As of the end of the day Friday, the Liberal Party still did not have a candidate to represent the Niagara Falls riding, which includes Niagara-on-the-Lake and Fort Erie, in the upcoming provincial election.
Ken Gansel, long-time president of the riding association, told the Local that since their committee has not been able to find anyone interested in taking on the role, the Ontario Liberal Association is looking at parachuting someone in from outside the riding.
At this point, he said, “we don’t have anybody we’re even talking to.”
He didn’t expect anything to change over the weekend but thought he might hear some news about a successful search result Monday.
A recent online list of provincial candidates showed about 40 out of 124 provincial ridings without a Liberal representative. In Niagara, the riding of Niagara Centre is also missing a Liberal candidate.
Gansel explained that the provincial Liberal association policy was changed to allow for a candidate to be chosen from another riding — some ridings are more difficult than others for all parties, especially in scarcely-populated areas of northern Ontario.
Gansel has been involved in politics behind the scenes since 1974, and admits to being a “political junkie.” He loves it, or he wouldn’t still be as involved as he is.
There is an Elections Ontario meeting Monday for all parties, “typically for campaign managers or candidates, but since we don’t have either, I’m going instead.”
He explained that the provincial association has in its bylaws that it can look outside the riding “in an emergency situation” and can appoint someone to run, as long as there is nobody available who lives in the riding.
They would likely look for someone with name recognition, possibly who has been a candidate or at least shown interest in the past in another riding. “It’s really very easy,” Gansel said. “You ask them if they would be interested in running in Niagara Falls, and they might say yes.”
The leader of the party has the right to appoint up to five candidates in an election, he said, and it has happened before in a Niagara riding.
Also running in Niagara Falls is incumbent Wayne Gates for the NDP, Ruth-Ann Nieuwesteeg, a Niagara Falls city councillor, and Celia Taylor for the Green Party.
