Voter loyalty only goes so far

Published July 9 2019

To the Editor

I’m not sure whether to pity Laurie Scott for being an entrapped member of Doug Ford’s cabinet where all members must energetically tout the party line (ie. Ford’s pronouncements) or to chastise her for not having the guts to criticize or even vote against his outlandish initiatives (eg. increase class sizes in high schools while promising that there will be no job losses) in caucus meetings where members should be free to state their views.
There seems to be a potential backlash brewing among the Conservative MPPs as they see the precipitous slide in Ford’s popularity and the resultant tarnishing of the Tory brand. More backbenchers are seriously thinking about dethroning Ford as they did with Patrick Brown a little over a year ago.

Will Scott finally realize that people voted for her to represent them at Queen’s Park rather than merely serve as a voiceless sycophant who is willing to stoop as low as necessary in order to maintain her perks as a cabinet minister? So far she has chosen the latter option. But voter loyalty can only be strained so far.
This promises to be a very interesting year in Ontario.

Dennis Choptiany
Koshlong Lake