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Cimino wins NDP nod, but divisions remain

There were lots of cheers – and some tears – at Steelworkers Hall on Sunday afternoon when Sudbury's New Democrats picked Ward 1 Coun. Joe Cimino to lead the riding into the next provincial election.
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Ward 1 Coun. Joe Cimino, right, won the provincial NDP nomination Sunday over Paul Loewenberg, who came agonizingly close to winning in 2011. Cimino will run in the Sudbury riding, where Liberal incumbent Rick Bartolucci is retiring. Photo by Darren MacDonald.

There were lots of cheers – and some tears – at Steelworkers Hall on Sunday afternoon when Sudbury's New Democrats picked Ward 1 Coun. Joe Cimino to lead the riding into the next provincial election.

Cimino defeated Paul Loewenberg, the Townehouse Tavern bar manager and former artistic director at Northern Lights Festival Boreal, on the first ballot. A third candidate, businessman Gordon Harris, dropped out after his speech and threw his support behind Cimino.

With the NDP ahead in the polls in Sudbury, there was talk many Loewenberg supporters were unhappy with the way the party appeared to back Cimino. He garnered high-profile endorsements, including from Leo Gerard, the Sudbury native and one of the most powerful labour leaders in North America.

Loewenberg came within a few hundred votes of winning in 2011 in what would have been a shocking defeat of longtime Liberal cabinet minister Rick Bartolucci. Fear over internal divisions hampering the party was reflected in many speeches Sunday as hundreds of party faithful crowded into the main hall. Party Leader Andrea Horwath urged members to put aside their differences once a candidate is selected.

“We need to get behind whichever candidate wins this nomination,” she said. “Ultimately, we are all on the same team.”

And Nickel Belt MPP Frances Gelinas reminded the crowd she supported Gilles Bisson's failed bid to lead the party in the last leadership race.

“On the third ballot, Andrea Horwath became my leader,” she said. “Immediately, there was a shift. Everyone rallied behind Andrea.”

That's not quite what happened when Cimino was declared the winner. There was a cheer from the crowd, but Loewenberg's supporters – easy to spot in their bright orange campaign T-shirts – were clearly unhappy, some in tears. After listening to Loewenberg's concession speech, large numbers left the hall, leaving Cimino to address a much smaller crowd.

Speaking to reporters after his win, Cimino said understood how they felt, having lost his first attempts to win a seat on city council. But he was optimistic time would heal internal wounds.

“Losing smarts,” Cimino said. “It never feels good. I ran twice ... municipally, in 2000 and 2003, and it takes a while to get over it.

“But this is a very good (riding) association here in town, and I think we'll come together. I spoke to Paul in the past, and we'll speak in the future. And I do respect and appreciate all he's done in the last couple of years.”

With Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak's vow to defeat the minority Liberals at the first opportunity, Horwath was asked by reporters when her party would pull the plug and force an election.

Depends, she said, on whether Kathleen Wynne's Liberals stick to the promises they made to her in exchange for keeping them in power.

“I can't go into the legislature tomorrow and pull the plug on the government,” she said. “There are certain procedural things that have to be in place for that to occur. But we've put the government on notice pretty clearly.

“Having said that, it is a minority parliament. We don't know how long those are going to last. So we want to be ready.” 


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Darren MacDonald

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