By Pepper Parr
June 20, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
The jockey of course passed it on to the horse –and the horse told me.
This is that kind of a story because people want to spread the news around – but they don’t want to be the source.
We had occasion to talk to a Cabinet Minister from the region who assured us that this person (deliberately not using gender here) was back in the Cabinet of Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne – but the member of the legislature wouldn’t say which portfolio – other than the person was very happy with what they had been given.
Is this what Cabinet material looks like? word was the McMahon should not be counted out.
We were discussing matters related to an issue germane to Burlington – the air park – what else – and mention was made of what role newly elected Burlington MPP Eleanor McMahan might play in the resolving of this issue.
We opined that while Ms McMahon has that incredible political pedigree with a Rolodex that is to die for, the fact is she doesn’t have any parliamentary experience and we don’t know if she will step up to and actually get over the bar. Her predecessor Jane McKenna certainly didn’t manage to make it.
Being a member of the legislature means being more than a pretty face – there is a thrust and cut to politics that is seen in the legislature. Is McMahon made of the “right stuff” and can she do it?
“I wouldn’t write her off quite that quickly” responded my contact. That got me sitting up in my chair real fast. Was I being telegraphed something? The Cabinet Minister I was talking to would be involved in the discussions as to who could and who should be in the Cabinet.
I pointed out that the area already had a Cabinet Minister in Ancaster – Dundas – Flamborough – Westdale and another in Oakville where Kevin Flynn serves as Minister of Labour. Would the Halton area qualify for three Cabinet posts? “The issue is not where the person comes from; the issue is what they bring to the table and the Premier has very high hopes for Eleanor McMahon. Remember the Premier recruited McMahon personally”, explained my source.
The Cabinet gets sworn in on Tuesday – we will be watching that broadcast quite a bit more closely. If anyone happens to see Eleanor out shopping for a new smartly cut suit – let us know. That would be a positive sign for sure.
Premier Kathleen Wynne, Centre, knows how to wear an apron – we don’t know if she can bake an apple pie. we will know on Tuesday if she has chosen Burlington MPP Eleanor McMahon to be part of her cabinet.
The Premier visited Burlington a number of times before the election was called and took part in several election events as well. During my first introduction to the Premier, during RibFest last summer when she was flipping racks of ribs along with Mayor Goldring and then chit chatting with people wearing a Rotary Rib Fest apron, I asked if she did much baking. She assured me she did and I wondered aloud if that was true. “Well I was baking pies just the other day” said the Premier and I suggested the next time she was in town she might bring me an apple she had made.
She promised she would do just that. I’ve not seen that apple pie yet – but if the Premier appoints Eleanor McMahon to her Cabinet all of Burlington will send her several bushels of some of the best apples the region grows.
“The issue is not where the person comes from; the issue is what they bring to the table”
We need more of that perspective – to assess people on merit. Imagine what we could do in all areas of life if we judged all people on merit?
… “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Martin Luther King Jr.