The election (Go Tories Go!)

Tee-hee!!!! The Conservatives have taken the lead in the most recent polls for the federal election. This is good news, particularly for anyone who believes that the time for a change is now! I, for one, am tired of the arrogance and corruptness with which the Liberals have been running the country, as if power in this country is some sort of birthright. Well screw them!

Here's how the campaign is shaping up locally, for those interested in the Hamilton area. The only really safe seat is an NDP one; David Christopherson's in Hamilton Centre. He'll win by about 10,000 votes. Everything else is up for grabs. Tony Valeri will either be helped or hurt by his high profile in the current regime in his race in Hamilton East- Stoney Creek. The NDP almost took it last time and have a fairly well-known candidate this time in Wayne Marston. The Conversatives? Probably not here.

On Hamilton Mountain, the dirty, rotten Liberals have local TV personality and municipal councillor, Bill Kelly. He'll be given a run for his money by NDPer Chris Charlton, who almost took the seat the last time out against a moribund Beth Phinney, who has since retired from politics. A Conservative win here would be nice but is, alas, probably wishful thinking. The candidate is a gentleman by the name of Don Graves.

My riding is interesting, and possibly ripe for the picking by the Tories. The candidate, David Sweet (pictured above), will be well-supported in the rural areas of the riding, but incumbent Liberal, Russ Powers, a big nobody in Ottawa by most accounts, will be tough to beat in his home base of Dundas. Currently, the sign war is being won by the New Democrat, Gordon Guyatt, whose claim to fame is that he once forgot his infant child in the backseat of his car for a period of more than twenty minutes during a shopping trip. The Westdale area of the riding may be the big difference here, with the race shaping up to be a two-horse one between Sweet and Powers.

The last election was close, with Powers beating out Sweet. What is interesting, however, are the results of the 2000 election, where the combined Canadian Allaiance and Progressive Conservative vote would have been enough to ouster Liberal incumbent, John Bryden who, incidentally, crossed the floor to join the Conservatives in 2004! I'm doing my bit, having snuck a David Sweet sign onto our lawn when Cathy wasn't looking!

A few other locals I would like to see elected, and who would make for a pretty sweet Conservative front-bench, should they form the government, are Garth Turner in Halton (every Conservative hopes he kicks Gary Carr's ass up and down the streets of Georgetown!!!! Carr jumped ship from provincial Conservatives to the federal Liberals, after serving a brief stint as the Speaker of the Ontario Legislature, taking a page out the Belinda Stronach book of political opportunism), as well as Rob Nicholson in Niagara Falls, who found his way into Kim Campbell's short-lived Cabinet in 1993. And, if Diane Finley and Dean Allison can hold their ridings in Haldimand and Niagara-West/Glanbrook, respectively, we'll have some great Conservative representation locally in what is hopefully a Conservative majority government.

Let's keep our fingers crossed for January 23!!!!!