Greens look ahead to 2014

July 4, 2013 · 0 Comments

A small but enthusiastically confident group last Thursday in Orangeville selected the Dufferin Caledon Green Party executive for 2013-14, and more or less decided to work quietly toward a 2014 provincial election.

The elected executive is for both the federal and provincial wings of the local electoral district. The present candidate, Paula Conning of Orangeville, will remain for the balance of 2013 but is moving out of the riding at the end of the year.

For the next year, the party locally will be headed by Alan Bergy of Bolton as president. Michael Braun remains as the financial agent while Carol Terentiak handles communications and media, Michelle Freundt is the membership chair, and Ted Alexander takes responsibility for the Web and social media.

Ms. Conning predicted that Andrea Horwath would continue to work compromises until the mandated date of the 2014 election. In view of the present calm before the next election storm, there was a trace of reluctance among the membership to seek executive positions.

However, there was a stronger consensus that no one wanted to see “the best riding in Ontario” lose ground. In that vein, the executive might be acting in a caretaking position but “when an election is called, people will stand up,” Ms. Conning said.

The meeting did not provide exact numbers but there was general agreement that the local association has “thousands.” The task of the thousands in 2014 will be “to break the PC hold in Dufferin Caledon.” Newly elected president Bergy said, however, that such a task is “going to be very difficult.”

Had the association not elected an executive at its annual general meeting, it would have risked losing the financial reserves that it has built up, and would have been unauthorized to collect any,

“We just can’t allow this riding to fail. We’re the best in Ontario,” said president Bergy.

By Wes Keller