The Zooming woman

Jeff Green | Jul 21, 2021

In 1997 and 1998, Leona Dombrowsky turned her attention from school board politics to campaigning for the Ontario Liberal party in an effort to win the Hastings-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington riding, which was at the time a Conservative stronghold. She took on the nickname “the Walking Woman”, travelling from town to town, village to village, in the large riding. While the 1999 Ontario election was a repeat win for the Harris Conservatives, in Hastings-Frontenac, L&A there was a change. For once, a local campaign bucked the overall trend in an election.

Times, and circumstances are very different 23 years later. The federal riding of Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston has been held by Conservative Scott Reid since it was created through riding redistribution 10 years ago, and Reid has represented his base in Lanark County, which is 65% of the riding, for over 20 years.

And the runup to the election is relatively short this time because the Liberals were re-elected as a minority government in 2019, and then COVID hit. When Michele Foxton, who lives in Hartington and runs a legal practise in Kingston, took on the Liberal nomination a few months ago, she was not in a position to knock on doors across the vast riding because of the pandemic lockdown, and rumours of a fall election were already rampant.

Three months later the lockdown is slowly easing, and in-person events may be in Foxton's future. In th meantime she has devoted three full days a week (her law office has a 4 day work week) as well as most evenings to her campaign.

A lot of it has been done on Zoom. She holds subject matter discussions weekly, meets with groups whenever they are available, and responds to requests from across the riding. Over the last month, her activities have ramped up even more.

“One thing that I have come to appreciate is that people are eager to talk to us, and it has given me a chance to really appreciate the unique issues and unique concerns of each community. There are a log of nuances to each community. I have been reaching out to community organisations, chambers of commerce, municipal contacts, even politicians from different parties,” she said, in a Zoom interview with the News on Monday (July 19)

She said that the most prevalent issues she has been hearing about are “climate change and broadband, they are the top concerns of people.”

And she said that broadband is a in issue throughout the riding. “i have heard about issues in communities just north of the 401, on Sydenham Lake, and of course in the more remote parts of the riding, as well as in places like Almonte, it cuts across.

While the Federal government has invested money on a national strategy, as recently as the latest budget, delivering broadband, and cell service, is a provincial and a regional issue, Foxton said “we need our members of parliament to insure those areas of concern are brought forward. A strong voice to advocate for needs of rural ontario is needed. I have a big concern with lack of representation, the idea that this is just the way things are done. If we don’t have a presence in the community, how can we bring those local issues to Ottawa.”

She says that she was drawn to the Liberal Party, even though her family has deep Conservative roots, by the party platform, and the environmental policies were a key factor. She said the Green Party has pushed the Liberals on climate change issues, and the Liberals are ready to make the investments that are necessary at this time.

She sees farmers as the leading voice on climate change in the riding.

“The agricultural community knows the environment better than anybody. We had Wayne Easter, the former Minister Agriculture, on one of our Wednesday night chats, and the ideas come out, local ideas such as keeping organic waste out of landfills, and broader ideas about wetland preservation and carbon sequestration. One thing I have found is that is important for politicians to signal to individuals that they are listening. We haven't had that.”

While she has strong connections in Frontenac County and rural Kingston, Foxton recognises that it is important for her to get better known in Lanark County, and not being able to get out to public events has made that difficult.

She said her campaign is looking at opening an campaign office in the Perth area.

“We are considering whether we have the resources, and visiting all parts of the riding and building relationships will be a key to that. Zoom and social media have given me some opportunities, and I will continue to use those tools. I will approach people in Lanark the way I approach people in Frontenac, as a progressive conservative, someone who dpes not believe in over-spending but in focused investments where they are needed. And I also this election is very much going to be about who we are sending to Ottawa, and making sure that everyone in the riding knows that they are included.”

As the expected election nears, Foxton is hoping to take her campaign live, perhaps even being able to start knocking on doors in the coming weeks, more as a way to hear what people are thinking than to deliver a message.

“I'm not trying to push an agenda. I'm more than happy to listen.