A mature politician and government leader who is far from ‘ripe for the picking.’
Kathleen Wynne is a campaign veteran whose campaign energy, effort and excellence and her promised positive political policies ought to persuade the electorate to vote for her again.
Kathleen Wynne may be very right when she warns “Change for the sake of change will put pharmacare and a higher minimum wage at risk.”
Don’t count the campaign veteran out
Wynne is preparing for another campaign and she is a proven warrior. Even with the heavy baggage of past Liberal errors relating to Hydro, Ornge, selling off assets like Hydro One and much more, she should not be dismissed.
Ominous signs and polls reject her possibility of winning
Wynne is behind in the polls and her party has lost a recent byelection in Sault Ste. Marie. But to predict the demise of the Liberal government is premature and the wrong way to vote.
Voters may want to pause and consider
Wynne has stepped up to the policy plate recently; minimum wage, modifications to employee benefits in Ontario, pharmacare changes. She may have missed the beat on some policy issues, maybe not promised enough in relation to her political platform. But she has been specific and she is making moves.
She cautions, “Part of this discussion around change is change to what and change from what? That’s why all I can do is make it clear what we have done and then talk about how we’re going to build on it,” she stated.
Is he really ready for prime time?
Wynne may be out on a limb
Wynne may be on a election limb that is bent and weakened but at least she is out on the limb. Patrick Brown sends signals that he’s got the pruners in hand but he hasn’t even entered the orchard. Voters are hard pressed to describe a single PC policy or promise. Brown has not made one.
Asked about the 39-year-old Tory leader’s new ad blitz, which shows him marching in the Pride parade and meeting with Ontarians from many different cultural communities, Wynne expressed wariness.
“I don’t know who he is or what he is. I don’t know what he stands for,” Wynne said. He has tried rebranding himself as being a progressive voting against same-sex marriage and access to abortion as a federal MP. He says one thing one time, changes it the next time as he did when he waffled over sex education in schools.
“The people of Ontario are going to have to ask him those questions. It’s quite unclear what he believes in or what he stands for.”
Discard the age factor
Wynne will be 65 by election day. Count on Wynne to go the full 15 rounds. She’s an astute politician; she’s very fit; she’s an energetic campaigner, and retirement has not crossed her mind, she has said. She’s far from ready for any political pasture; she may be mature fruit on the limb, but she’s far from being a fruitcake.
She concludes, “I have known older politicians than 64. I am focused on June 2018, and we’ll have that conversation after I win the next election…” she said.
Her campaign promises or initiated policies include:
- a new pharmacare plan, which provides prescription coverage of 4,400 medications for everyone under 25
- a $14-an-hour minimum wage
[ Both of these promises are planned for initiation in the near future. They are not on the PC Party’s platform clipboard at all. ]
Wynne has a broader view with her values
Wynne is older and wiser. Her values align with those of the majority of the provincial voters. She has a much wider focus than just the province or our regional economy. She has considerations and awareness of the impact of the new leadership in Washington. Wynne is prepared to react and respond to the impacts on Ontario society, culture, and economy.
How do you feel about Kathleen Wynne’s re-election possibilities?
Source: Robert Benzie, Toronto Star, June 13.
