Post by Dean Robinson on Nov 24, 2007 13:36:22 GMT -5
Rookie MPP rarin' to go
Tue, November 20, 2007
Conservative Bob Bailey of Sarnia-Lambton wants out of the highrise riding office he inherited from the Liberal cabinet minister he took down in the Oct. 10 election, saying he wants to be closer to the people.
By CHIP MARTIN, SUN MEDIA
SARNIA -- The view is great, but Bob Bailey thinks the optics are poor.
So, one of the newly elected Sarnia-Lambton MPP's first jobs is to get out of the high-rise Front Street office he inherited from his predecessor that gives him a panoramic view of the St. Clair River and the Blue Water Bridge.
"I think I'm one of the people," said the 57-year-old former contract co-ordinator for Nova Chemicals.
The only rookie elected in the 10-riding London region in Ontario's Oct. 10 election, Bailey is also one of only four new Conservatives in that party's 26-member caucus.
He said he plans to move closer to his constituents and the county portion of his Sarnia-Lambton riding by establishing a new office near Finch and Wellington streets in the city's eastern reaches, hopefully as soon as January.
Bailey, of Petrolia, said he doesn't want to get too far from his roots after toppling former Liberal culture minister Caroline Di Cocco in the election.
His new job is one Bailey has coveted since he worked on the campaigns of family friend and longtime former Tory heavyweight Lorne Henderson, starting at age 12.
"This is something I wanted to do all my life," said the father of three and grandfather of two.
He said working on federal and provincial Conservative campaigns for decades left him on the "periphery" of politics and that it was finally time to jump in.
He captured the riding nomination, downing three other contenders on a first ballot and began his bid to chase his dream.
"You don't get into this if you don't have a bit of confidence in yourself," he admitted.
Bailey said it was clear there was widespread disgruntlement in the area at Dalton McGuinty's Liberals for failing to deliver on a long-promised plan to renovate Bluewater Health, the amalgamated hospital in Sarnia.
"People were fed up waiting," he said, noting shortly after the election groundbreaking for the project finally took place.
Area residents were also upset at McGuinty's vow to close Ontario's coal-fired power plants, including Ontario Power Generation's nearby Lambton generating station, with its $40-million payroll and economic spinoff worth $300 million a year.
"I sensed a lot of dissatisfaction and heard people say it was time for a change," he said.
The affable Bailey ran unsuccessfully for the federal Conservative nomination in 1993 and says that was lucky for him, given the Liberal sweep of Jean Chretien that reduced the Conservatives to two-seat rump.
Before that, he'd served as a councillor for Enniskillen Township and nine years on the board of Charlotte Eleanor Englehart Hospital in Petrolia.
He says getting elected at 57 has its benefits and he thinks his life experience should help him as he pursues "the people's agenda" in Sarnia-Lambton.
One of the first steps Bailey took was to contact his neighbouring MPPs, all Liberals, to say he's anxious to work with them for the region's benefit.
"There is no election for four years, so surely we can work together for the common good," he said. "I reached out to them."
He said he hopes area MPPs can work together on such projects as further upgrading of Highways 40 and 402.
Bailey said he stands firmly behind Conservative Leader John Tory and looks forward to working hard in the next four years.
He's also anxious for the resumption of the legislature on Nov. 28, when a new Speaker will be chosen.
"I can't believe I am there," he said of his new office at Queen's Park, saying he treats it as a honour to be one of 107 MPPs representing more than 13 million Ontarians.
Bailey admits, as he tours about the nooks and crannies of the legislature building, he has to pinch himself to make sure he isn't dreaming.
He's found a condominium within walking distance that will become his home away from home.
"I want to do a good job," he said.
Asked by Tory what his choices as Opposition critic are, Bailey said he suggested energy, economic development or rural affairs.
But job one remains -- getting out of that fancy office with the million-dollar view and into a strip mall closer to the people who elected him.
Tue, November 20, 2007
Conservative Bob Bailey of Sarnia-Lambton wants out of the highrise riding office he inherited from the Liberal cabinet minister he took down in the Oct. 10 election, saying he wants to be closer to the people.
By CHIP MARTIN, SUN MEDIA
SARNIA -- The view is great, but Bob Bailey thinks the optics are poor.
So, one of the newly elected Sarnia-Lambton MPP's first jobs is to get out of the high-rise Front Street office he inherited from his predecessor that gives him a panoramic view of the St. Clair River and the Blue Water Bridge.
"I think I'm one of the people," said the 57-year-old former contract co-ordinator for Nova Chemicals.
The only rookie elected in the 10-riding London region in Ontario's Oct. 10 election, Bailey is also one of only four new Conservatives in that party's 26-member caucus.
He said he plans to move closer to his constituents and the county portion of his Sarnia-Lambton riding by establishing a new office near Finch and Wellington streets in the city's eastern reaches, hopefully as soon as January.
Bailey, of Petrolia, said he doesn't want to get too far from his roots after toppling former Liberal culture minister Caroline Di Cocco in the election.
His new job is one Bailey has coveted since he worked on the campaigns of family friend and longtime former Tory heavyweight Lorne Henderson, starting at age 12.
"This is something I wanted to do all my life," said the father of three and grandfather of two.
He said working on federal and provincial Conservative campaigns for decades left him on the "periphery" of politics and that it was finally time to jump in.
He captured the riding nomination, downing three other contenders on a first ballot and began his bid to chase his dream.
"You don't get into this if you don't have a bit of confidence in yourself," he admitted.
Bailey said it was clear there was widespread disgruntlement in the area at Dalton McGuinty's Liberals for failing to deliver on a long-promised plan to renovate Bluewater Health, the amalgamated hospital in Sarnia.
"People were fed up waiting," he said, noting shortly after the election groundbreaking for the project finally took place.
Area residents were also upset at McGuinty's vow to close Ontario's coal-fired power plants, including Ontario Power Generation's nearby Lambton generating station, with its $40-million payroll and economic spinoff worth $300 million a year.
"I sensed a lot of dissatisfaction and heard people say it was time for a change," he said.
The affable Bailey ran unsuccessfully for the federal Conservative nomination in 1993 and says that was lucky for him, given the Liberal sweep of Jean Chretien that reduced the Conservatives to two-seat rump.
Before that, he'd served as a councillor for Enniskillen Township and nine years on the board of Charlotte Eleanor Englehart Hospital in Petrolia.
He says getting elected at 57 has its benefits and he thinks his life experience should help him as he pursues "the people's agenda" in Sarnia-Lambton.
One of the first steps Bailey took was to contact his neighbouring MPPs, all Liberals, to say he's anxious to work with them for the region's benefit.
"There is no election for four years, so surely we can work together for the common good," he said. "I reached out to them."
He said he hopes area MPPs can work together on such projects as further upgrading of Highways 40 and 402.
Bailey said he stands firmly behind Conservative Leader John Tory and looks forward to working hard in the next four years.
He's also anxious for the resumption of the legislature on Nov. 28, when a new Speaker will be chosen.
"I can't believe I am there," he said of his new office at Queen's Park, saying he treats it as a honour to be one of 107 MPPs representing more than 13 million Ontarians.
Bailey admits, as he tours about the nooks and crannies of the legislature building, he has to pinch himself to make sure he isn't dreaming.
He's found a condominium within walking distance that will become his home away from home.
"I want to do a good job," he said.
Asked by Tory what his choices as Opposition critic are, Bailey said he suggested energy, economic development or rural affairs.
But job one remains -- getting out of that fancy office with the million-dollar view and into a strip mall closer to the people who elected him.