Feature Article
October 2, 2003
LAND O' LAKES NewsWeb HomeNo Surprises in NFL&AThere is no polling done on a riding-by-riding basis, but it is safe to say that Leona Dombrowsky will be returned to Queens Park when all the ballots are counted tonight and the provincial election of 2003 is put to bed.
There has been much written about the election campaign as a whole, with the performances of the leaders and the campaign ad programs coming under intense scrutiny.
In this riding, the situation mirrors the province in some ways, and differs in others. First off, there is a Liberal incumbent, and the advantages incumbents have in elections has come into sharp relief throughout the campaign.
In 1999 Leona Dombrowsky went door-to-door, introducing herself to the riding. As MPP she has continued to travel the riding relentlessly, and she has run a responsive office. A phone call to the MPP in HFL&A has received an answer, either from a staff member or the MPP. This is the word that we have heard constantly over the years, and we can report first hand that news reporters have had no difficulty getting a comment from the MPP either. All of this makes Dombrowskys re-election easier.
Within the campaign, the energy of the Liberals has been relentless. For example, when Ms. Dombrowsky arrived at All-Candidates meetings, her campaign manager, her communications manager, two campaign workers, and several party activists from the region accompanied her.
Ross Sutherland of the NDP had his campaign manager with him. Adam Scott of the Green Party came alone. This is not very surprising; the Liberal party is a force in the province and has a strong organization in the riding. It clearly has more resources than the Greens or even the NDP.
But what of the fabled Big Blue Machine? If Barry Gordon did not have a supportive wife, he would have had no one with him at all.
The lack of planning by the Conservatives did not end there. The candidate web site for Barry Gordon consisted of a row of photos of Barry Gordon with various people, including the premier. There were no names written below the photos, and the space on the right hand side of the page contained no text. There was not a single word of text on the entire web page. Clearly someone began to build the page, posted the photos and then lost interest and never completed the job. Is this an analogy for the entire Conservative campaign in HFL&A?
The mistakes did not end there. Right off the bat, the Gordon campaign showed a lack of political understanding. Not only did they neglect to register him as a candidate for over a week, they also decided not to attend the first All-Candidates meeting in Madoc because it was being put on by a coalition opposed to government policy. Their assumption was correct, Gordon would indeed have been walking into a hostile crowd. So, instead of facing a hostile crowd of 100 people, all of whom were not likely to ever vote conservative, he handed the Liberals an opportunity. The next day the Kingston Whig Standard ran a story about Gordons refusal to attend and Dombrowskys disappointment about not being able to discuss the issues. The Whig did not cover the meetings that Gordon attended, but the one he missed hurt him.
Ill mention one more glaring mistake and then well let Barry Gordons campaign experience of 2003 fade into history. Mr. Gordon does not live in the riding. He knows it and his campaign manager knows it. In two key places, on the provincial party website, and in his press release at the very start of the campaign, this fact was deliberately fudged.
In the context of an election, where opponents are out to point out weaknesses, it is mind-boggling that the Gordon campaign did not realise that hiding where he lives would not work - and that they would look foolish for trying to hide it.
This election was Leona Dombrowskys to win. She has done a good job as MPP and has run a strong campaign. No matter how good a campaign her opponents ran, she would have won. The Conservatives just made it that much easier for her.
(Ed. Note. If it turns out that Barry Gordon won the election, please disregard the above.)
