Rathika Sitsabaiesan, Former NDP MP, Now Wants To Run For Ontario Liberals

But will Joe Cressey run? 

Mighty Middle wrote:

Party favour wrote:

According to her parliamentary profile she lost her position as critic for post-secondary education in 2012, after less than a year in the position, and didn't have any shadow cabinet position at all until she was given two associate critic positions in early 2015, a few months before the election so regardless of the "rising star" spin in the media it doesn't look like she was thought highly of within caucus (or at least by the leadership).  

She was appointed to that critic position by Layton before he passed on. When Mulcair was elected leader, he shuffled some of the critic appointments. When the shuffle was complete, I guess she found herself with no critic role.

Rathika endorsed Peggy Nash for the leadership only after Peter Julian said he wouldn't run (she was an early backer of Julian for leader when Jack died.

Also in late 2012 she was listed on CTV Powerplay on a list of "The 10 Most Disappointing MPs in Ottawa"...with words to the effect that she had a major attitude problem and had turned off almost everyone on the hill.

Stockholm wrote:

Party favour wrote:

Stockholm wrote:

So what, there have been so many musical chairs and resignations to seek higher office in that part of Scarborough that I just think anyone cares. School board by elections get turnouts of about 5%, I doubt if anyone even knows he's on the TDSB..

You don't think the other candidates would make sure everyone knows about that and the $250,000 it will cost to replace him added on to the $250,000 it cost for the by-election he won? If the NDP can't anticipate how that would blow up in their face then it's no surprise they didn't anticipate all the things they should have anticipated in the last federal election. 

Who cares...how many hundreds of thousands of dollars is it costing to have this byelection in the first place just to accommodate Bas Balkissoon's temper tantrum over not getting appointed to cabinet.

You're responding with talking points rather than seriously considering how damaging it would be to both Shan and the NDP if he ran for another position mere weeks after being elected trustee. If you think voters are too stupid to care or notice then, frankly, it's exactly that sort of attitude that leads to bad decisions that blow up in a party's face. 

Stockholm wrote:

He is a strong candidate and being an MPP is a vastly more important job where he can do more good. If he wants to run all the more power to him. The voters can decide whether it matters that he was just elected to the school board, just like they can decide if they want to punish the Liberals for selling off Hydro One

Neethan Shan has just told the local Scarborough newspaper he is not closing the door on seeking the nomination.

“I’m certainly seriously considering it, and I’m being urged by many in the community to put my name forward, but I haven’t made a final decision yet,” said Shan, who has also run for council in Ward 42 against longtime incumbent Raymond Cho.

“Rathika’s decision is something she’s going to have to answer for herself,” he added in an email.

“Having said that, what I know is that that people respect those who stand by their beliefs no matter what. That’s how I’ve tried to work throughout my time in politics and in serving this community.”

Also a vice-president of the Ontario Liberals, Piragal Thiru, has already announced he will seek the nomination.

On the weekend, Ryan Singh, the provincial party’s local riding association president, said “a number of people” had approached him about running.

http://www.insidetoronto.com/news-story/6513822-former-ndp-mp-sitsabaies...

mark_alfred wrote:

nicky wrote:

With the NDP in the doldrums more or less across the country I would not be surprised to see more Liberal overtures.

There's currently some very heavy flirtation of Notley by the federal Liberals. 

Total, first rate garbage.

Rachel has been an NDP member since she was 14. Her father built the party in Alberta. She will never, ever run  for the Liberals.

It appears to me that terrytowel has been reincarnated as Mighty Middle. Welcome back, TT, I mean MM.

TT is from Scarborough. Coincidence?

Unionist wrote:

Welcome to babble, Mighty Middle!

Thanks Unionist! Kinda of strange to be confused with someone else. There is more than one person from Scarbrough. Geez.

Well I assure you I'm not this Terry Towel you seem to be confusing me with. I came to babble to participate in the sex workers forum. I only piped in this thread because I live in Rathika riding. I rarely get into politics (unless it is sex work), so you won't see me discussing politics at all, unless Scarborough or sex work is in the news.

MM utterly lacks Terry...l's manic disingeuity and orgasmic glee whenever bad happens to the NDP. They cannot possibly be the same person.

I never doubted your bona fides for a second MM.

Mighty Middle wrote:

Well I assure you I'm not this Terry Towel you seem to be confusing me with. I came to babble to participate in the sex workers forum. I only piped in this thread because I live in Rathika riding. I rarely get into politics (unless it is sex work), so you won't see me discussing politics at all, unless Scarborough or sex work is in the news.

nicky wrote:

MM utterly lacks Terry...l's manic disingeuity and orgasmic glee whenever bad happens to the NDP. They cannot possibly be the same person.

