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Election fever: York alumni, students and faculty hit the hustings

York will be well represented in Wednesday’s provincial election with a total of at least 32 candidates, including York students, alumni and current and former faculty members.

Of course, at the top of the list in prominence in this campaign is Progressive Conservative leader John Tory (LLB ’78), a graduate of York’s Osgoode Hall Law School. There are seven Osgoode alumni running in this election, three for the Liberals, two for the Conservatives and one each for the NDP and the Green Party.

Right: John Tory

There are four current students among the candidates, two for the NDP, one for the Conservatives and one for the Communist Party.

Eight Liberals with York affiliations are running this time around, led by Finance Minister Greg Sorbara (BA '78, LLB '81) and Attorney General Michael Bryant (LLB '92). Seeking seats across the GTA, often as incumbents, the York Libs include graduates from the Atkinson Faculty of Liberal & Professional Studies, the Faculty of Arts, the Faculty of Education, Glendon, Osgoode and the Schulich School of Business.

Left: Greg Sorbara

The NDP is fielding Professor Gail McCabe, who teaches sociology at Glendon and is an academic adviser at Calumet College, in Mississauga-Streestville. She has seven fellow New Democrats from York running, including students Andy Arifin in Markham-Unionville and Mani Singh in Brampton-Springdale, and grads from the Faculty of Arts and Osgoode.

Right: Gail McCabe

As for the Conservatives, another six York people are seeking office, in addition to leader Tory. One, Shane O'Toole, is a student who took a term off to campaign; the others hail from the Faculty of Arts, the Faculty of Fine Arts, Schulich and Osgoode.

There are six York alumni running for the Green Party, including Faculty of Arts graduate Gregory Laxton (MA ’04), who is credited by some with putting proportional representation on the political agenda after he wrested a promise in public from then-opposition leader Dalton McGuinty to put the issue to a vote if he became premier. The Green candidates are all from different faculties, including Osgoode, the Schulich School of Business and the Faculties of Arts, Environmental Studies, Fine Arts and Science & Engineering.

For a list of York-connected candidates, see the table below.

Live Coverage of Election 2007

Join the Master of Calumet College, Professor David Leyton-Brown, on election night, Oct. 10, from 7 to 11pm in the Common Room, 100 Calumet College, to view and discuss the provincial election results as they unfold.

Also taking part in the discussion will be political scientist Fred Fletcher, University Professor emeritus and Calumet Fellow, who is also director of York’s Graduate Program in Culture & Communication, and Robert Drummond, dean of the Faculty of Arts and an expert on Ontario provincial politics.

Everyone is welcome to come and share their opinions and thoughts. Light refreshments will be served.

York Candidates in the 2007 Provincial Election

Name Party Riding Deg/Yr Faculty
Shona Bracken COM Toronto Danforth student
Jim Reeves GRN York Simcoe MBA '70 Schulich School of Business
Jerry Schulman GRN Etobicoke Lakeshore BFA '84 Faculty of Fine Arts
Gregory Laxton GRN Ottawa Centre MA '04 Faculty of Arts
Steve D'sa GRN St. Paul's BSc '94 Faculty of Science & Engineering
Patrick Kraemer GRN Toronto Danforth LLB '05 Osgoode Hall Law School
Jessica Fracassi GRN Esex BES '01 Faculty of Environmental Studies
Wayne Arthurs LIB Pickering-Scarborough East BA '72 Faculty of Arts
Margarett Best LIB Scarborough-Guildwood LLB '95 Osgoode Hall Law School
Michael Bryant LIB St. Paul's LLB '92 Osgoode Hall Law School
Aileen Carroll LIB Barrie BEd '89 Faculty of Education
Laura Hammer LIB Whitby-Oshawa BA '96 Atkinson Faculty of Liberal & Professional Studies
Helena Jaczek LIB Oak Ridges-Markham MBA '94 Schulich School of Business
Mario Racco LIB Thornhill BA '81 Atkinson Faculty of Liberal & Professional Studies
Gregory Sorbara LIB Vaughan BA '78, LLB '81 Glendon, Osgoode
Sylvia Watson LIB Parkdale-High Park BA '76, LLB '79 Atkinson Faculty of Liberal & Professional Studies, Osgoode Hall Law School
Cheri DiNovo Cheri DiNovo NDP Parkdale-High Park BA '94 Faculty of Arts
Janice Hagan Janice Hagan NDP Oak Ridges-Marakham BA '86 Faculty of Arts
Peter Kormos NDP Welland BA '75, LLB '78 Faculty of Arts
Andrea Nemeth NDP Etobicoke-Lakeshore BA '94, MA '98 Faculty of Arts
Felicite Stairs NDP Renfrew-Nippissin-Pembroke LLB '89 Osgoode Hall Law School
Rick Morelli NDP Vaughan BA '89 Faculty of Arts
Gail McCabe NDP Mississauga-Streetsville BA '96, MA '98, PhD '05 Professor, Glendon, Academic Adviser Calumet
Mani Singh NDP Brampton-Springdale student
Andy Arifin NDP Markham-Unionville student
Chris Corrigan PC Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale Former lecturer at Glendon
Gary Crawford PC Scarborough Southwest BFA '83 Faculty of Fine Arts
Gerry Martiniuk PC Cambridge LLB '62 Osgoode Hall Law School
Carman McLelland PC Brampton-Springdale MBA '73 Schulich School of Business
Shane O'Toole PC York-West student
John Tory PC Don Valley West (LLB '78) LLB '78 Osgoode Hall Law School
Mohamed Kassim PC Etobicoke North MA '97 Faculty of Arts

COM – Communist Party of Canada; GRN – Green Party of Ontario; LIB – Ontario Liberal Party; NDP – Ontario New Democratic Party; PC – Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario

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