Glen Murray announces bid for Ontario Liberal Party leadership

The Ontario Liberal leadership race got rolling Sunday with its first campaign launch, as former cabinet minister Glen Murray kicked off his bid to succeed Premier Dalton McGuinty.

[snyper]

I don't know enough about the realities of Canadian politics and political terms to have an opinion.

I'm pretty certain that this will not stop others, though.

[JohnInToronto]

Being gay does not make him good. He needs to root out the graft and corruption that so characterizes the Ontario Libs. And the biggest scandal here with the Orange emergency air service was likely due to the choice of hiring by another gay guy, George Smitherman, when he was in charge of this. I don't know enough about this guy's history in Calgary, but hope he is better than McGuinty. Were he to be chosen he automatically becomes premier (equivalent to governor in the US) of Ontario.

[snyper]

So, you're saying that there's a problem with cronyism?

[JohnInToronto]

snyper wrote:

So, you're saying that there's a problem with cronyism?

Some gay people here believe Smitherman hired the Orange guy, who was the one accused of corruption, because he looked pretty. The was back when Smitherman was minister of health for the provice. Then he ran for mayor and lost. Later on, the corruption scandal (involving abuse of taxpayor money and unsatisfactory operational service) broke. Smitherman was out of politics by then as he did not get elected to be mayor of Toronto, but many believe McGuinty covered up the scandal.

[snyper]

JohnInToronto wrote:

<quoted text>
Some gay people here believe Smitherman hired the Orange guy, who was the one accused of corruption, because he looked pretty. The was back when Smitherman was minister of health for the provice. Then he ran for mayor and lost. Later on, the corruption scandal (involving abuse of taxpayor money and unsatisfactory operational service) broke. Smitherman was out of politics by then as he did not get elected to be mayor of Toronto, but many believe McGuinty covered up the scandal.

Such stories don't get much play when they happen here in the U.S.... except when they do.

Hmmm. One wonders why.

[JohnInToronto]

snyper wrote:

<quoted text>
Such stories don't get much play when they happen here in the U.S.... except when they do.
Hmmm. One wonders why.

When gay people start to get elected without their sexual orientation itself being an issue, they are subject to the same foibles and corruption as all other elected officials.

[snyper]

JohnInToronto wrote:

<quoted text>
When gay people start to get elected without their sexual orientation itself being an issue, they are subject to the same foibles and corruption as all other elected officials.

I wasn't really thinking about the orientation issue at all.