Tuesday, June 29, 2004

NEWMARKET-AURORA

It seems that I seriously misjudged the electoral mood in my hometown riding. That may in part be due to the fact that we cancelled our subscription to the local paper, I don't know, however I thought that Stronach was going to take a solid victory last night. I expected her to get close to fifty percent of the vote with the Liberals and NDP splitting the other half fairly evenly. As it turned out Stronach and the Liberal candidate, Martha Hall Findlay, split nearly evenly 42-41 with the NDP taking only ten percent and the Greens five.

I had thought that Stronach would cruise to victory on her family name, which is so well known locally, combined with her increased profile from the leadership contest and anger towards the Liberals. However, it appears that the outcome in Newmarket-Aurora was fairly typical of most Ontario ridings last night. Undecideds and waffling Liberals ended up bearing down and again voting for the party they felt safest with. Stronach's profile and perhaps her outspoken moderation on abortion and same-sex marriage were possibly what saved her from the somewhat unexpected defeat so many of her 905 Conservative collegues faced.

If, before the election, I had to choose only one of the two also-rans from the Conservative leadership contest to lose their riding I would have chosen Stronach over Clement. However, I have to say that Stronach's performance in this election certainly impressed me and her political fortunes are certainly on the rise. I think we'll be seeing more of her in the future.

Post Script- Check out the description of my riding from this Stronach related Toronto Star article:

Led by Magna founder and self-made multi-millionaire Frank Stronach and his wife Elfriede, the Stronach family has a high profile in this affluent, fast-growing region, composed largely of tract-style housing developments, rambling shopping malls and nearly ubiquitous donut shops. The area, which has a population of about 115,000, some 85,000 of whom were eligible to vote, increasingly serves as a dormitory community for people who daily commute to work in Toronto.

That about sums it up. It's non-stop excitment here in Newmarket-Aurora.

Posted by Matthew @ 11:22 a.m.