Liberals scared of Sun scribe
My feisty friend Sue-Ann Levy has been a tireless watchdog for taxpayers, and could surprise in St. Paul's
If you're searching this morning for latest word on His Blondness (or is it His Greyness?) or for more lunatic antics from Socialist Silly Hall, you're no doubt a fan of my colleague Sue-Ann Levy.Sorry to disappoint you, but Levy is on a leave of absence. She's doing what most columnists rarely attempt: Instead of running off at the mouth, she's running in the St. Paul's byelection for the provincial PC party.
Before we go any further, let me admit to my conflict of interest right up front.
Levy is not just a highly respected colleague, she is a good friend of mine.
Just a few weeks ago, I was privileged to watch her and her sweetie, Denise Alexander, tie the knot in a most moving wedding ceremony.
Loyal readers know Levy as a passionate crusader against political pomposity, bureaucratic waste and the plain old infuriating stupidity that happens when politicians become arrogant and disconnected from the people they are supposd to represent.
She's also a tireless watchdog around City Hall, making sure your tax dollars are spent wisely.
She is, in short, the perfect candidate for the Tories.
The Liberals may try to put on a brave face, but the simple truth is that their ill-conceived plan to harmonize the GST and the PST is simply another cash grab -- at a time when taxpayers can least afford it.
And it hurts people right across the province -- whether it's condo owners in downtown Toronto or homeowners in rural Ontario struggling to pay their home heating bill.
Then there's the eHealth boondoggle, which has seen hundreds of thousands of taxpayers' bucks poured down the gullets of fatcat consultants -- with few discernible results in the electronic health department. Documents show these high-priced hired guns indulged themselves in, literally, a feeding frenzy of lavish lunches and dinners -- at our expense. And we still don't have an electronic health records system up and running.
PERFECT STORM
That all adds up to a perfect storm for the Liberals.
A byelection is a time-honoured way for voters to register their disapproval with the government. Liberals could be facing a humiliating defeat.
The Liberals have already nominated family physician Eric Hoskins, a community activist, to carry their banner. The NDP will pick their candidate on Sept. 9.
St. Paul's has been a Liberal stronghold since 1999, when former attorney general Michael Bryant defeated Isabel Bassett, a cabinet minister in the Mike Harris government. Still, this will be no shoo-in for the Grits.
Bryant quit earlier this year to take a job with the city. Rumour has it he was ready to quit much earlier, but the Liberals convinced him to hold off with his resignation because former PC leader John Tory was looking for a seat at the time -- and they considered it a winnable Tory seat.
So it's also a shrewd move by rookie Tory leader Tim Hudak. The party needs to shed its country bumpkin image. Attracting a high profile, gay Jewish candidate with an MBA and a journalism degree to run for the PCs goes a long way towards doing that.
On a personal level, it's a journalistic dilemma for me to have a friend running for office. While I want to be fair to all the candidates, knowing Levy as the gutsy fighter she is clearly makes her my favourite. While I'm sure all the candidates are worthy, Levy would make one heck of an MPP.
She's smart and she's feisty. Throughout her career, she's fought for people who have no power to fight on their own.
Best of all, she never forgets that most important rule of politics: Voters put their trust in you when they mark their X on the ballot. Don't ever betray that trust.
CHRISTINA.BLIZZARD@SUNMEDIA.CA 416-325-3971
1 comment:
great. tweety bird, who is known to get many facts and figures mixed up (conservatives aren't interested in that anyways...), now she wants to be a conservative politician.
Seems like a logical progression to me.
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