spread across Canada and beyond.
The Ontario provincial election campaign is in full swing and as of May 12, all candidates listed on Elections Ontario are the confirmed candidates for each of Ontario’s 124 ridings.
For this election cycle, there seems to be a rather large number of municipal elected politicians running for all four main parties.
While the Progressive Conservatives appear to have the bulk of the local government experience running on their slate, the Liberals, the Ontario NDP and even the Greens have also managed to recruit those with current, past municipal governing experience or those who previously ran for a council of some form.
This will be a series of special SIDEBAR issues focusing on those candidates. Let’s take a look at who running for MPP in each party has a municipal government background.
I am not including school trustees, police board members, or current MPPs who used to be in municipal government. If I missed anyone who previously ran for a city/town/township council from any party, I ask for the humblest of apologies.
Let’s take our first look with the governing Progressive Conservatives.
Algoma-Manitoulin: First elected in 2018, Cheryl Fort is the Mayor of Hornepayne and is the second female Indigenous mayor elected in Ontario.
Brampton Centre: Charmaine Williams is the Wards 7&8 city councillor, first elected in 2018, becoming the first black woman to serve in Brampton City Council. Williams’ tenure on council has been rather colourful; one time she staged a photo op with a pile of bricks on her desk to demonstrate her desire to ‘erect a political wall around the GTA’ to prevent the opening of cannabis stores.
Chatham-Kent-Leamington: Trevor Jones is a current Leamington Town Councillor. He replaced the previous Tory candidate, MPP Rick Nicholls, after Nicholls was removed from the PC caucus for refusing to get vaccinated.
Essex: Anthony Leardi is a lawyer with 23 years of litigation experience and who also happens to be the former Deputy Mayor for the Town of Amherstburg.
Glengarry-Prescott-Russell: Stephane Sarrazin is a business owner and current Mayor of the Township of Alfred and Plantagenet and the 2021 Warden of the United Counties of Prescott and Russell.
Haldimand-Norfolk: Ken Hewitt is the Mayor of Haldimand County, a position he has held since 2010. I recently reviewed the rather bizarre local machinations that led to Hewitt’s nomination after veteran Tory MPP Toby Barrett announced he wasn’t running again.
Hastings-Lennox and Addington: Ric Bresee is the current Mayor of Loyalist Township, having served on municipal council for 22 years as Councillor, Deputy Mayor before being elected to his current role.
Kiiwetinoong: Since 2018, Dwight Monck has been the Mayor of Pickle Lake.
Kingston and the Islands: Gary Bennett was Mayor of Kingston from 1994 to 2000, serving as Councillor prior to that from 1988 to 1994. He was also the PC candidate in this riding during the 2018 election, when it was won by the NDP’s Ian Arthur, who isn’t seeking reelection.
London West: Paul Paolatto is a former London mayoral candidate in the 2018 municipal election, a race that was won by former Conservative MP and current Mayor Ed Holder.
Mushkegowuk-James Bay: Eric Côté is a general manager for the Town of Kapuskasing and a Councillor in the Township of Moonbeam.
Nickel Belt: Randy Hazlett is a Councillor in the Municipality of French River.
Parry Sound-Muskoka: Bracebridge Mayor Graydon Smith will be running in this long held Tory riding vacated by veteran MPP Norm Miller who is not running again. Smith was elected mayor in 2010 and previously served as a President of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO).
Simcoe-Grey: Brian Saunderson was elected to Council in Collingwood in 2014 and in 2018 was elected as the town’s Mayor. A lawyer by background, Saunderson was appointed as the party’s candidate in this safe Tory seat, which led to a lawsuit filed against the PCs by another nomination candidate.
St. Catharines: Two term current city councillor Sal Sorrento (St. George’s Ward) is running for the PCs here.
Thunder Bay-Atikokan: Kevin Holland is the current Mayor of the Township of Conmee, just outside of the City of Thunder Bay.
Thunder Bay-Superior North: Peng You is an “internationally recognized Tai Chi Master, entrepreneur, travel tour leader”, according to his PC Party bio. He moved to Thunder Bay in 1990 and was elected Councillor-at-Large in 2018.
Timmins: George Pirie is the current Mayor of Timmins. Ironically in 2018, Pirie defeated then mayor Steve Black for the job; Black also ran for the PCs in the former Timmins-James Bay riding. This riding is currently represented by veteran NDP MPP Gilles Bisson.
Windsor-Tecumseh: Andrew Dowie is an engineer and current two term Tecumseh Town Councillor, first elected in 2014 and then acclaimed to office again in 2018.
York South-Weston: Probably the most high profile municipal politician to run for the PCs. Michael Ford is the current Toronto City Councillor for Ward 1 (Etobicoke North) and was a former school trustee who ran in a 2016 by-election to replace his deceased uncle, former mayor and councillor Rob Ford.
The nephew of Premier Doug Ford is running in a riding where the Ford brand is very strong. Some of the highest support for Doug’s 2014 mayoral run came from the wards comprising York South-Weston.
There are some other honourable mentions. David Smith is a TDSB trustee running in Scarborough Centre, where the Tories squeaked out a win in 2018 but the previous sitting MPP isn’t running again. Mark Saunders is the former Toronto police chief who is running in Don Valley West, where former premier Kathleen Wynne is not running again.
Of course, there are those current MPPs with previous municipal experience, such as former Brockville mayor and Minister of Municipal Affairs Steve Clark, former Sault Ste. Marie councillor and current Government Services Minister Ross Romano and former North Bay mayor and Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli.
Let’s not forget Doug Ford himself, who burst onto the political scene during his tumultuous time on Toronto City Council alongside his late brother Rob from 2010-2014. In addition to campaigning province-wide, Ford is campaigning for personal re-election in Etobicoke North, which he once represented on Council.
NEXT ISSUE: Part 2…..with the Ontario Liberals!
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