Philip Alves

The first referendum question asked of Ontario voters in 83 years has yet to grab the attention of people in the ridings of Vaughan and Thornhill, observers say. On Oct. 10, voters across the province will not only get the chance to pick who gets into government, but also the very nature of the government they want.

Thornhill PC candidate Peter Shurman emerged victorious last week after a constitutional battle with the City of Vaughan over lawn signs.

Across the ridings of Vaughan and Thornhill, election signs are popping up like dandelions on lawns and road sides. With the Oct. 10 provincial election only weeks away and a bylaw skirmish between Thornhill Progressive Conservative Peter Shurman and the City of Vaughan settled, candidates are racing to get their party colours up.

Having received the endorsement of the Vaughan Professional Firefighters Association on Sept. 10, incumbent Liberal and Thornhill candidate Mario Racco knocked on some local doors with the help of a few firefighters.

He and his yellow-clad firefighting friends were in the Bathurst St. and Clark Ave. neighbourhood Tuesday trying to win over undecided voters like Sarah and Doris. From left to right, Jerry Nicosia, Sarah, Doris, Racco and Rick Greenfield.

The same day that the Liberal Party of Ontario unveiled its campaign platform, the party’s Vaughan riding association nominated its candidate. Greg Sorbara, incumbent MPP and finance minister under Premier Dalton McGuinty, accepted his nomination on Sept. 6 at a packed Montecassino Place Banquet Hall in Woodbridge.

The televised all-candidates debate for the riding of Vaughan airing on Rogers Television this weekend will be one candidate short of living up to its billing. Producer Jennifer Harrison confirmed on Wednesday that PC candidate Gayani Weerasinghe was absent from the pre-taped debate, leaving Green Party candidate Russell Korus and NDP candidate Rick Morelli to [...]

No candidate is likely to have it easy in one of province’s tightest races, pundits say The crystal balls of political soothsayers are cloudy on the question of who will carry the crucial riding of Thornhill in the Oct. 10 provincial election. With a recent electoral history of claustrophobically tight races, both incumbent Liberal MPP [...]

Vaughan city councillors, like all Ontario voters, are asking the contenders vying for the seats in Queen’s Park one question: What can you do for me? “Me” means the city, in this case. With the Oct. 10 provincial election fast approaching and the various parties kicking their spin machines into high gear, councillors are spelling [...]

For Sandra Parrott, affordable housing is more than an election issue. It’s personal. Parrott has lived in the same home, a co-op in the Yonge St. and Royal Orchard Blvd. neighbourhood, for the past 27 years. As a single mother of two grown children, she is sympathetic to the needs of low-income working families. “There’s [...]

Rick Morelli, a family man and “dispensary entrepreneur”, says Vaughan is ailing and would improve its health by filling the prescription offered by the NDP. The 41-year-old Vaughan candidate will take up the NDP banner and take on incumbent Liberal MPP Greg Sorbara in the Oct. 10 provincial election. Other challengers are Gayani Weerasinghe of [...]

Russell Korus says the birth of his first son six years ago got him thinking about the future and changed him from thumb-twirling political apathy into a Green thumb. Last week, the 36-year-old father of two was confirmed as the Green Party candidate for the riding of Vaughan in the Oct. 10 provincial election. “When [...]

Adam Vaughan, a former television journalist more accustomed to shining light into the darkest corners of City Hall, found the spotlight fixed squarely on him on election night. Vaughan won the Ward 20, Trinity-Spadina council seat vacated by Olivia Chow, who left to run successfully for the New Democratic Party in the 2006 federal election. He beat former Chow aid Helen Kennedy, his closest competitor, by 2,500 votes.