Meet the candidates

Steve Clark

I’m Steve Clark, Ontario PC Candidate for Leeds-Grenville.
My wife Deanna and I are the proud parents of a blended family of five.
It has been a privilege to serve the people of this riding since I was elected in a byelection 18 months ago.
In that time I have worked hard to represent you with a strong voice at Queen’s Park.
I’ve proudly stood up many times to challenge the McGuinty government on issues including the protection of local health care services, jobs, and economic development.
I’ve also made it a priority to get to know the people of Leeds-Grenville by meeting them in the communities where they live.
This has given me a strong understanding of the issues affecting the families, businesses, farms, seniors and other groups that make up this wonderful riding.
And the hard-working people of Leeds-Grenville are saying that after eight years under Dalton McGuinty, life is unaffordable.
Folks in every corner of the riding tell me they’re struggling to make ends meet. Your hydro bills are through the roof and the ever-growing list of McGuinty taxes and fees take more and more from your wallet every day.
In short, you’re working harder than ever and have less to show for it.
That’s why I’m so proud of “Changebook,” the Ontario PC Party’s plan to get Ontario back on track.
We’ve listened to families like yours because the cornerstone of our plan outlined in “Changebook” is to provide you with relief from soaring taxes and skyrocketing hydro bills.
It’s important that you know we’re the only party committed to providing this relief immediately – because you need it now, not years from now.
I’m asking for your vote on October 6 so that together Steve Clark and an Ontario PC government can start delivering the respect, relief and change families like yours need.
Please read more about our plan at changebook.ca   or contact my campaign office at 613-423-8683 .

Ray Hefferman

Ray Heffernan understands the importance of a quality healthcare system. In 2007, Ray was severely injured in a motor vehicle accident and saw first-hand the benefits of investments and dedication of doctors and nurses. Even more, Ray experienced the generosity and caring of his community.
Now he wants to give back, by representing his community at Queen’s Park and fighting for the services, including health care and education, that have seen advancements under Ontario Liberals, and would be at risk under Ontario PCs.
Public service has always been a top priority for Ray. He has served numerous charitable and humanitarian causes, including the United Way, the Learning Disability Association of Eastern Ontario, the ‘Round the World Challenge and as a personal advocate for the disabled.
Closest to Ray’s heart is his work with Canadian Aid for Chernobyl. Ray also helped create the first international adoption agreement between Canada and Belarus.
Ray served in the corporate sector, having worked as an Advertising Executive for a CHUM radio affiliate, a Regional Human Resources Manager for Startek Canada Inc., and spending 15 years with Procter & Gamble Inc.
Ray has been the voice of the annual Christmas Parade, The Athens Festival of Lights, emceeing for the last 15 years.  He has coached minor soccer in Athens and has acted as warden for Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Oak Leaf.  Ray is also a member of the Leeds-Grenville Predation Task Force, working on the coyote issues in our area.
He is very proud of the liberal accomplishments; like Ontario’s  education system  is now ranked in the top 5 in the world and the fact we have taken our graduation rate from a dismal 68 % to a 2009-2010  average of 81%.  We now have the shortest surgical wait times in the whole country, and we are not done yet.  We are going to maintain our services while keeping our fiscal house in order.  We have to control our debt to insure our people have the health and education programs our families deserve.
Ray, his wife Connie and their six children live on the farm that has been in his family for over five generations. Ray was born and raised in Athens, Ontario.

Charlie Taylor

Ontarians realize that our political system is broken and are becoming increasingly cynical and apathetic. This is a dangerous state of affairs in a democracy.
Over the past 20 years, the three old parties have taken turns misgoverning the province. When the electorate gets fed up with one party, they elect another, but nothing really changes apart from the rhetoric.
Meanwhile Ontarians suffer. We’ve seen Ontario go from being a “have” to a “have-not” province for the first time in history. We’ve seen our debt rise consistently. We’ve seen taxes go up while services are scaled back.
What sets the Green Party apart from the old parties, is a fundamental difference in philosophy. Instead of believing power should be in the hands of big government, big corporations, or big labour, the Green Party wants to empower individuals and communities to take ownership of their own destinies.
Instead of touting short-sighted, simplistic policies designed to sound appealing in 20-second sound-bytes, the Green Party approaches policy-making with long-term sustainability in mind.
Instead of adhering stubbornly to an arbitrary position on the left-right political spectrum, the Green party uses rational thought rather than dogma to plan out the best course of action on any given issue.
We bring new ideas and innovation into the political discourse.
Obviously, the odds are stacked against us in this election, but I’m not willing to give up the fight. Hopefully, many more Ontarians will join with me on October 6 in demanding a new way of doing politics, insisting that power is returned to the people, and rejecting the insulting quick-fix platforms of the other parties.
A strong Green voice is the only hope we have of reversing the status quo and pulling Ontario out of its downward spiral. It’s time.

David Lundy

When I look to the future and try to picture the world that my children will live in as adults I am deeply disturbed by the bleak prospects I see being laid in place for them by today’s lock step Liberal and Conservative policies. I joined the race to become the next MPP for Leeds Grenville because I firmly believe that our children and our communities will only succeed if we act now to put families first. Our children’s needs must come before CEOs greed. Our seniors should not be left to struggle without adequate homecare. Everyone deserves access to quality Local Health Care. When you work for a living you should earn a living, in a good job that comes with the benefits needed to support the raising of a family, a wage which provides for a comfortable living and a pension at the end of one’s working life. Child care needs to be affordable and accessible for today’s working families, because the families of today’s Leeds Grenville are working twice as hard as the previous generation.  

I am David Lundy and I am your NDP candidate for Leeds Grenville and I know that all that I described above is achievable, but only if you choose to elect a representative that will place your interests first. Government is about choice. Successive Liberal and Conservative governments have repetitively told us we should work harder, tighten our belts and fund yearly Corporate Tax cuts to prosper. After two decades of promises we all know that these handouts to Corporations do nothing but enrich the already rich and destroy the services the rest of us rely on.
Join with me on October 6th and set a new direction for Leeds Grenville, one which puts our families and our communities first.