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Gladu claims second term following “respectful” campaign

Cathy Dobson When Anne Denman arrived at MP-elect Marilyn Gladu’s victory party a few hours after polls closed on Oct. 2 it was clear her candidate had won a second term. Denman was exhausted but elated.
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Newly-elected MP Marilyn Gladu addresses supporters at Sarnia Legion Branch 62 on Oct. 21, 2019. Troy Shantz

Cathy Dobson

When Anne Denman arrived at MP-elect Marilyn Gladu’s victory party a few hours after polls closed on Oct. 2 it was clear her candidate had won a second term.

Denman was exhausted but elated.

As a key volunteer with the local Conservative Party, she spent the entire election campaign focused on getting the vote out.

She canvassed and worked the phones. And on election day, ensured scrutineers were at every poll representing her party. She even arranged rides for Conservative voters who needed one.

“In some areas, like Wyoming, we had just a sea of blue,” Denman said of Gladu’s overwhelming victory. “We’ve answered a lot of questions during all of this and I found people absolutely engaged.”

Elections Canada said 58,316 of 84,875 eligible voters in Sarnia-Lambton cast ballots, a turnout rate of 69%.

The Sarnia-Lambton candidates said they were impressed by the civility shown during the campaign, especially compared to the nastiness at the national level.

While party leaders spoke over one another at debates and stooped to name calling and negative ads, local campaigners shook hands and exchanged encouraging words after events. And there were many of them this time around.

Gladu said she spoke at about 10 debates and public forums and personally knocked on 8,000 doors. She said she needed to ice her feet at night and lost 15 pounds.

“I think Sarnia-Lambton should be a role model for the rest of the country in terms of how the candidates interacted,” she said.

“All the candidates were very professional, respectful, collegial with one another…and I think that’s what Canadians want.”

The New Democrats found many new volunteers, said candidate Adam Kilner. One of the highlights of running as a first-time candidate was seeing them knock on doors and pound signs into the ground, he said.

“The tremendous amount of work that volunteers are willing to put in because of the candidate that they believe in — it really jumped out at me.

“A lot of non-profits these days have a really hard time getting volunteers, but in this realm, the ones who came almost lived at our campaign office,” said Kilner.

“Things don’t always go the way you want but it’s been a great campaign,” he added. “I have deep respect for all of my fellow candidates.”

Liberal Carmen Lemeiux said her first foray into politics was gratifying, despite placing third. She and her team filled hundreds of volunteer shifts and knocked on over 10,000 doors, she said.

“I think we ran a very clean campaign locally. There was no nastiness,” Lemieux said.

At the Green Party camp, candidate Peter Smith made his second run for a federal seat. Finding volunteers is tough but was a little easier this time,” he said.

“There were probably nine of us who stuck with it and worked really hard. We could have done with a lot more.”

Smith drew 50% more votes than in 2015 and that felt good, he said.

“I felt there was more support and that people are concerned about the environment,” he said. “A couple of times, things got a little heated with the other candidates but we kept it all focused on issues. It’s not personal. We all shook hands at the end.”

Conservative volunteer Denman said she’d do it again.

“It’s very tiring and we worked very hard, but I learned a lot,” she said.

2019 Federal Election results, validated by Sarnia-Lambton Returning Officer:

CONSERVATIVE Marilyn Gladu: 28,623 (49.4%)

NDP Adam Kilner:12,644 (21.8%)

LIBERAL Carmen Lemieux: 12,041 (20.8%)

GREEN PARTY Peter Smith: 2,490 – (4.3%)

CPC Brian Everaert: 1,587 (2.7%)

CHRISTIAN HERITAGE Thomas Laird: 531 (.9%)

Valid votes – 57,916

Rejected ballots – 400

Total votes – 58,316

 MP-elect Marilyn Gladu poses for a selfie with runner-up, New Democratic Party candidate Adam Kilner. Troy Shantz


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