Here’s why longtime NDP MP is bowing out
For one thing, David Christopherson doesn’t want to be ‘that guy’
NO, VETERAN New Democrat MP David Christopherson is not retiring because of health reasons.
No, he’s not stepping aside because he doesn’t get along with party Leader Jagmeet Singh.
No, he doesn’t plan on running for mayor of Hamilton in the future.
But, yes, he “absolutely” can see Coun. Matt Green succeeding him as the federal MP for Hamilton Centre.
Those key questions sprang to mind after Christopherson announced Thursday that after half a lifetime in politics he will not run again when his term expires in the fall of 2019.
Christopherson, 63, says the real reason he’s calling it quits is simply the “tick, tick, tick of the clock and the calendar.”
“There does come a time in the natural order of things where it’s just time to pass on the torch. It’s time for me to take my bow, step off the stage and hand that torch off to a next generation,” he said in an interview Friday.
There was no specific triggering moment, but Christopherson says the unexpected death of his 59-yearold brother Mark, who died in his sleep in April, played a part in his thinking.
Over the years, Christopherson has been a Hamilton city councillor, New Democrat MPP and cabinet minister, and, for the last 14 years, a member of parliament.
Along the way he’s come to embody the gritty spirit of his hometown. His signature centre-part hair, spare frame and gaunt face are as familiar to longtime Hamiltonians as the passion and conviction projected by his tub-thumping revivalist speaking
style.
But he says from the very start of his political career he never wanted to be “that guy” who stays in office just to be in office.
So it was a combination of his age, his long years in politics, the obligation of relinquishing his duties responsibility, and the attraction of a “few years of healthy retirement” that convinced him the time had come to bookmark a retirement date.
Now let’s deal with the questions his departure raises.
Speculation about his health dates back to the 2015 election when he dropped weight and looked drawn due to a sugarless diet.
But Christopherson says if he really was retiring for health reasons, he’d say so because his constituents would deserve to know.
The theory he’s stepping down because of bad blood with his party leader stems from Singh removing Christopherson from an important multi-party standing committee earlier this year as punishment for breaking NDP ranks on a vote over the controversial federal summer jobs program.
But in the face of a backlash, Singh reinstated Christopherson to the committee. And, as Christopherson notes, Singh recently drew him into his inner circle by appointing him to his “leader’s advisory council.” In sum, there’s no bad blood.
As for running for mayor, Christopherson still harbours the dream but says “that’s not going to happen.”
He figures he had his shot in 2003 when he lost to Larry Di Ianni. “If I have any heartbreak in all of politics, it’s that I didn’t get an opportunity to be the mayor of the city I love.”
Finally, let’s deal with Matthew Green.
Christopherson sees it as his duty to try to keep Hamilton Centre in the NDP fold after he retires next year. To that end, he had three potential successors in mind: Andrea Horwath, his wife Denise Christopherson, and Green, the rookie Ward 3 councillor.
Horwath, MPP for Hamilton Centre, seems firmly ensconced as leader of the Ontario NDP. Christopherson says his wife never had serious plans for running. That leaves Green.
“Obviously if Matt were to consider it, that would make me happy,” says Christopherson.
Then he should be very be happy indeed. Green says he is “strongly considering” seeking the nomination after Christopherson steps aside. But if Green does go for it, that means he won’t run for re-election to council this fall.
“If I made the decision to run federally, then I would not seek re-election municipally out of integrity to my community. I wouldn’t go to their door, shake their hand and ask for their support for four years to leave after one.”
The deadline for registering as a council candidate is July 27. That gives Green three weeks to make up his mind which way to jump.
Green describes Christopherson as a “mentor and friend.” If he does attempt to succeed him, it goes without saying he’ll be a hard act to follow.