Random Access

Get ready for a lot more military puns (like the one in the above headline) on the political campaign trail in the federal riding of Mississauga South now that Major Ted Opitz has enlisted in the campaign. (It starts already.)
You'll remember that four candidates have been chomping at the bit at the starting gate (we can't forget our racing analogies completely) for what seems like eons to become the Conservative Party candidate in the South. They jumped in after the party's unfathomable decision not to allow two-time candidate Phil Green to run again.
The current field consists of lawyer Tom Simpson, international financial consultant Hugh Arrison, Ward 2 Peel District School Board Trustee Don Stephens and credit union manager Raya Shadursky.
Now you can add the name of Canadian Forces Major Ted Opitz, a 46-year-old resident of Etobicoke Centre whose riding was already occupied by a candidate he respected, Alex Kuhn.
A son of Polish immigrants, Opitz grew up in the Roncesvalles Ave. area of Toronto, majored in English and political science at York University and was a product developer at Bell Canada before he became a reservist in 1978 and found his true calling.
He has travelled widely through his military experience, served in Bosnia in 1998-99 and has been involved in several community initiatives such as Junior Achievement and the annual George Brown Peace of Cake event depicted in the above photo.
One of his most rewarding experiences was acting as a mentor to young people from around the world when he served as operations officer during the Papal visit as part of World Youth Days 2002.
So why Mississauga South and why now?
"It has a lot of challenging issues and frankly, my own riding was not available," explains the Humberside Collegiate grad. "Having spent a lot of time there lately, (he attended the Dufferin-Peel school-closing meeting at St. Paul's last night) I can see it's a close-knit community. The people are tight. You don't see that small-town approach in a big city that often."
Since he understands that much about the riding, he must also understand the riding's distaste for perceived "parachute" candidates, right?
Yes the other candidates have been out selling memberships for up to 18 months and yes, he understands why such an old-fashioned riding believes in native sons and daughters as candidates. "Being a good soldier, I don't let that stop me. I do my intelligence work. They are all good people... but I think I can do better. I think I bring some different skill sets and, at the end of the day, people will vote for the person they think is the best candidate.
"And, if I lose, I'll be back."
What does he think of Paul Szabo, entrenched in the riding for 15 years. Why is he the man to beat him?
"I'm not overly impressed with how he has been handling the ethics committee," says the new candidate. "I was disappointed to see him kow-towing to Karlheinz Schreiber."
The major says Szabo has benefited from "pattern voting" he witnessed in his own family. His parents voted automatically for the Liberals because they came from a country where they lived under an oppressive regime and wanted to thank Canada for their admittance. "There is a psychological factor."
But that is finally changing, argues Opitz.
"Mr. Harper is a very good leader and the Conservatives are not just the party on the right any longer," he says. "They have captured some of the middle ground. There's a lot of disappointment in Mr. (Liberal leader Stéphane) Dion. He doesn't quite have the concepts down yet."
On the other hand, Major Opitz sounds like he has the concepts down quite well.