Jaczek victorious in bid to be MPP
By Bill Rea

Dr. Helena Jaczek was accompanied by Mayor Margaret Black and Oak Ridges - Markham MP Lui Temelkovski as she arrived at her victory party in Markham last Wednesday night.

The second time was the charm for Dr. Helena Jaczek.

The former medical officer of health for York Region recovered from her 2003 defeat to take Oak Ridges - Markham for the Liberals in Wednesday's provincial election.

According to results posted by Elections Ontario, Jaczek collected 28,382 votes, or 47.9 per cent of the 59,246 cast, compared to Whitchurch - Stouffville Deputy Mayor Phil Bannon, who garnered 21,369, or 36.1 per cent for the Progressive Conservatives. New Democrat Janice Hagan was well off the pace with 4,801 or 8.1 per cent, followed by Green Party candidate Attila Nagy with 3,877 or 6.5 per cent, Patrick Redmond of the Family Coalition party with 476 or .8 per cent and independent candidate Doug Ransom trailed with 341 or .6 per cent.

In terms of the referendum on electoral reform, the riding was pretty much in step with the rest of the province. There were 35,444, or 61.7 per cent, who opted for the current system of electing MPPs, commonly known as "first past the post," while 21,975, or 38.3 per cent, favoured the alternative proposal, known as mixed-member proportional representation.

Phil Bannon was standing with Rick Wigmore, his campaign's chief financial officer Bob Davies and his wife Janice as he watched the results going on the screen at his election-night party.

Voter turnout figures were not great across the province, and they were even worse in Oak Ridges - Markham. Only 48.1 per cent of the local electorate got out to vote.

"Tonight, we are celebrating a truly great victory," Jaczek told her supporters at her victory party in Markham, adding Ontarians have assured themselves of four more years of good government, peace in schools and effective public services.

"They know they have a great premier," she added, stating Dalton McGuinty has shown true leadership. "This is the beginning of the big, red machine."

"We won because we had the best message, the best leader and here in Oak Ridges - Markham, we had the very best team," Jaczek declared.

She also thanked by name numerous other politicians who helped her campaign, including King Mayor Margaret Black and Oak Ridges - Markham MP Lui Temelkovski, who were both on hand for the victory party.

"I will work very, very hard on your behalf," she declared. "I've got four more years to do it. I cannot wait to start."

Election night was not a time for Jaczek to speculate on what she thought her role in the new McGuinty government would be.

"I'm just celebrating this victory," she declared. "That's all I'm concentrating on."

"Our leader showed himself to be a man of principle and courage," Jaczek remarked to reporters after her comments.

She added she wasn't surprised at the results in the end, observing that many people seemed to make up their minds to vote Liberal in about the last 10 days of the campaign. She added in the final days, she noticed changes in the attitudes she was receiving, with more people recognizing her and addressing her by name. "People just wanted to be really sure of the issues," she commented, adding a lot of them were thinking hard about changing their traditional voting patterns.

Jaczek also said her unsuccessful bid for election in 2003 did not discourage her, adding she decided to try again just days after that vote. "I said, 'I'm going to run again and I'm going to win,'" she declared.

The mood was upbeat at the Willow springs Winery in Stouffville, where Bannon spent most of the evening, although the numbers on the screen provided little source for happiness.

Jaczek led throughout the evening, hovering in the high 40s in terms of percentages, while Bannon spent most of the night in the mid-30s.

"The numbers are interesting, that's for sure," he remarked about half an hour after the polls had closed. At this point, only nine of the 346 polls had reported, and it was just a couple of minutes after CTV had projected a Liberal majority. He added he had expected his numbers would have been stronger.

He was a little more subdued about three hours later, when the results were in.

"We've obviously gone done, and Ontarians have failed to recognize the real issues of this election; the issues relating to health tax, taxes, health care, education," he declared. "Real issues that we're all concerned with and we all wanted to address."

He added the Liberals focused on the faith-based school funding issue, and agreed McGuinty deserved credit for being able to keep the campaign on that and away from his record of broken promises and lack of accountability.

