By Jill McCormick
Voters in Ottawa Centre will once again see Richard Patten’s name on the ballot in the next provincial election.
The current MPP won his fifth straight Liberal nomination at a meeting of the Ottawa Centre Liberal Association Nov. 28.
“We are here to re-affirm and reconfirm our relationship,” Patten told the crowd of about 100 supporters in St. Anthony’s Church Hall.
The uncontested nomination comes in anticipation of the next provincial election, which many Liberals believe could come as early as next spring.
“I think we may be in a campaign as early as March 15 or 20,” said guest speaker Greg Sorbara, president of the Ontario Liberal Party.
The Liberals were the first of the major parties to nominate its candidate.
The Progressive Conservative and the New Democratic parties have yet to set a nomination date. Chris Bradshaw, who finished fourth in the last election, plans to run again for the Green Party.
After surviving a two-year fight with cancer, Patten said he was unsure about running for re-election.
“I did think twice,” he said. “(But) I saw a pattern developing. I said to myself, ‘What is it? (The Conservatives) don’t like us?’”
Patten said the recent actions of the province with the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, the Ottawa Hospital and the Community Care Access Centre, as well as the decision to prevent the city of Ottawa from re-drafting its ward boundaries, all motivated his decision to seek re-election.
Patten said health care, education, environment and housing are issues the Liberal party needs to address.
Patten said he sees education as his No. 1 priority. He called the recent appointment of Merv Beckstead to balance the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board a “dictatorship” and Beckstead’s failure to balance the budget a “complete vindication of trustees.” Patten called for more funding to restore special education programs.
“Our most important investment is in our children and in our educational system,” he said.
Overall, Patten said he sees the reviving and regenerating of communities as a key issue in the Ottawa area.
“We’ve got to strengthen the municipalities and not leave them completely on their own,” he said.
Patten asked the partisan Liberal crowd three questions. He asked if the quality of health care, education or the condition of area seniors, sick or poor is better today than it was in 1995. Each question was greeted by a resounding “no.”
“We have a responsibility to help each other,” Patten told the crowd. “I’m ready. I hope you are too.”
Members in attendance sang Patten’s praises. Don Grant nominated Patten to represent the Liberals.
“He puts his heart into what he is doing as a member of the provincial legislature,” said Grant in his nomination speech.
Gordon Hamilton, director of the Ottawa Centre Liberal Association, said Patten is a good representative for the riding.
“He brings a great knowledge of community development, of local issues and a really, really good commitment to a strong downtown and a vibrant community which welcomes many, many people from all the cultures,” said Hamilton.
Patten has held the Ottawa Centre seat since 1995. In the last provincial election, he was involved in a tight three-way race with PC candidate Ray Kostuch and NDP candidate Elisabeth Arnold.
Ontario Premier Ernie Eves must call an election before the summer of 2004. The latest opinion polls show the Liberals ahead of the governing Conservatives, giving an indication that the premier may wait until 2004 to call Ontarians to the polls.
The 1999 election saw Patten, a former minister in the government of David Petersen, defeat Tory Ray Kostuch by 2,500 votes in a surprisingly close result. NDP candidate Elisabeth Arnold finished third, 6,000 votes behind Patten.