It's Miller time
Abigail Cukier, and Laura Lennie, Stoney Creek News
(Oct 12, 2007)
While the province was swept away by another Liberal red wave, the New Democratic Party took Hamilton East-Stoney Creek, with former Stoney Creek councillor Paul Miller declared the winner just before midnight.
At Stoney Creek News deadline, with 260 of 263 polls reporting, it was Mr. Miller with 16,256 votes, Liberal Party candidate Nerene Virgin with 15,171 votes, Conservative Party candidate Tara Crugnale with 9,195 votes, Green Party candidate Raymond Dartsch with 2,122 votes and Family Coalition Party candidate Bob Innes with 451 votes.
At almost 12:30 a.m., Mr. Miller addressed the handful of supporters who waited or his arrival after midnight at the Royal Canadian Legion on Barton Street East.
"This is a very exciting night in Hamilton," said Mr. Miller. "I think the people of Hamilton East-Stoney Creek have sent Mr. McGuinty a message. They don't want any more broken promises. They do want a minimum wage of $10. They want industrial jobs brought back to the city.
"It's not the number of members, it's how loud you speak out for the people you represent and believe me, I'll be speaking loudly for the people I represent."
But after midnight, Ms. Virgin's campaign manager Quito Maggi called their internal numbers "significantly different."
Mr. Maggi said while the Liberal results also showed a 1,000-vote margin, they had Ms. Virgin in the lead.
"We are looking into it, so I can't really say more than that now," Mr. Maggi said.
In what's become a tradition in Hamilton East-Stoney Creek, the new provincial riding, which was realigned to match its federal counterpart, the race between the Liberal Party candidate and the NDP went down to the wire.
In the June 2004 federal election Liberal Tony Valeri delivered a just-after-midnight speech after becoming MP of Hamilton East-Stoney Creek, edging out NDP candidate Tony DePaulo by 927 votes.
And current NDP MP Wayne Marston took the riding by just 466 votes in January 2006.
Now, the riding is painted orange on the federal and provincial levels.
It was a tense night at Ms. Virgin's campaign headquarters in Battlefield Square on Queenston Road as television reports were quick to declare Mr. Miller the winner. But at about 10:20 p.m., it showed Ms. Virgin sneaking out with 37 per cent of the votes over Mr. Miller's 36 per cent.
The poll results stayed close all night, until Mr. Miller was declared on television just before midnight.
A former City of Stoney Creek councillor, Mr. Miller, 56, was the first to announce in April that he would seek the Hamilton East-Stoney Creek provincial New Democratic nomination.
Mr. Miller, who has lived in Stoney Creek for 55 years, was a Stoney Creek councillor for six years.
For 32 years, he has been a radesman in the mechanical department at Hamilton Steel.
A former City of Stoney Creek councillor, Mr. Miller, 56, was the first to announce in April that he would seek the Hamilton East-Stoney Creek provincial New Democratic nomination.
Mr. Miller, who has lived in Stoney Creek for 55 years, was a Stoney Creek councillor for six years. For 32 years he has been a tradesman in the mechanical department at Hamilton Steel.
At one time, Mr. Miller was not even expected to gain the local nomination against Hamilton councillor Sam Merulla.
But after the first ballot results were announced during the three-hour July 12 nomination meeting, Mr. Merulla was down by one vote, 136 to 137 to Mr. Miller. Todd White walked to the centre of the room with Mr. Miller and in the midst of the estimated 500 cheering people, raised their hands in victory. Mr. White then pinned an orange "I'm for Paul Miller" ribbon on his lapel, sealing an alliance between the candidates.
On the second ballot, with Mr. White's 63 votes, Mr. Miller easily defeated Mr. Merulla.
Mr. White was the most vocal, arguing the NDP was favouring Mr. Merulla's candidacy.
Ms. Virgin had been appointed by the Ontario Liberal Party at the end of July as its candidate for Hamilton East-Stoney Creek, leaving announced candidate Ivan Luksic questioning the decision to bypass the nomination process.
Ms. Virgin followed in the footsteps of Stoney Creek Liberal MPP Jennifer Mossop who was handpicked by Premier Dalton McGuinty to run in the 2003 election.
Ms. Mossop announced in June she would not seek re-election citing family responsibilities.
In the former Stoney Creek riding, Ms. Mossop rode the anti-Mike Harris wave and edged Mr. Clark in a surprising result with 24,556 votes, compared to Mr. Clark's 19,487
Ms. Virgin had sought the Hamilton Mountain Liberal federal riding nomination, but dropped out the day of the nomination.
Ms. Virgin was a CTV and CFTO reporter in the 1980s and became a CBC Newsworld anchor in the 1990s. Ms. Virgin is also an actress, having appeared in a variety of television shows, including Starlost, The Littlest Hobo, Due South and Night Heat. She is best known for her role in the children's series Today's Special. Ms. Virgin is also a teacher, who has worked at Eastdale, Winona and Mt. Albion elementary schools.
Tory candidate Tara Crugnale, who placed third in the riding was selected by the Progressive Conservatives as their representative.
Ms. Crugnale, a business owner and a regular on the Cable 14 television show The Opinionators, placed third in the 2004 by-election race in Hamilton East that saw NDP candidate Andrea Horwath upend the Liberal candidate. The byelection was necessitated with the death of long-time Liberal MPP Dominic Agostino.
