Random Access

Are Mississaugans suffering from ballot fatigue?
With the near-certainty of another federal election this year (1), a provincial election coming up Oct. 4 (2), the nomination battles that will precede both of those contests (3) and the recently-completed municipal election (4), it is understandable that the average voter is getting cross, or maybe cross-eyed, at the thought of more candidates darkening their doorways.
“It’s an issue, absolutely,” says Brad Butt, who seems like he’s been around Mississauga politics for a couple of generations but will only turn 40 during this Year of the Unwanted Election. “There’s a real malaise out there, a real discontent for a variety of reasons. The word ‘politician’ has gotten a worse reputation out there in the past few years.”
Butt is very aware of the cynical voter syndrome because he’s one of three people who want to represent the Conservative Party in the provincial riding of Mississauga South.
Also in the running is Port Credit resident Effie Triantafilopoulos, a lawyer with excellent credentials who has served as chief of staff to the federal ministers of Industry, and the Treasury Board. She was the CEO at Save the Children Canada until September. She still sits on that board, as well as the boards of the Canadian Manufacturers’ and Exporters’ Association and the Empire Club.
The third member of the impressive field is Zoran Churchin, 41, founder and owner of the property management firm known as Zoran Properties Inc. and the president of All Saints Serbian Orthodox Church in Mississauga for the past decade.
This is the first time that provincial boundaries for the Ontario election will coincide with the new federal boundaries, so all of the riding associations have been reorganized and are in varying states of readiness for the fight to come.
To confuse matters more, there’s also a full-scale fight for the federal Tory nomination in Mississauga South after Phil Green got fed up with the lose-two-times-and-you’re-out rule imposed by the Prime Minister’s Office and its chief enforcer Doug Finlay.
Frank Magazine recently charged that, “poor Phil has run into the same PMO firewall that greets the rest of the party’s rank and file.” Green declined to run again after the party refused him an exemption that was granted to what Frank calls “favoured two-time losers” and party insiders John Capobianco and Bob Dechert of Mississauga-Erindale.
There are at least four federal Tory candidates asking for support in the South – the riding that looks the most winnable for the party both provincially and federally. They are Tom Simpson who was first into the race, Raya Shadursky of Orchard Heights, Hugh Arrison of Mississauga-Oakridge, and Ward 2 Peel District School Board Trustee Don Stephens.
Incumbent Liberal Paul Szabo has already been renominated.
Since long-time MPP Margaret Marland only lost by 234 votes in the provincial election four years ago, there’s lots of interest in taking on first-time incumbent Tim Peterson provincially.
The Tories can only ask to call a nomination after they get 650 paid members. That’s uphill slogging, according to Butt, who has run twice for council (in Wards 1 and 7), once provincially in Mississauga East and once federally in Mississauga South. “It’s a lot tougher to sell memberships now than when I ran for the Canadian Alliance in 2000,” says Butt.
Ordinary voters can barely muster enough energy to pay attention when the real election comes along these days, let alone get involved in the nomination process.
You can explain until you’re blue in the face that nominations are critical to the quality of candidates we elect, but many voters are just too jaundiced and too disappointed with some of the dunces we’ve elected recently to even care anymore.
Call it boner fatigue.