We had a great time in Barrie the other night. We would have liked to have federal Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and his team there but we had to settle for volunteers from other Liberal riding associations. They were there to make sure our nomination meeting was run by party rules and that our candidate would be the choice of the Liberal Party members in Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte. What we wanted Justin and his friends to see was democracy in action.
The only problem was that that there are not many reasonably priced meeting venues in Barrie for more than 500 people. We had to settle for a high school cafeteria/auditorium and it was standing room only for the speeches and the voting. And you had to be there early as a basketball tournament was taking up half the parking. With a wind chill of -16 degrees Celsius, you did not want to have to walk far from where you could park.
There was the usual hoopla of nomination conventions in progress when we got there with signs, buttons and people pressing for your vote. Identification was everywhere for the two candidates. One used smaller buttons and signs and the other used what could only be described as prayer shawls of red cotton yard goods. Frankly though, there were few there who would brave such a cold night unless they were already convinced of who was their chosen candidate.
Some long time party people were sceptical of a large turnout but in our reading of what was apparent in the hall was that the vote was very close. And it was surprisingly close.
There were some 750 Liberal members eligible to vote. About 65 per cent of the new riding is from the north half of Barrie, 20 per cent from Springwater Township and 15 per cent from the part of Oro-Medonte that includes Horseshoe Resort and Shanty Bay. The fact that we had over 500 paid up Liberal Party members vote that evening demonstrates an enthusiasm that we have not seen in Simcoe County for a long time.
It took over three hours for Liberals to select their candidate. While the exact count is never announced publicly, there were many senior Liberals present who had to admit that they had never seen as close a vote.
But it was time for democracy and that is what gives the best results. We might not be writing as many blogs about the contest in Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte in the coming federal election. This writer will be helping our nominated candidate Brian Tamblyn, the former president of Georgian College. He has a great deal to contribute as our member of parliament.
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Copyright 2015 © Peter Lowry
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