More than seventy years of history changed yesterday – A Liberal will represent Burlington at Queen’s Park

By Pepper Parr

June 13, 2014

BURLINGTON, ON.

Hello Burlington.  An historical day for the city – you’ve elected a member of the provincial legislature from a different political party.  Burlington is no longer Tory Blue.  The earth did move.  We know how it happened – the why might take a little bit of time to understand.

Eleanor McMahon, MPP elect for Burlington

For Eleanor the world of politics wasn’t one of those “love at first sight things”  She was given an opportunity to help out and found herself in a place where her mental and physical energy could be used.  An Assumption High school student Eleanor went on to do an arts degree at the University of Windsor and spent a year in France doing graduate work.  She has also done certificate programs at the University of Waterloo and Trent University.

Mom was a woman with a university education, far from common at that time.  Her world was the laboratory where she worked at the thinking end of a microscope.

An opportunity to work in Ottawa came her way and as a shy, inquisitive 23 year old Eleanor headed for Parliament Hill and spent a number of years working with John Turner, who to this day is a close friend.  McMahon worked for Jean Chretien and can recall going to more than one hockey game with the then Prime Minister.

Communications and strategy were the McMahon strengths; where she took the dictum that if you didn’t know your history you were bound to repeat it.

When McMahon was a high school student Model Parliaments were a part of the curriculum – that is probably where the high school baseball player got infected.

Burlington can expect to hear a lot from this lady.

Eleanor’s Dad served in the Canadian army taking part in several of the major campaigns in Holland and Italy.  His leadership ability got him to the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, the British military leadership school that trained the men and woman who won the second world war.

Dad returned to Windsor after the war and began civilian life in the automotive sector where he handled what we today call logistics.  Getting parts to where they were needed involved a lot of paper shuffling during that time when carbon paper was what you used to make a copy.

He worked with Chrysler and turned down several opportunities to move from Windsor and up the management ranks.  Family was the core value and having everyone at the dinner table mattered most.

When it was suggested that the McMahon dinner table might resemble the television program Blue Bloods where several generations of NYPD officers shared a Sunday meal, McMahon nodded and said – that was pretty much who we were.

Conversation with McMahon is filled with some of the Liberal political greats – she would refer to John when she talked about John Turner or Jean when she talked about Primer Minister Chretien but it was always Mr. Gray when she talked about the late Herb Gray, probably her first and most influential mentor.

McMahon spent a considerable amount of time with the United Way in Ottawa and with Petro Canada where her communications skills were valued.

Prior to being elected McMahon was the Executive Director of Share the Road, an advocacy organization that worked towards getting bicycles and car drivers to learn to share the road

She took up the challenge and was in the race.  The help that was needed from the Ontario Liberal party was delivered and the local riding association under the leadership of Roland Tanner got the troops into the trenches for a short but intensive campaign.  It was something to watch the way McMahon bonded with people – I knew then that the woman as a natural, I also knew that this was Burlington and there was more than 70 years of history to overcome.

Saturday after Saturday the word would go out  – “we are gathering at Tim Hortons” and working a particular part of the city.  On some occasions McMahon had the Premier with her.  McMahon was the better campaigner.

In the closing days of the campaign the McMahon campaign pulled off a coup that few expected possible in Burlington – they managed to buy the front page of the Burlington Post.  While the advertisement was identified as an “advertorial” it looked like the real thing to a lot of people.  That stiffened up the race and must have generated howls of disdain from the McKenna camp.  It brought a front page apology from the Post to anyone offended by the advertisement.  It was a sign as well of things to come: McMahon took 43.3 % of the vote a sold 5 points more than McKenna.

McMahon now has to build a solid Liberal constituency organization and create the relationships with the various organizations that she is now in place t represent at Queen’s Park.

It might take a bit of time for McMahon to bring about the change Burlington is going to have to adjust to – she will have her plate full with Chamber of Commerce and Rotary Club lunches that want to see the new member of the legislature.

Getting sworn in and learning the ropes at Queen’s Park will keep her busy during the summer and into the fall season.

Getting a grip on what the immediate, near term and long term issues are for Burlington will take time.  There will be those who will want to create their own relationship with the member and determine how much influence they can have.

Eleanor McMahon knows the game of politics as well as anyone and brings an ethic and a set of personal values to public office this city has not seen in some time.  She is in office for four years – time enough to show what she can do.  The timber that makes up the back bone of this woman is the kind of wood cabinets are built with  Not immediately – but in time Eleanor McMahon will serve as a member of cabinet.  And we will be very very proud of her.

The day she stands in the legislature to give her maiden speech will be significant and filled with personal emotions.  It was in that Legislature that Bill 126 “Ontario Road Safety Act” was passed.  It became known as Greg’s Law, in memory of OPP Sergeant Greg Stobbart, Ms. McMahon’s husband, who was killed while on an off duty training ride on his bicycle on June 6, 2006 in Milton, Ontario just north of their home in Burlington.