I never doubted your bona fides for a second MM.

I also didn't see any resemblance in posting styles. Given there are over 600,000 people who live in Scarborough that seems like an odd reason for thinking that he was TT.

Welcome MM hope you enjoy our tumultuous chat site. 

Ciabatta2 wrote:

This move for Rathika makes a lot of sense. 

I think that what we really need are politicians that are totally focused on making sure that they are sucking as much money out of the system as possible. Who needs politicians who have good ideas for public policy that will improve our society when we can have people who think of themselves first and foremost?

It is a calculated risk given that if it really is a contested nomination and she doesn't get the nod that will also kill her political career. If she wins the nomination I hope she comes in third in the by-election and that will put a stake through her vampire heart.

kropotkin1951 wrote:

It is a calculated risk given that if it really is a contested nomination and she doesn't get the nod that will also kill her political career. If she wins the nomination I hope she comes in third in the by-election and that will put a stake through her vampire heart.

Certainly no arguments with your first paragraph.  Yeah, there's careerism in this but I just don't see this choice as out of step with her values.  And I can see how she may have soured on the NDP.  She certainly was never taken very seriously by the federal NDP.  The question is whether that was warranted or just sexism/agism/unfairness.  In my dealings with her she was always very kind but to see her later get elected was a big WTF moment.  She certianly retreated from prominence post election so the only way to know is to see her in action again, I guess.

To be honest, if she's been wooed (and it's not clear that she has) I don't think they're all that interested in her and more just want to embarass the NDP.  She's only attractive to the Liberals if she loses the nomination.  That way they've turned a boring sure-fire win into a newstory by one-overing Horwath and not being stuck with a loose canon former NDPer as MPP. 

No, I think she would have had a lock on the NDP nomination in that riding.  Particularly against Neethan Shan.  I think she probably contacted the Liberals after assessing the NDP's prospects of winning the by-election and the current popularity of the Trudeau-Wynne progressive agenda.

Today's Cornerstore stories certainly don't help either.

He's not talking about Mulcair is he?

Possibly he could have used his position to influence the outcome, but Rathika has pull in the community and probably could have won it, I think.  I think his comments probably would have been very different had Rathika not switched teams.  Both of their rationales seem pretty convenient to me.

I think part of the problem with Shan's statement is that the NDP needs to figure out that being you don't need to be left wing to be progressive.  That's the NDP's big challene in the upcoming provincial election in Ontario.  If they can't get around that they are going to get trounced.

nicky wrote:

I'm told by someone who should know that Rathika initially wanted the NDP nomination in the by-election but had alienated so many people in the riding that she was unlikely to get it. That's when she became a Liberal. My friend also advises that she is unlikely to get the Liberal nomination either.

That is sad, because if she loses the Liberal nomination her political career is pretty much over. Her only option left in politics is to run in municipal politics where you don't run under any party banner.

I understand that he went through many staffers as well, was considered a difficult employer and not a 'team player' by his provincial cabinet colleagues and then by his federal caucus colleagues. It's difficult to succeed in politics if you can't build loyalty from people 'under' you and respect from people who are your equals or superiors. 

Kennedy had a bad rep as Minister and team player, and was known as an entering spot for new party staffers - get both feet in the door, and hop out to a new position as soon as possible.  But really that's not stopped many successful politicians - ultimately having failed at leading both the provincial and federal parties he had nothing left to achieve by running to be MP again.  It's a tough life and if you have aspirations beyond being an MPP and you've experienced it all and have been shut down for higher things then it's not necessarily worth it.

Rathika Sitsabaiesan just expanded her FB post into an OP-ED for the Huffington Post Canada

I Am Seeking Liberal Nomination Because I Believe In Progress by Rathika Sitsabaiesan

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/rathika-sitsabaiesan/progressives_b_9832492...

Sheesh, does she ever! 

"I am a progressive who, like Jack Layton, believes in progress and that our best days are ahead, not behind us." 

"The road ahead is clear to me, there are opportunities to represent my communities and I cannot ignore them."

"I'm standing up for the progress we've made in Ontario, and the progress we need to make for a brighter future. I look forward to the opportunity to fight with, not against, Kathleen Wynne on her progressive agenda as part of her activist government. Together, we will continue to make progress." 

She uses "progress" or "progressive" 27 times in a fairly short article. Apparently "Being progressive means being principled, and standing up for progress."

So, I'm, like, totally inspired. Undefined "progress" now! Or some time, anyway. Vote early and often! For progress! And progressive governemnt! Achieved, er, I dunno, progressively, I guess. 

Neethan Shan has just announced he is running for the NDP nomination in Scarborough-Rouge River