Newly elected Liberal MP Anthony Rota hugs his mother Olga after winning the Nipissing-Timiskaming riding Monday night. Photo by Kate Adams. ____________________________________________________________
George Lowe must have worked that one last campaign, Gunther Buschmann says, even though he died in January.
Lowe, a well-known North Bay Liberal organizer, was not around to witness Anthony Rota become the Nipissing-Timiskaming riding’s first MP, but Buschmann believes his spirit was.
One more campaign Buschmann, the former president of the Nipissing Federal Liberal Riding Association, told BayToday.ca’s Kate Adams Monday night about a dream he had a few weeks ago involving Lowe.
“In the dream I walked into Anthony’s headquarters, and George Lowe was there, and I basically said ‘George, you died,’ and he said ‘they let me come back for one more campaign’ and that thought has been with me ever since,” Buschmann said.
“George has been with a lot of us.”
Lowe’s son Mike agreed.
“The spirit of my dad is certainly with me here tonight,” Lowe told Adams.
“It made for a tough evening and I wish he could have been here.”
Pop, we're here Rota defeated Conservative Party candidate Al McDonald by 2,200 votes in what was expected to have been a tight race, made even tighter by the 7,000 votes garnered by NDP candidate Dave Fluri.
“Pop, we’re here,” Rota said, referring to his late father Sam.
“I wouldn’t be here without you,” Rota tearfully said upon completing his speech.
Reach out Although the campaign featured more than a few jabs, Rota took a conciliatory approach to his fellow candidates.
He said he wanted to “reach out” to his counterparts. “We part our hearts into it, we put our hopes into our campaigns, we shared similar emotions so I understand the difficult moment it is for some of our candidates who didn’t make it,” Rota said.
“Al, Dave, Les, Ross, you did a great job and I’m proud of all of you and if you see them out on the streets congratulate them because it’s not easy to do what they did.”
A good Canada Political affiliations aside, Rota said, all five candidates had one “common” bond.
“We are all citizens of Canada in the riding of Nipissing-Timiskaming and I ask you tonight to set partisan feelings a side and yield to Canada and our patriotic duties,” Rota said.
“Liberals want the best for Canada and so do Conservatives, the NDP, the Candian Action Party and the Green Party as well. Our votes and methods may differ but you know our hopes are the same: we want a good Canada.”
It was now time, Rota said, to find that common ground “and build a Canada in which we can all be proud.”
Chasing votes Although Rota won, it wasn’t by a landslide. And Liberal supporters watching the results at the Davedi Club kept in mind just how tight races can be, the 2002 byelection defeat of George Maroosis being an example, Adams reported.
During that vote Maroosis had lead virtually all the way but lost when the results of the advance polls were posted.
Maroosis didn’t forget either, he told Adams.
“I spent the day chasing votes and going to people’s doors and I think there was there a pretty good team out doing that and I think we learned some lessons from that byelection,” Maroosis said.
It was only after CTV news had declared Rota the winner that the mood changed.
When Rota did arrive and made his way to the stage, it was to the upbeat strains of Don’t Stop, by Fleetwood Mac.
Jumped into action At least one offbeat thing happened at the Davedi Club while the returns were coming in, Adams said.
“A last minute voter wandered in at 9:10 p.m. and asked if she could vote there. Keith Pacey, Anthony Rota’s communications person, then jumped into action, remembering the four-vote byelection loss,” Adams said.
“He called the Liberal campaign office to find out if the woman was on the voters list, and by 9:15 PM she was on her way to Vincent Massey School to cast her ballot.”
Constantly admire Rota thanked his campaign workers for their efforts but saved his most effusive praise for two females in particular.
"For over the last 23 years during most of the difficult periods and the tension and anxiety and during the most wonderful times I’ve been accompanied by a faithful and devoted partner who I contantly admire and with whom I never cease to be amazed, Chantal, my wife of 17 years," Rota said.
He also thanked his five-year-old daughter Samantha, who has "a knack" of "upstaging her dad."
"But you know what, I’m proud of every second she does,and without these twoladies right here I’d be nothing. They mean everything to me.”
