Let 'Em Howl by Patricia Sorbara

Author:Patricia Sorbara
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Patricia Sorbara, Politics, Political consultants, Ontario, Biography, Women
ISBN: 9780889711488
Publisher: Nightwood Editions
Published: 2019-10-04T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

When All Else Fails, Stay Focused and Work Hard

“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”

– Eleanor Roosevelt

For close to three years, I was investigated, charged and made to stand trial for an action I’d taken on behalf of the Ontario Liberal Party. It was a charge later proven to be unwarranted and unfounded. But regardless of its lack of merit, the very exercise was a turning point in my life and career. At the time, I was in the campaign director role as a volunteer, and my day job was deputy chief of staff to the premier of Ontario.

Almost from day one, the debate around the Sudbury by-election was intense and convoluted. Political spin took over the facts and with investigations underway, it was tough to set the record straight. Until the whole story came out nearly two years later, during the trial, it was presumed something nefarious had taken place and was looked upon with immense intrigue. In reality, the story around the recruitment of Glenn Thibeault as the Liberal candidate unfolded similarly to the way all candidates are recruited. The big difference was that Glenn switched parties to run and that the past candidate decided to act solely in his own self-interest and in a way unexpected of a partisan.

On November 19, 2014, right around noon, I ducked into the cabinet room and headed straight to Premier Wynne. I was anxious to share the news that Joe Cimino, an NDP MPP elected for the first time in the general election held only six months earlier, had just stood up in the legislature and resigned his seat for personal reasons, effective immediately. We were having a by-election and it would take place in Sudbury—the only previously Liberal riding we’d lost in the 2014 campaign and one where the local riding dynamic was less than ideal.

There was genuine excitement around the news, but we needed to move quickly on when to call the by-election and who would be our candidate. We knew we had been handed a gift and there was unanimous agreement it was a priority to win back the riding. It had been held for nineteen years by a well-liked Liberal, Rick Bartolucci. Although we lost the riding to the NDP in the general election by just 980 votes, it was clear the Liberal base was still strong. There was a consensus to go as quickly as possible. We decided we’d call it on January 7 and hold the by-election on February 5.

So we knew the when and the how, but we didn’t know the who. We hadn’t landed on a candidate. The day after Cimino’s resignation, our past candidate Andrew Olivier declared over social media that he would be seeking the nomination. But everyone on the call agreed that Andrew was not our ideal candidate. In 2014, he’d been unwilling to take advice from the Centre or long-time local Liberals and frankly, he’d lost.

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