Abigail Cukier, and Laura Lennie, Stoney Creek News
(Oct 12, 2007)
While the province was swept away by another Liberal red wave, the New Democratic Party took Hamilton East-Stoney Creek, with former Stoney Creek councillor Paul Miller declared the winner just before midnight.
At Stoney Creek News deadline, with 260 of 263 polls reporting, it was Mr. Miller with 16,256 votes, Liberal Party candidate Nerene Virgin with 15,171 votes, Conservative Party candidate Tara Crugnale with 9,195 votes, Green Party candidate Raymond Dartsch with 2,122 votes and Family Coalition Party candidate Bob Innes with 451 votes.
At almost 12:30 a.m., Mr. Miller addressed the handful of supporters who waited or his arrival after midnight at the Royal Canadian Legion on Barton Street East.
"This is a very exciting night in Hamilton," said Mr. Miller. "I think the people of Hamilton East-Stoney Creek have sent Mr. McGuinty a message. They don't want any more broken promises. They do want a minimum wage of $10. They want industrial jobs brought back to the city.
"It's not the number of members, it's how loud you speak out for the people you represent and believe me, I'll be speaking loudly for the people I represent."
But after midnight, Ms. Virgin's campaign manager Quito Maggi called their internal numbers "significantly different."
Mr. Maggi said while the Liberal results also showed a 1,000-vote margin, they had Ms. Virgin in the lead.
"We are looking into it, so I can't really say more than that now," Mr. Maggi said.
In what's become a tradition in Hamilton East-Stoney Creek, the new provincial riding, which was realigned to match its federal counterpart, the race between the Liberal Party candidate and the NDP went down to the wire.
In the June 2004 federal election Liberal Tony Valeri delivered a just-after-midnight speech after becoming MP of Hamilton East-Stoney Creek, edging out NDP candidate Tony DePaulo by 927 votes.
And current NDP MP Wayne Marston took the riding by just 466 votes in January 2006.
Now, the riding is painted orange on the federal and provincial levels.
It was a tense night at Ms. Virgin's campaign headquarters in Battlefield Square on Queenston Road as television reports were quick to declare Mr. Miller the winner. But at about 10:20 p.m., it showed Ms. Virgin sneaking out with 37 per cent of the votes over Mr. Miller's 36 per cent.
The poll results stayed close all night, until Mr. Miller was declared on television just before midnight.
A former City of Stoney Creek councillor, Mr. Miller, 56, was the first to announce in April that he would seek the Hamilton East-Stoney Creek provincial New Democratic nomination.
Mr. Miller, who has lived in Stoney Creek for 55 years, was a Stoney Creek councillor for six years.
For 32 years, he has been a radesman in the mechanical department at Hamilton Steel.
A former City of Stoney Creek councillor, Mr. Miller, 56, was the first to announce in April that he would seek the Hamilton East-Stoney Creek provincial New Democratic nomination.
Mr. Miller, who has lived in Stoney Creek for 55 years, was a Stoney Creek councillor for six years. For 32 years he has been a tradesman in the mechanical department at Hamilton Steel.
At one time, Mr. Miller was not even expected to gain the local nomination against Hamilton councillor Sam Merulla.
But after the first ballot results were announced during the three-hour July 12 nomination meeting, Mr. Merulla was down by one vote, 136 to 137 to Mr. Miller. Todd White walked to the centre of the room with Mr. Miller and in the midst of the estimated 500 cheering people, raised their hands in victory. Mr. White then pinned an orange "I'm for Paul Miller" ribbon on his lapel, sealing an alliance between the candidates.
On the second ballot, with Mr. White's 63 votes, Mr. Miller easily defeated Mr. Merulla.
Mr. White was the most vocal, arguing the NDP was favouring Mr. Merulla's candidacy.
Ms. Virgin had been appointed by the Ontario Liberal Party at the end of July as its candidate for Hamilton East-Stoney Creek, leaving announced candidate Ivan Luksic questioning the decision to bypass the nomination process.
Ms. Virgin followed in the footsteps of Stoney Creek Liberal MPP Jennifer Mossop who was handpicked by Premier Dalton McGuinty to run in the 2003 election.
Ms. Mossop announced in June she would not seek re-election citing family responsibilities.
In the former Stoney Creek riding, Ms. Mossop rode the anti-Mike Harris wave and edged Mr. Clark in a surprising result with 24,556 votes, compared to Mr. Clark's 19,487
Ms. Virgin had sought the Hamilton Mountain Liberal federal riding nomination, but dropped out the day of the nomination.
Ms. Virgin was a CTV and CFTO reporter in the 1980s and became a CBC Newsworld anchor in the 1990s. Ms. Virgin is also an actress, having appeared in a variety of television shows, including Starlost, The Littlest Hobo, Due South and Night Heat. She is best known for her role in the children's series Today's Special. Ms. Virgin is also a teacher, who has worked at Eastdale, Winona and Mt. Albion elementary schools.
Tory candidate Tara Crugnale, who placed third in the riding was selected by the Progressive Conservatives as their representative.
Ms. Crugnale, a business owner and a regular on the Cable 14 television show The Opinionators, placed third in the 2004 by-election race in Hamilton East that saw NDP candidate Andrea Horwath upend the Liberal candidate. The byelection was necessitated with the death of long-time Liberal MPP Dominic Agostino.