Is it 'battle of the presidents' in London West
for federal Liberals?
Outgoing Liberal party president Doug Ferguson
and former president Mike Eizenga are said to be interested.
By Abbas Rana
The federal Liberals haven't started holding nomination meetings in
unheld ridings across the country, but political insiders are
already talking about "the battle of the presidents" in London West,
Ont., where outgoing Liberal party president Doug Ferguson and
former party president Mike Eizenga are expected to fight for the
nomination.
"Yes, I have heard about that. I'm not surprised about it because
Doug was expected to run for party president but then he announced,
he was not and I'm hearing it's because of his interest in London
West. And Eizenga has been looking for a winnable riding in the
London area for a while now and recently, I heard that he's planning
on running," one Liberal source told The Hill Times.
Mr. Ferguson and Mr. Eizenga did not respond to interview requests,
but several Liberal sources told The Hill Times that both are
expected to run for the party's nomination.
The riding was represented by Sue Barnes from 1993 to 2006, but she
lost it to Conservative Ed Holder in the last
federal election by a narrow margin of 2,121 votes or 3.7 per cent.
Ms. Barnes is not expected to run again.
London-Fanshawe is represented by NDP MP Irene Mathyssen, London
North Centre is represented by Liberal MP Glen Pearson, and London
West is represented by Mr. Holder.
In the last election, Ms. Mathyssen won by a margin of 5,013 or 12.2
per cent of the vote and Mr. Pearson won by a margin of 6.2 per cent
of the vote.
Liberal sources say the London West riding is the most attractive to
both Mr. Eizenga and Mr. Ferguson because the margin of victory in
the last election was only 3.7 per cent and with the new leader,
Liberals are hoping to win this riding back.
"We have a new leader and, with him, there's a lot of interest
everywhere. We now have a hope of forming the next government and
everybody is working hard to win. Both Eizenga and Ferguson can win
this riding next time," said another Ontario Liberal, who did not
want to be identified.
Mr. Ferguson, an adjunct law professor at the University of Western
Ontario and the director of a student legal clinic, was elected as
the national vice-president (English) at the 2006 Liberal Party
convention in Montreal, but was promoted to the position of the
party president after Grit Sen. Marie Poulin resigned as party
president last year for health reasons.
He was expected to seek the party presidency at the Vancouver
biennial and leadership convention, but in a letter to Judi
Longfield, executive director of the Liberal Party of Canada in
Ontario, announced recently that he won't.
Alfred Apps, a Bay street lawyer and long-time Liberal is expected
to be acclaimed as party president.
Mr. Eizenga, a lawyer who practices law in London, Ont., served as
party president from 2003 to 2006. Prior to that, he held a number
of positions with the provincial and federal Liberals.
Liberal MP Judy Sgro (York West, Ont.) told The Hill Times
that both men are quality candidates.
"I don't know where they're seeking nominations for sure, but I
certainly think that they would be an asset to us here in Ottawa.
They're experienced, they've proven their loyalty to the party for
many years, they know the ins and outs of the party, and they know
the ins and outs about Ottawa. They would be an asset wherever they
choose to run," Ms. Sgro told The Hill Times.
Meanwhile, another unheld Ontario riding garnering increased
interest from Liberals is Ottawa-Orléans, which has been represented
by Conservative MP Royal Galipeau since 2006.
Eugene Bellemare represented the riding from 1988 to 2004. Marc
Godbout won the riding in the 2004 federal election, but was
unsuccessful in 2006 and in last year's federal election.
In the last run, Mr. Galipeau won by a margin of 3,695 votes or by
6.1 per cent of the vote. Mr. Galipeau won 27,244 votes or 44.9 per
cent of the vote, Mr. Godbout won 23,549 or 38.8 per cent, NDP
candidate Amy O'Dell won 6,025 or 9.9 per cent and the Green Party
candidate Paul Maillet won 3,845 votes or 6.3 per cent of the vote.
In the 2004 federal election, Mr. Galipeau won by a margin of 1,231
votes or by two per cent of the vote. In that election, Mr. Galipeau
won 25,455 votes or 41.1 per cent of the vote, Mr. Godbout won
24,224 or 39.1 per cent of the vote, NDP candidate Mark Leahy won
9,354 or 15.1 per cent of the vote and Green candidate Sarah
Samplonius won 2,377 or 3.8 per cent of the vote.
Some of the rumoured names interested in the nomination include
Ottawa City councillors Rainer Bloess and Michel Bellemare, Ottawa
software engineer Rachel Décoste and Hélène H. Leone, a former
Liberal candidate in the Quebec riding of Louis-Saint-Laurent, who
is currently working on her doctoral thesis at the University of
Ottawa.
Meanwhile, federal Liberals announced recently that if the incumbent
MPs could keep a membership base of 400 or more in their riding
associations and a donor base of at least 40 who could donate $10 or
more per month, their ridings will be exempted from nomination
challenges.
