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Dominic Agostino

February 1, 2007

February 1, 2007 by Graeme MacKay

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HAMILTON EAST
Everytime I draw a cartoon I like to think of it as becoming part of a chronology of particular stories. On my website you’ll find related cartoons beneath each daily illustration of certain current events. Today’s cartoon is the first in over a year that I’ve drawn on the intriguing political situation in Hamilton East, the federal riding of John Munro, Sheila Copps, and Toni Valeri. Here you’ll find links to cartoons on the Hamilton East political story.
In 2002 things could not have better for Liberals in the riding of Hamilton East. The federal and provincial Parliamentarians were firmly in place and a new influencial councillor was on the rise.

Then Jean Chretien announced he was stepping down. The Liberal Party foundation in Hamilton East would begin to crumble. Indeed, throughout the city, fortunes for Liberals would completely change over the next 4 years.
Sheila Copps wanted to become Liberal leader of Canada.

After going down to defeat by Paul Martin at the 2003 Liberal leadership convention, Sheila Copps turned down the offer of a patronage appointment from Martin and announced that she intended to remain in the House of Commons. Many suspect that Martin wanted to appoint Copps as Canada’s ambassador to France or UNESCO. Tony Valeri and Stan Keyes, both Hamilton area MP’s were elevated to cabinet, while Copps was demoted to the backbenches.

Riding redistribution placed Hamilton East MP Copps in a serious nomination battle with another Liberal MP, Tony Valeri from Stoney Creek Glanbrook.

In a December interview Copps complained that Prime Minister Paul Martin was trying to drive her, other women and other Martin opponents out of the Liberal caucus. On January 14, 2004, she suggested that she could campaign for the New Democratic Party in the upcoming election if Valeri won the Liberal nomination. Copps later retracted this threat.

The once rock solid Liberal foundation in the Hamilton area ridings was showing great wear and tear by this point. John Bryden, the MP from the western part of the city had crossed the floor to join the Conservative Party. Beth Phinney, from Hamilton Mountain, was offering her seat to Sheila Copps. Dominic Agostino, the popular Liberal MPP from Hamilton East would throw his support to Valeri. Area city councillors, such as Sam Merulla, would not know who to support.

March 6, 2004 was the date of the Hamilton East–Stoney Creek Liberal party nomination meeting, and Valeri defeated Copps by 2,802 votes to 2,491. Copps alleged improprieties in the nomination process and the conduct of the vote, and called on various authorities to investigate. No evidence was found to substantiate Copps’ allegations.

On the Provincial scene in Hamilton East the popular Liberal MPP, Dominic Agostino suddenly died on March 24, 2004, of liver cancer, to the surprise of many. Some city councillors tried seize upon the opportunity to consider a successor. But in a by-election to fill his legislative seat held on May 13, 2004, Dominic’s brother Ralph Agostino, a Catholic separate school board trustee, failed to retain the Hamilton East seat for the Liberal Party, falling far behind city councillor and NDP candidate Andrea Horwath. During the campaign, Councillor Sam Merulla, was showing signs of abandoning the Liberals for the NDP.

Following a near loss in the June 2004 federal election Valeri was appointed to the sensitive position of Government House Leader in Paul Martin’s minority government. He changed his hair style during this time.

Meanwhile, Stan Keyes who ran as Liberal candidate for the redistributed riding of Hamilton Centre, was defeated by the NDP candidate David Christopherson, a former provincial cabinet minister. The former amateur sports minister would have to watch the summer Athen’s Olympics from his livingroom. (Keyes was later given a patronage appointment by Martin as consul general to Boston. Then, after being demoted by Stephen Harper, went on to become President of The Canadian Payday Loan Association.)

Not much would happen in Hamilton Liberal party politics during the minority government of Paul Martin. Sheila Copps would release her second autobiography, Worth Fighting For, in October 2004, baselessly alleging that Martin had put a pledge in his 1995 budget to rescind the “outdated” Canada Health Act. Beth Phinney would resign her seat.

