Letter: Cabinet post may be next for Thibeault

It was a diversion during a long, cold Sudbury winter and it did raise the temperature several degrees at times in what many have described as the most politically charged election in Sudbury history.

In the final analysis, if you understand human nature, you realize why a Liberal (turncoat NDP or not) was elected. It is a matter of fear and greed — fear of not having a representative on the government “side” and greed for what that could bring to our community.

While many may not have approved of Glenn Thibeault for jumping the NDP ship and the manner in which the Liberals were involved, others felt obviously that the end justified the means.

The NDP did not have what many considered a strong candidate, although Suzanne is certainly a good person.

With a higher profile and more political experience and exposure and mentoring, she could have had a better chance. However, against the Liberal machine and the circumstances, regardless of who represented the NDP, the outcome might not have been much different. The attack ads were just a bit too much “over the top” and could have been more sophisticated.

Andrew Olivier had little choice, being who he is and how he was treated to expose the bribery attempts by the Liberal Party (now recognized by the OPP, but interestingly enough, not revealed until just the day of the election) and to run as an independent.

He was attacked for recording the bribe attempts, which is a non-issue. We would not have known if he had not recorded the conversations and those involved would not have been exposed.

His hands are clean, and he is somewhat of a local if not provincial and national hero of sorts. To his credit, Andrew resisted the Liberal bribes while many voters did not.

Paula Peroni is a good soldier for the Conservatives, but in this campaign had little traction. Her party is leaderless and has not had a good track record in the province or here in Sudbury for years.

Dave Robinson, while probably the best candidate in terms of platform, had little opportunity to explain some rather complicated (to the average voter) issues such as carbon pricing.

As an academic, he had some difficulty making things “simple.” Good for him, however, for entering the campaign and to have contributed.

Andrew, Paula and David all “bled” votes to Glenn and Suzanne as the campaign came to a close, which was expected, but did little to alter the outcome.

The debates were basically a waste of time but did provide some entertainment value, especially from the fringe candidates.

Topics such as Maley Drive and the Ring of Fire and Highway 69 came up frequently, but generated little in the way of meaningful discussion. Real issues of provincial/local responsibility were largely ignored.

What is next: Watch for Glenn to get a cabinet post likely sometime this year, but don’t expect too many goodies to come our way (other than those we would get anyway).

Our provincial government is in bad financial shape, and restraint could well be the way of the future. Everyone will take a breather and try to forget all of this. On to other things.

John Lindsay
Sudbury