Liberals find their man

By Graeme McNaughton/The Oshawa Express

Oshawa residents will see a familiar face representing the Liberals in the upcoming federal election.

Winning on the first ballot, former regional councillor Tito-Dante Marimpietri secured his name on the ballot for the Liberals for the election currently set for October.

Marimpietri will be aiming to return Oshawa to the Grits, something that hasn’t been done since Ivan Grose was the area’s MP from 1993 to 2004.

“Oshawa desperately needs a strong advocate in a Liberal government. I will be that advocate,” Marimpietri states in a news release announcing his candidacy. “I will fight, with passion and proven integrity, for the city I love – the community my family and I have always called home.”

Marimpietri says the thing this city needs most is jobs, especially in light of the recent announcement by General Motors of Canada that it would be phasing out 1,000 jobs at Oshawa Assembly due to the loss of Chevrolet Camaro production.

“The Conservatives are doing absolutely nothing to stem the steady flow of job losses from Oshawa’s traditional manufacturing base,” he says. “Instead of maintaining their influence and fighting on Oshawa’s behalf, the Conservatives sold the government’s shares in GM and sold Oshawa’s jobs down the river.”

Marimpietri adds that the federal government’s move to sell the shares in order to balance the budget will not be sustainable in the long term.

“They sold in a panic to makes themselves look good on paper. This government is clearly more concerned with budget stunts and re-election gimmicks than good public policy for Canadians,” he says, adding “If you have to sell the furniture to pay the mortgage, your budget isn’t truly balanced.”

The former councillor says he will use his experience from the municipal level to assist him at the federal level should he become the face of Oshawa in Ottawa.

“I was instrumental in many progressive community projects and strategic initiatives, including promoting the vision of a downtown university campus. My goal was always to make things affordable, accessible and accountable, because that’s what the people of Oshawa deserve,” he says. “I know the depth of needs of the Oshawa community because Oshawa is my home.”

Marimpietri adds that as Oshawa MP, he would be an advocate for the city, rather than a mouthpiece for the ruling party – something he says is the case of current MP Colin Carrie.

“Where was Colin Carrie when Oshawa needed an advocate? It’s time Oshawa had a real representative in Ottawa looking out for our interests, instead of the Prime Minister’s mouthpiece echoing Conservative talking points back home.”