In the Christmas election of 2006, the Hamilton Spectator reported that Toni Valeri had purchased a property for $225,000 only to later sell it to a Liberal supporter for $500,000 a few months later. While Valeri insisted that the Ethics Commissioner had cleared the transaction, lingering doubts about the sale remained. Valeri was narrowly defeated by a margin of less than 500 votes by the New Democratic Party candidate Wayne Marston. Beth Phinney’s old seat would go to the NDP’s Chris Charlton, Dundas-Ancaster-Etc would become Tory under David Sweet, and Stan Keyes old riding would continue to be represented by David Christopherson of the NDP. No Liberals would be left standing in Hamilton after the 2006 federal election.
By February 2007, with another federal election set to be announced at anytime, Liberals in Hamilton East-Stoney Creek remain in disarray.
More: The Sheila Copps Gallery

Posted in: Hamilton Tagged: Andrea Horwath, Beth Phinney, Chris Charlton, commentary, David Christopherson, David Sweet, Dominic Agostino, Hamilton East, Jean Chretien, John Bryden, John Munro, Liberal Party of Canada, Paul Martin Jr., Ralph Agostino, Sam Merulla, Sheila Copps, Stan Keyes, Toni Valeri, Wayne Marston

Thursday March 17, 2004

March 17, 2004 by Graeme MacKay
Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Thursday March 17, 2004 Hamilton's Provincial Duds Perhaps Hamilton's five representatives to Queen's Park -- Judy Marsales, Dominic Agostino, Marie Bountrogianni, Jennifer Mossop and Ted McMeekin -- should be known as MIAs rather than MPPs.Harsh? Perhaps. But on the issue of the crushing costs to municipalities of downloaded social service, we have yet to hear any of our government members offer any significant support, let alone aid. While Hamilton pleads to an indifferent premier, our MPPs have been mostly silent. Yes, the downloading was by a different Queen's Park regime, and perhaps some or all of the "Hamilton Five" are working behind the scenes as Dalton McGuinty tries to balance promises with fiscal realities. But in the absence of any of them publicly championing Hamilton's cause, Mayor Larry Di Ianni is left sticking his neck out as he proposes an economic ultimatum to the province. Without $19.5 million for social services, Hamilton will not balance its budget, he says. Confrontation with the premier and his ministers has its risks, since municipalities essentially exist at the will and whim of the provincial government. But playing nice hasn't worked for two past mayors, and the stars-are-aligned promise of having a unified caucus of Hamilton MPPs has so far not delivered in any consequential way. (Source: Hamilton Spectator) Hamilton, QueenÕs Park, Toni Valeri, Judy Marsales, Dominic Agostino, Marie Bountrogianni, Jennifer Mossop, Ted McMeekin, social service, pooling, Ontario, Liberal, Flamborough, Flamboro, MPP, amalgamation, Liberal, AncasterÑDundasÑFlamboroughÑAldershot

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday March 17, 2004

Hamilton’s Provincial Duds

Perhaps Hamilton’s five representatives to Queen’s Park — Judy Marsales, Dominic Agostino, Marie Bountrogianni, Jennifer Mossop and Ted McMeekin — should be known as MIAs rather than MPPs.Harsh? Perhaps. But on the issue of the crushing costs to municipalities of downloaded social service, we have yet to hear any of our government members offer any significant support, let alone aid. While Hamilton pleads to an indifferent premier, our MPPs have been mostly silent.

Yes, the downloading was by a different Queen’s Park regime, and perhaps some or all of the “Hamilton Five” are working behind the scenes as Dalton McGuinty tries to balance promises with fiscal realities. But in the absence of any of them publicly championing Hamilton’s cause, Mayor Larry Di Ianni is left sticking his neck out as he proposes an economic ultimatum to the province. Without $19.5 million for social services, Hamilton will not balance its budget, he says.

Confrontation with the premier and his ministers has its risks, since municipalities essentially exist at the will and whim of the provincial government. But playing nice hasn’t worked for two past mayors, and the stars-are-aligned promise of having a unified caucus of Hamilton MPPs has so far not delivered in any consequential way. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)

Posted in: Hamilton Tagged: Amalgamation, Dominic Agostino, Flamboro, Flamborough, Hamilton, Jennifer Mossop, Judy Marsales, Liberal, Marie Bountrogianni, MPP, Ontario, pooling, Queen's Park, social service, Ted McMeekin, Toni Valeri

