Monday, August 18, 2008

Hugh Arrison doesn't know his riding very well


This is Hugh Arrison's website. Hugh Arrison is the Conservative candidate for Mississauga South, whenever the next election is. (Probably fall or next spring) As a guy who wants to be a local representative, you would think he would know his riding inside and out, right? Well, take a look at the top left corner of the site. Hugh's grinning mug, and "In Mississauga South" superimposed over that classic, Mississauga South landmark, the one that everyone thinks of when one thinks of Mississauga's lakefront....City Hall? Er, something is amiss, particularly when City Hall is put in place next to "In Mississauga South". Lets review a few basics: The boundaries of Mississauga South are from the Etobicoke Creek to Winston Churchill going east-west, and from the waterfront to the Queensway north-south. City Hall is...significantly north of that. Mississauga City Hall is at 300 City Centre Drive, postal code L5B 3C1, and a quick trip to the Elections Canada website reveals that City Hall is not, in fact "In Mississauga South", but rather Mississauga East--Cooksville. (Of course, this could just be Elections Canada's famous anti-Conservative bias at work) It's not even on the border, it is right smack inside Mississauga East-Cooksville. Given that Arrison largely won the Tory nod based on the outsider status of his main rival, the Etobicoke based Ted Opitz, one would think that he would maybe want to highlight his knowledge of the local geography. Also gotta love the note that Arrison has while his website is still being developed, saying that if elected, he will be an (caps his, not mine) EFFECTIVE VOICE in Ottawa. Something tells me that Arrison's version of being an "effective voice" isn't much different from the current Conservative voices incumbent Liberal MP Paul Szabo is hearing, which boil down to "Point of Order!". He also makes a shout out to Lakeview re-development plans, which is funny given that that area is a provincial jurisdiction, and the provincial Liberal government, led by the Conservative dubbed "Small Man of Confederation" has made the real progress on the site. The last line though, is of note, saying that it is "time to return Mississauga South to its Conservative roots". Given the draaaaawn out and hostile Tory nomination process (because we all know how well things go for the Mississauga South Conservatives when they have internal feuding and nomination strife) Szabo's increased profile with his Ethics committee chairmanship, the slump of Tory numbers in Ontario generally since the last election, something tells me the glory days of Don Blenkarn and Douglas Kennedy are not due for a sudden comeback on the coattails of the Alberta imported Arrison.

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