By Pepper Parr
October 22, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
Mike Wallace is in the process of clearing out his office at the Burlington Mall and then getting away for a short cruise with his wife – we need a break he said during a short interview at his office.
Mike Wallace during his last day an a Member of the House of Commons – taking phone calls and helping out.
Wallace said he hasn’t a clue as to what he will do next. He expect to make one more trip back to Ottawa to clear out that office and learn what he has coming to him in the way of severance. He expects there will be one more Conservative Caucus meeting for him and then his career as a politician comes to an end – at last for the immediate future.
He got more votes this time around than he did in 2011 – it was just that the other candidate got more than he did.
The Returning Officer for Burlington signed the back of the Election Writ and send it by Priority Post to the Chief Returning Officer who will publish the results in the Gazette – which is the Official record of the election. At that point Mike Wallace is no longer a Member of the House of Commons.
Wallace, being who he is, is on the phone talking to people he has worked with, accepting their commiserations and commenting on the how and the why of the election.
Will he run again? Mike said he has absolutely no idea. “I might be taking the GO train to Toronto in November” he said.
While there are those tired circles around his eyes – this man is far from defeated – it is not in his nature to see the glass he drinks from as half empty.
He and his wife will get away and take a look at their future and decide what they want to do. Caroline has been the close to perfect political wife and has filled in for him admirably on a number of occasions.
Mike, who deals with type 2 diabetes lost forty pounds since the the 2011 election and the and looks very fit.
He know he served his constituents to the best of his ability and he will land on his feet somewhere. For the immediate future he will put his feet up and perhaps even smell the roses.
You won’t see Mike Wallace at Bay and Front Street with a tin cup – expect to see him at Rotary meetings though.
At some point, one hope, the Burlington Conservative Association will hold an event in his honour. If there is dancing at that event watch how Mike and Caroline glide across the floor – they are both very good dancers and know each other’s moves well.
People can disagree on the politics but it is very hard to disagree on the level of service Wallace gave.
There are times when the Gazette thought Mike Wallace was offside by a country mile – that’s all part of party politics. When people needed a helping hand – his was there.
Good luck Mike!
I second Mark’s comments on a job well done over the years. The idea of Mike as a candidate for mayor is very appealing!
As a resident of Burlington, I would personally like to thank Mike Wallace for his service to the residents of Burlington. In my opinion, Mike did a fantastic job in Ottawa for us. Down the road, when the next municipal election is held, I think Mike would make an excellent mayor for Burlington.