He also seemed a little puzzled that people could re-elect a government like that.

"Ontarians will now have to live with this decision for the next four years as we watch the economy of the province decline," Bannon added.

As well, he included words of praise for Conservative Leader John Tory. "This is a man of honesty, a man of integrity, a man who represents fairness, who only wants to do his best for Ontarians," Bannon said, adding he wasn't able to keep the focus of people on the main issues.

Bannon had to think a long time when he was asked if he would ever run provincially again. "I can't honestly tell you that," he commented after a long pause, adding he plans to focus his attention to representing his constituents in Whitchurch - Stouffville.

A tired sounding Hagan commented the following day that she was "disappointed" with the way things turned out.

"People just aren't ready for me yet," she added.

Hagan lamented about the turn-out figures at the polls, adding that pointed to the need for changes to the system. "It's also necessary to have a government that's interested in that," she observed.

Referring to the referendum, Hagan complained that candidates were not allowed to campaign for the results they wanted, adding the Liberals tried to present the issue in a way that would not generate interest.

In addition, Hagan said she was impressed with the performance of the Green Party, stating it's wrong that they couldn't get any seats in the legislature.

She also said the best quote of the campaign came from PC Frank Klees, who was successful in his bid in neighbouring Newmarket - Aurora, when addressing the faith-based school funding issue, was quoted as saying, "The Liberals out-communicated us on that issue."

"Do the marketers now run the world?" she asked.

As far as the local campaign was concerned, Hagan said she was surprised the results weren't closer.

"I think it was the faith-based school issue, rather than Mr. Bannon," she remarked, calling both Jaczek and Bannon "class acts."

"I've never been beat by better," she added.

Hagan asserted that "of course" she would run again.

"When people need you, you've got to be there," she observed.

Nagy had mixed feelings the day after the election.

"I'm happy," he said. "I'm disappointed at the same time."

He said the Greens doubled, and in some cases, tripled their support in certain ridings. On the other hand, he was disappointed that the Liberals pulled in about 42 per cent of the vote and ended up with a majority of the seats.

"We'll do better in four years, and even better four years after," he declared.

"I'm a little disappointed that the referendum didn't get through," he remarked.

"Neither the Liberal or Conservative parties embraced it," Nagy commented, adding there were a lot of people who didn't understand what they were being asked and no one seemed willing to try and get the message out. "The Green Party tried. I think the NDP probably tried."

Nagy was non-committal on whether he would run again. He stressed he definitely wants to see change, but would have to decide if he wants to fight for it, or help someone else fight.

"I was surprised at the majority the Liberals received," Redmond commented. "I didn't think that it would be that large."

He concluded there was probably not a lot of interest in Tory's ideas for education, since the turn-out numbers were so low.

Redmond observed Family Coalition is a new part in much of the riding, adding it's never run provincial candidates before in either King or Stouffville. They tried to distribute material throughout the riding, but it was hard to get everywhere.

"A social conservative party, in theory, should get good support in a riding like Oak Ridges - Markham," he observed, adding they need to get the word out to people that what they feel is more important than vote counts. "There seems to be a mistrust of politicians."

Redmond said he wasn't sure if he would ever try running again. He said he's committed to the values of his party, but added there are younger members who might be willing to give it a try.

"It's kind of interesting results," Ransom remarked the day after the election.

"I didn't get elected," he added, expressing appreciation to the people who did vote for him. "I really wanted to make a statement. It was a long shot, but one never knows in this situation."

Ransom expressed a bit of surprise at the margin of victory, expecting things to be closer, but he wasn't too surprised that Jaczek won. "I wasn't 100 per cent sure."

He also said he would give some thought to running again. "If you haven't got the backing of a party, you're pretty well snookered," he observed.

Ransom was another was taken aback by the poor voter turnout. "I'm really amazed that so many didn't vote," he declared. "People are indifferent to the political process."

"They just don't think one vote can make a difference," he added "It's a hard task getting people out."