Local Liberals praise career of Bob Rae

Local Liberals paid tribute to Bob Rae, the former NDP Ontario premier and interim Liberal leader who announced Wednesday he plans to step down as the member of Parliament for the riding of Toronto Centre.

Andy Mitchell, deputy mayor of Selwyn Township and a former Liberal cabinet minister, praised Rae’s work ethic and congratulated him on “a long and distinguished” political career.

“Bob’s optimism was infectious and was noteworthy,” Mitchell said. “He worked very, very hard at the tasks that were before him, and he really had the best interests of the people he represented at heart. He tried to make the lives of individual Canadians better. That was his approach and he worked hard toward that.”

Mitchell, also the president of the Peterborough Federal Liberal Riding Association, said Rae “has served his community and the country well, and I wish him good luck.”

“I have always been a huge supporter of Bob Rae,” said lawyer Stephen Kylie, vice-president of the riding association. “I think he has been a committed Canadian, committed to politics and unity, and I am little disappointed that we won’t have him in that role any longer.”

Kylie said he doesn’t know Rae personally, but met him at several functions over the years.

“I think his commitment to the province when he was premier, and then federally to the country, was second to none,” he said. “He dedicated a lot of time and energy to the things that he thought were i mportant in the country, and I have always appreciated that. I appreciated his leadership and honesty and his integrity.”

Lawyer Brendan Moher called Rae “an incredible asset to the Liberal party during a very difficult time, as the party was going through transition. He brought a steady hand to the party throughout the leadership process that we just went through.”

Rae, Moher said, “is certainly the elder statesman of Canadian politics, in my opinion, and he leaves the political scene with his integrity fully intact, which is a rare occurrence these days.”

Moher recalled Rae’s speech in the 2006 Liberal leadership race, when Rae finished third behind Michael Ignatieff and the winner, Stéphane Dion, at the convention in Montreal.

“He was the only candidate of about, I think nine, who went up there and gave his main leadership speech at the convention without any notes whatsoever, without the use of a podium,” Moher said. “He just walked back and forth across the stage, and everyone in the room was riveted to every word he said. He was an incredibly skillful public speaker.

“He was a good musician, too. He really kept his sense of humour throughout all his time in politics. Even if things got serious, he always had a joke, and he never took himself too seriously.”

NOTE: Brendan Moher says he is considering his candidacy for the Peterborough riding federal Liberal nomination. “I am certainly thinking about it,” he said in an interview. “I haven’t completely thrown all my eggs into the basket yet, because it is quite a ways off. We’re talking about t wo, t wo and a half years until the next election. But I am certainly thinking about it very seriously.” Bowing out: Former interim Liberal leader ends political career to focus on legal work as a negotiator for Matawa Tribal Council.