Garth Turner has decided not to go back into federal politics. How he sees the process and how the Federal Liberal Association sees the process (riding nomination are at odds. From Angry in the Great White North:
Janet Rosenstock, Membership Chair of the Dufferin-Caledon FLA said, “I am not sure Mr. Turner’s reasons for leaving are indeed his reasons for leaving. Another candidate for nomination had come forward and was in process. Perhaps Mr. Turner did not want to face a fight for the nomination. As far as Mr. Turner’s feeling that the Leadership would not grant him a nomination meeting is concerned, there are rules that must be followed. Every FLA must have a certain level of membership before a nomination meeting can be granted. The Membership level is lowered during what is called, ‘Electoral Urgency.’ Our ‘Electoral Urgency’ number is roughly 175. We needed about 12 more members. Mr. Turner and his supporters were told repeatedly that a nomination meeting could and would be held when the required level of membership was reached. Two and one half months later, Turner and his supporters had failed to sign up a sufficient number of members.”
Garth Turner put his explanation up at his blog. As you can see the explanations are at odds.
Garth Turner:
After being recruited to run for MP in the Ontario riding of Dufferin-Caledon, and having my candidacy approved by the Liberal Party last July, today I informed the leader of my resignation.
My hope in returning to Parliament was to help clear the path to a viable economic future. Stephen Harper’s $56 billion deficit and profligate spending are massive threats. But also threatening is a lack of debate about viable options and an honest conversation with voters and citizens on the looming consequences.
Runesmith’s Canada has some balance.
What puzzles me is this. Dufferin-Caledon is regarded by most as a fairly safe Conservative riding. So, assuming that rumours are true and nobody at Liberal HQ likes Garth Turner or wants to see him elected again, wouldn’t it seem the perfect solution to banish him to just such an apparently unwinnable riding?
And yet, if Garth’s interpretation of events is correct, the leader of the Liberal Party has gone out of his way twice now to thwart even the faintest hope of Garth Turner ever attending another Liberal caucus meeting – once in Halton by appointing a candidate, and again in Caledon by leaving him in indefinite limbo.
I have no idea how likely any of this is. As with all things Garth, I am sure there’s some combination of martyrdom and unspoken intrigue at work here. Still, the idea that an uncontested candidate could be blocked from being nominated in this way points once again to the potential for manipulation in the system. And that’s something that should concern us all.
It appears the former riding association president pulled out of the nomination in August.
Now Turner.
The drama of a fractured Liberal Party continues to override issues.
Garth Turner is one of the few cases of a “raging moderate” who doesn’t fit into either the Grits or “Tories” (Yes, I know you think the latter nickname should be retired with the old PCs; might I suggest GNP or Grand New Party).
Might he consider running as an independent somewhere? I could picture him winning a swing seat in, say, one of the “905″ suburban Toronto ridings that may be uncomfortable with both main parties and leave room for Garth to win a 30 to 35% plurality.