Bye, Bye Belinda

Belinda Stronach, the high profile Liberal Member of Parliament for Newmarket-Aurora announced today that she will not be running in the next election. Instead, she will be assuming a role as a senior executive in the family business -- the Magna auto parts giant.

I must confess that I have been less than impressed by Stronach since she first burst onto the political scene, and lest anyone think I am being overly critical I would like to point out that she represents the riding in which I live. In fact, my feelings about Stronach are not so much based on her changing partisan allegiance or her unsuccessful run for party leadership as they are based on her weak performance as a local representative for her constituents.

I suppose Stronach underwhelms me because when I lived in British Columbia I lived in the riding of Svend Robinson. Robinson was not only an NDP politician, he was on the radical edge of the party, but when it came to serving his constituents nobody worked harder than him. You may not like his politics, but you certainly could not help but admire his effective, energetic advocacy.