Falls riding taking shape for provincial election
Niagara businessman Dean Demizio could be the Liberal candidate in the Niagara Falls riding for the June provincial election.
“At the current time, the Niagara Falls riding has one potential candidate, Dean Demizio, who is undergoing a detailed vetting process by the Ontario Liberal party,” said Karen Gansel, president of the Niagara Falls Provincial Liberal Association.
“Therefore, he isn’t authorized to speak on behalf of the party as yet.”
Demizio has been an insurance agent for more than 20 years and is a past president of the Greater Fort Erie Chamber of Commerce.
The Liberals will try to pry the riding away from NDP MPP Wayne Gates, who has represented Niagara Falls, Niagara-on-the-Lake and Fort Erie since his byelection victory in 2014.
Gates said he’s seeking reelection based on his record and what he believes are the priorities of his constituents.
“Things like addressing hospital overcrowding and the long-term care crisis, reducing hydro bills and putting hydro back in public hands and securing jobs in places like our casinos and the race track.”
The Progressive Conservatives selected Niagara-on-the-Lake resident and long-time businessman Chuck McShane to represent the party in the riding.
McShane said the Liberals, who have formed the government since 2003, have largely ignored Niagara, making long-term promises when it’s politically convenient, while overseeing the loss of jobs at the Fort Erie Race Track when the slots closed in 2012.
He said the NDP has “propped up” the Liberal government.
“Do we want to take a step sideways or do we want to take a step forward?” said McShane.
When asked if he believes the recent resignations of PC leader Patrick Brown and PC party president Rick Dykstra amid sexual misconduct allegations — which have not been proven in court and which both men deny — will hurt the party or allow it to start from scratch and rejuvenate the base, McShane said it’s a “tough question.”
“Right off the bat when everything was starting to happen and allegations were happening, my biggest concern was the people of Niagara,” he said.
“I had stated to the people within our organization down here that’s my biggest concern, the citizens of Fort Erie, Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake.”
McShane said he has “never lost” his focus, and added there would be times when he crosses party lines, if elected.
“You can bet on that. I have my thoughts and the knowledge that I’ve got from my constituents and the people within Niagara and I’ve got my feet on the ground — the people in Toronto don’t have their feet on the ground here.”
The Green party nominated Karen Fraser, a long-time member who has been involved behind the scenes in past elections, to represent them in Niagara Falls.
While the party is a clear underdog in the riding, Fraser said she does believe “everything is up for grabs.”
“Everybody is at different levels, which is the way democracy goes and I think the public is far more aware this time around,” she said.
Fraser said the Greens are different than other parties.
“We don’t make promises that come and go in four years. We do all the financials on all of our promises. We don’t make promises we can’t keep. We show you how we can make it happen right when we set out the policy, so that the voters understand exactly what the promise is, how it can happen. We figure all of that out before we even make the announcements.”
Niagara Falls city Coun. Mike Strange, who wanted to be the PC candidate but was notified by the party in November that he would not be permitted to stand for them due to some material on his Facebook page they deemed to be problematic, said he’s considering running as an independent.
“After I kind of got, I guess, DQ’d you can say, a lot of people were phoning me and emailing me and Facebook messaging me saying, ‘you know what, Mike, run independent, we’re sick of the party politics …,’” said Strange, a former Olympic boxer who has a charity dedicated to raising funds to support children battling cancer.
He said he’s received messages from members of the PC party encouraging him to run independent.
“And Liberals, too, because … they are sick of the premier.”
Although he’s a popular figure in Niagara Falls — Strange finished second out of eight city councillors elected during the 2014 municipal election in his first run for public office — he acknowledged winning a provincial election as an independent would be difficult.
“You don’t have a big party support, so it’s up to you to raise money.”
Strange said following the recent allegations against Brown and Dykstra, he received messages from people believing it was “karma” for how the party handled him.
“A lot of people were texting me that and stuff like that,” he said.
“I just find it very ironic that basically the people that have stepped down from the party are the ones that basically decided on DQ’ing me. It’s nothing against our local PC riding because I get along with everybody — I get along with Chuck and I get along with everybody in the PC party.”
A 2009 Facebook photo of Strange and a friend wearing blackface while masquerading as African American tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams during a Halloween party weighed heavily in the PC party’s decision not to allow Strange to stand for the nomination.
“It was a mistake on my part,” said Strange, adding he’s not a racist and those who know him can attest to that.
“You don’t think maybe stuff from social media 10 years ago can haunt you, but obviously we’re seeing a lot of that now. I’m a guy who likes to make fun of myself, especially at Halloween and probably it was a mistake at the time and I realize it now, but there was no offence or any kind of racial issue whatsoever.”
McShane said Strange is a “very good” friend of his, and a person he has the “utmost respect” for.
“For him to come out and state that he might run as an independent shows that Ontario has true democracy. I wouldn’t necessarily welcome it, ( but) I believe that Mike has the right to do that.”
Fraser said she has known Strange since he was a teenager, adding he has a “big following.”
“If he’s going to run as an independent, that’s one of the values of the Green Party, is participatory democracy, so sure, that’s great.”
Gates said he’s not “overly concerned” with who he’s running against.
“I’m more focused on what I’m running for. I think I’ll let the PC party and former members of the PC party, including Mike, sort that out. I’m more focused on our platform. I’m really excited.”