Fucking Finally

http://www.mississauga.com/article/13631

Mississauga South Conservatives will vote for the party's nominee in the next election in early June, as central party HQ finally cleared the party to have a candidate vote. A few thoughts:

1. Assuming Mississauga South is still high on the Conservatives target list, (they came within 4.1% of winning it in 2006, the 12th seat they came the closest to winning, and along with next-door Oakville, which they came within 1.3% of winning, form the Conservatives best shots at forming a GTA West beachhead) why could they not find a star candidate? Did they simply want to avoid a repeat of the provincial fiasco and let the nomination play out? Could they not find a candidate worthy of "star" status?

2. Is Mississauga South no longer the prime target it once was? With Paul Szabo only winning by 4.1%, he should be a vulnerable incumbent, but with his Chairmanship of th Ethics committee, he has gained valuable face time and recognition. Has Szabo's increased clout scared off Conservative challengers? Have dips in the polls in Ontario lowered all Ontario ridings down on the target list for Conservatives, to focus more on Quebec?

3. What is the state of the unity of Mississauga South Conservatives? With the provincial Conservatives torn by the Tim Peterson fiasco, have all wounds healed? Will the looooong freezing of the race turn off Conservatives from supporting the party and it's nominee? Will still bitter Phil Green supporters (Phil Green was barred from running for a third go, and no reason from party HQ was given) boycott both the nomination battle and the election? This is in comparison to the Mississauga South Liberals, as with the election of Charles Sousa as MPP, with plenty of help from Paul Szabo, divisions in the association most recently brought up by Sousa's challenge to Szabo in 2004, have healed, and Sousa, who managed to successfully pull Conservative votes in his election, will be ready to throw his weight behind Szabo.

4. Who will actually win the Conservative nod? I won't pretend to have expert knowledge of the race, and I have no idea who has the strongest campaign, who has been signing up the most members, who has the support of who, etc. Based on circumstantial evidence, I will guess either Ward 2 Peel District School Board trustee Don Stephens, the only candidate with any sort of real name recognition, or Major Ted Opitz of the Canadian Royal Regiment. If any other candidate wins though, don't claim I was telling people to place bets.

Oh, and the Mississauga South Conservatives are having a meet and greet during the Mississauga Marathon, near the Port Credit lighthouse between 9 am and 1pm, on Sunday May 11th. Anyone who wants to come and perhaps ask some questions should.