O’Toole becomes ‘Mr. Five Time!’
by Blake Wolfe and Darryl Knight/The Scugog Standard

Incumbent Conservative Durham MPP John O’Toole easily cruised to a fifth consecutive term in office last week, with an almost 50 per cent vote share - and a margin of more than 9,000 votes over his closest competitor - following the Oct. 6 provincial election.
_Mr. O’Toole was crowned victorious at his Bowmanville campaign office last Thursday night not long after polls closed around 9 p.m. In the end, he received 22,392 votes - of 45,607 ballots cast - in the riding representing the municipalities of Scugog, Uxbridge and Clarington. Liberal candidate Betty Somerville came in a distant second with 13,356 votes, while NDP candidate James Terry, Green Party representative Edward Yaghledjian, Libertarian Blaize Barnicoat and David Strutt of the Freedom Party of Ontario received 7,990, 1,208, 421 and 240 votes respectively.
_“We had a very good and active group, with a new crop of young people,” said Mr. O’Toole of his campaign team, attributing his continued success in the riding to both the voters and a focus on “customer service” for Durham constituents.
_As for the first items on his political to-do list, Mr. O’Toole told The Standard that upon his return to Queen’s Park, he plans to focus on the construction of new nuclear builds in the province, as well as the continued extension of Hwy. 407, which is planned to reach Hwy. 35/115 by 2020. Mr. O’Toole added that over the course of the next term, he hopes to see the province address the need for “jobs of the future,” such as those in green energy, for the next generation entering the workforce.
_Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty was returned to an historic third term in power, albeit with a 53-seat minority government - one seat shy of a majority and down from the 71 seats the party won in 2007. Conservatives increased their number of seats to 37 from 25, while the NDP took 17 ridings, mostly in the northern part of the province.
_Following a congratulatory handshake with Mr. O’Toole, Ms. Somerville had words of admiration for both her own campaign staff and those of her competitors.
_“Our campaign was excellent. We were up early, six days a week and we never let up,” said the Liberal candidate. “I knew the Liberals would pull through in the end, though, and we have an experienced premier at the helm again, someone with the knowledge and experience.”
_In regard to the overall outcome of the vote, Mr. O’Toole said “it was a little disappointing, but with all the change in the world and economic uncertainty, people can be resistant to change, and it becomes a matter of the devil you know versus the one you don’t. But it’s clear that the voters have shortened Mr. McGuinty’s leash and it will be part of my job to keep the pressure on him to respect the taxpayers.”
_NDP candidate James Terry spoke to The Standard shortly after Mr. O’Toole was announced as the riding’s winner and felt that although his party may have finished third, many gains were made going forward.
_“Throughout the campaign I heard a lot of positive feedback,” said Mr. Terry. “As a party we have to continue to do what we’re doing. Down the road if we continue spreading our message, hopefully that will translate into more seats.”
_While the NDP did make large gains in the federal election held this spring, for the most part that did not translate into additional votes during this election, the loss of National party leader Jack Layton to cancer seeming to do little in the way of swaying public support.
_“At the end of the day, people will make the right choices for them and their families,” Mr. Terry said. “Jack’s passing was a great loss for the party, but we will continue to stand up for the causes he believed in and honour his legacy.”
_The Green Party registered lower than expected results at the polls, something local candidate Edward Yaghledjian at least partially blamed on the environment taking a back seat to the economy in voters’ minds.
_“Four years ago, Al Gore was advocating for the environment and the understanding of environmental issues was much stronger, and the Green Party took advantage,” Mr. Yaghledjian told The Standard. “This time, taking into consideration the enormous number of people affected by the global economic crisis, we took a step back because the environment has somewhat been pushed to the side. But whether it’s popular or not, environmental issues should always be at the forefront because they truly affect everyone.”
_As for where the Green Party goes from here, Mr. Yaghledjian stressed that the Greens should continue to spread their message of not only a more sustainable future for the environment, but also for the economy as well.
_“For the most part, people are unable to associate the Green Party with sound fiscal responsibility,” said Mr. Yaghledjian. “Evolution is coming and we, as a party, have to learn how to spread our message.”
_Voter turnout provincially was estimated at only 49 per cent, a slight decrease from the 2007 election, where 53 per cent of eligible Ontarians cast a ballot.