A display of true grit
Uphill battle never dampened spirits of Liberal candidate Demizio
Dean Demizio is the violinist who played beautiful music as the Titanic sank.
As a candidate for the rapidly deteriorating Ontario Liberal Party, running in a riding held by a popular incumbent NDP candidate, the prospects of an upset victory for Demizio were slim to none. Even as the numbers started to roll in on election night, he was all smiles in the face of defeat.
“My son saw the first numbers come in and he looked at me and said, ‘Dad, I think we’re going to need some ice cream,’” said Demizio with a laugh. “Ice cream is our solution to everything in this family, there’s no problem so big that it can’t be solved by some ice cream.”
Demizio is a smart man. He built a successful business from the ground up. He raised a solid family who is well-respected around Fort Erie. He volunteers his time at Community Living to help those who need a hand. He is, by all accounts, a good person.
So why on Earth would he choose to carry the Liberal banner in a no-hope riding like Niagara Falls?
“You’re not the first person to ask that question,” said Demizio on election night. “The other day I was out canvassing, and before I even got halfway up this one driveway, the guy opens his door and tells me to leave. And as I was walking away he shouts at me, ‘Why the hell are you even running for the Liberals anyway?’ and I turned around and said, ‘Because when you really believe in something, you don’t let anything stop you from doing what you think is right.’”
As with any election campaign, there were ups and downs, but unquestionably the oddest day on the campaign trail was when Liberal Leader Kathleen Wynne made a stunning and unprecedented preemptive concession speech a full week for the vote. Demizio remembers watching the bizarre press conference and being stunned at what he was seeing.
“There were a lot of mixed emotions when I saw Wynne’s concession,” he recalled. “At first I’m thinking ‘what is going on, why is she doing this?’ but then I realized, she actually was out there taking one for the team. She did what she did so the party would have a shot without her, and it takes a strong person to admit that and make that sacrifice.”
Whether or not her sudden admission helped the party is still up for debate, as is the fate of the Liberal party itself. The Liberals scraped together seven seats in total (better than many projections which had them as low as one seat) but not enough to meet the threshold for official party status. However, a temporary coalition with the Green party might stave off those problems.
Demizio said the Liberals need to take a step back and reassess their priorities and their platform goals.
“It just seemed like every time we had a policy announcement, the NDP took it and put the icing on top and made it that much sweeter,” said Demizio. “We have to find that sweet spot.”
There’s no clearer sign of the local Liberals’ struggles than the loss of Jim Bradley on election night. As the MPP for the adjacent riding in St. Catharines, Bradley has been the elder statesman for the Ontario Liberals for the past 41 years, having won consecutive elections for the better part of a half-century.
“It’s a tough loss to see Jim go after all this time,” said Demizio. “But on the other hand, 41 years is a pretty incredible run, right, I mean who else can even say they’ve done that?”
Now that the chaos of the provincial election is behind him, what comes next for Demizio? Help rebuild the party? Perhaps another run for mayor later this year? What are his plans now that the good ship Liberal has been sunk?
“A Peanut Buster Parfait,” he responded. “That’s the only thing on my agenda right now: a trip to Dairy Queen with the family for a Peanut Buster Parfait and some ice cream.”