Conservative leadership appoints candidate in Halton over protests of local riding members
Original post in the Toronto Star Sept 6, 2008.
“If our candidate is arbitrarily appointed by people from the Prime Minister’s Office, it plays right into Turner’s hands and confirms everything he has been saying about the lack of democratic process within our party.” - Rick Malbouef, Halton Conservative
Nomination upsets some Halton Tories
The federal Conservatives have appointed the woman who runs Toronto’s port authority as the party’s candidate in Halton, sparking anger among some party supporters in the riding upset that the nomination process was overruled.
Lisa Raitt, the president and CEO of the Toronto Port Authority, hopes to defeat high-profile Liberal incumbent Garth Turner, who was tossed from the Conservative caucus for his outspoken nature.
But Raitt’s appointment, announced last night by Don Plett, president of the Conservative Party of Canada, upset some members of the local riding who feel they were big-footed by party headquarters, even though others were vying for the nomination.
One riding association member, who asked not to be named, said there were a lot of dissenters at last night’s closed-door meeting and that some members were quite angry.
Another member, Rick Malboeuf, who has been seeking the nomination for the last two years, said he was “disillusioned and disappointed.”
“We are supposed to be a grassroots party,” said Malboeuf.
“She (Raitt) may be high-profile, but she doesn’t have a profile in Halton.”
Raitt, who lives in the riding, conceded the nomination process was “unfortunate” but said she has the full support of the riding executive.
“The people in the room want to get on with an election campaign and they want to get out there and make sure the Conservative ideals are put forward,” she said in an interview.
Raitt says she was drawn to the party by its stance on such issues as trade, transportation, the environment and economy.
“I really like this prime minister. … It comes down to leadership for me,” said Raitt, who will take an unpaid leave for the campaign.
She’ll face Turner, who won the seat for the Conservatives in the 2006 election but was kicked out of the caucus after angering fellow MPs with his candid blog. After sitting as an independent for a year, he joined the Liberal party.
Robert Wagner is the NDP candidate.
Malboeuf predicted Raitt’s appointment will be an issue.
“If our candidate is arbitrarily appointed by people from the Prime Minister’s Office, it plays right into Turner’s hands and confirms everything he has been saying about the lack of democratic process within our party,” he said.
