The Stel Salaried Pensioners Organization wishes to thank The Hamilton Spectator for permission to post the following article by Reporters Carly Bartkiewicz and Stacy O’Brien published in the June 29, 2004 edition
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Jun. 29, 2004. 01:41 AM |
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NDP's DePaulo scares cabinet
minister Valeri |
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Riding has been in the national news since Copps
battle |
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By Carly Bartkiewicz and Stacy
O'Brien |
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HAMILTON Hamilton East Stoney Creek The bitter nomination battle to carry the Liberal banner in Hamilton East- Stoney Creek nearly cost Liberal cabinet minister Tony Valeri dearly. Valeri and NDP candidate Tony De Paulo were neck and neck late last night, but as the final polls were counted he pulled ahead by more than 1,000 votes and appeared poised for a narrow victory. At Valeri's headquarters, campaign workers anxiously watching the results see-saw back and forth, suggested the Sheila Copps fight, the McGuinty budget and the Stelco problem all played a part in creating Valeri's precarious position. Said campaign worker Adam Pelissero, 24: "People were saying some pretty nasty things about Valeri over the Sheila Copps issue." Asgar Manek, one of Valeri's closest advisors and longtime friend, put the blame elsewhere. "At the door, Dalton Mcguinty's budget came up as a huge issue and problem. Because they see a Liberal as a Liberal." Despite the bad blood over the purging of Copps, Manek said Valeri's team does not regret the decision to run in the Hamilton East- Stoney Creek riding. De Paulo's campaign had 300 workers pulling the vote yesterday. An ugly nomination battle between longtime Hamilton East MP Copps and Valeri, a loyalist of Liberal Leader Paul Martin, made the Hamilton East-Stoney Creek riding one of the nation's most-watched. The reconfiguration of the riding boundaries had both Copps and Valeri fighting for the Liberal nomination, with Valeri winning by 311 votes. The animosity lasted well into the election, with the Copps-supported Liberal riding association sitting out the entire campaign, and half of the executive members going so far as to endorse the NDP just a few days ago. The NDP benefited from the Liberal in-fighting, and also gained support from the riding's many steelworkers and pensioners as a result of problems at Stelco. The NDP was also buoyed by a key win in a recent provincial byelection. The NDP's Andrea Horwath took the Hamilton East riding, giving the provincial NDP official party status. NDP candidate Tony DePaulo felt he was ready to take on the Stelco issue as a steelworker's union organizer in a riding that has 12,000 retired steelworkers. "What really made me throw my hat in the ring was the lack of discussion (by the Liberals) about what is happening in this community," DePaulo said, noting that he wanted to protect Stelco pensions and health care. Both the NDP and Conservative candidates saw Valeri, a powerful Martin insider and cabinet minister, as their main competition. Valeri was first elected in 1993. Tory hopeful Fred Eisenberger, a former mayoral candidate and Ward 5 councillor for nine years, stood by his party's emphasis on trust and accountability. Green Party candidate Richard Safka, a 23-year-old former student, was also a candidate in the '03 provincial election. Two other candidates were Independent Sam Cino and Communist Bob Mann. cbartkiewicz@thespec.com 905-526-2458 sobrien@thespec.com 905-526-2486 |