Thursday October 3, 2002

October 3, 2002 by Graeme MacKay

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator - Thursday October 3, 2002 The Royal Itinerary of the Hon. S. Copps Tickets for Queen Elizabeth's royal touchdown in Hamilton next week are gone. Half an hour after the Copps Coliseum box office opened yesterday morning, they were taping the signs on the doors. "General public tickets no longer available for Queen's visit." A lineup of about 150 people was waiting for the box office to open at 10 a.m. Limited to four tickets each, they scooped up the first 600, and the remaining 400 available ducats were gone shortly after. Although Heritage Minister Sheila Copps's office estimated "at least 6,000" seats would be available for the Oct. 10 event, box office manager Dianne Zemba said she was limited to "a bit more than 1,000 tickets," all in the upper bowl of the 17,500-seat arena. Copps's advisor, Terry Whitehead, said he was surprised only 1,000 seats were available. "My first blush when I talked to you (earlier in the morning) was 6,000, that's what my expectations were personally. Obviously I was wrong." Seating for the event is expected to be about 16,000. The sole purpose of the visit is the presentation of new colours to the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, the Hamilton reserve regiment of which the Queen is the colonel-in-chief. The Argylls were allotted 6,400 seats, invited elementary school children and seniors get 6,000, and multicultural groups and VIPs take 1,000, with the remainder distributed by Heritage Canada. (Source: Hamilton Spectator) Hamilton, Sheila Copps, Royal visit, Liberal, Hamilton East, Dominic Agostino, Queen Elizabeth, Elizabeth II, Prince Phillip, royalty

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday October 3, 2002

The Royal Itinerary of the Hon. S. Copps

Tickets for Queen Elizabeth’s royal touchdown in Hamilton next week are gone. Half an hour after the Copps Coliseum box office opened yesterday morning, they were taping the signs on the doors. “General public tickets no longer available for Queen’s visit.”

British Monarchy Merch

A lineup of about 150 people was waiting for the box office to open at 10 a.m. Limited to four tickets each, they scooped up the first 600, and the remaining 400 available ducats were gone shortly after.

Although Heritage Minister Sheila Copps’s office estimated “at least 6,000” seats would be available for the Oct. 10 event, box office manager Dianne Zemba said she was limited to “a bit more than 1,000 tickets,” all in the upper bowl of the 17,500-seat arena.

Copps’s advisor, Terry Whitehead, said he was surprised only 1,000 seats were available. “My first blush when I talked to you (earlier in the morning) was 6,000, that’s what my expectations were personally. Obviously I was wrong.”

Seating for the event is expected to be about 16,000. The sole purpose of the visit is the presentation of new colours to the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, the Hamilton reserve regiment of which the Queen is the colonel-in-chief. The Argylls were allotted 6,400 seats, invited elementary school children and seniors get 6,000, and multicultural groups and VIPs take 1,000, with the remainder distributed by Heritage Canada. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)

Hamilton, Sheila Copps, Royal visit, Liberal, Hamilton East, Dominic Agostino, Queen Elizabeth, Elizabeth II, Prince Phillip, royalty

Posted in: Hamilton Tagged: Dominic Agostino, Elizabeth II, Hamilton, Hamilton East, Liberal, Prince Phillip, Queen Elizabeth, Royal visit, royalty, Sheila Copps

Saturday September 2, 2000

September 2, 2000 by Graeme MacKay
Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Saturday September 2, 2000 AncasterÑDundasÑFlamboroughÑAldershot Byelection Bazaar Ted McMeekin, Flamborough, Flamboro, Mayor, Hamilton, amalgamation, byelection, bazaar, Mark Coakley, priscilla de villiers, Toni Skarica, Dominic Agostino, Ontario, AncasterÑDundasÑFlamboroughÑAldershot

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday September 2, 2000

Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Aldershot Byelection Bazaar

 

Posted in: Hamilton Tagged: Amalgamation, Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Aldershot, bazaar, byelection, Dominic Agostino, Flamboro, Flamborough, Hamilton, Mark Coakley, mayor, Ontario, priscilla de villiers, Ted McMeekin, Toni Skarica

Saturday September 2, 2000

September 2, 2000 by Graeme MacKay
Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Saturday September 2, 2000 AncasterÑDundasÑFlamboroughÑAldershot Byelection Bazaar Ted McMeekin, Flamborough, Flamboro, Mayor, Hamilton, amalgamation, byelection, bazaar, Mark Coakley, priscilla de villiers, Toni Skarica, Dominic Agostino, Ontario, AncasterÑDundasÑFlamboroughÑAldershot

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday September 2, 2000

Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Aldershot Byelection Bazaar

Posted in: Hamilton Tagged: Amalgamation, Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Aldershot, bazaar, byelection, Dominic Agostino, Flamboro, Flamborough, Hamilton, Mark Coakley, mayor, Ontario, priscilla de villiers, Ted McMeekin, Toni Skarica
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