Leitch, Guergis, Smardenka, Metheral, Austin.

Ok everyone the end is near, and I'm not talking about December 2012. It's Election 2011, and boy it's been a somewhat exciting one in this riding and across the country. When the writ was dropped whoever would have guessed that the NDP under Jack Layton could win more seats than the Liberals. Most people felt that Dion was a train wreck of a leader and if the polls hold, history will remember Iggy as the leader who brought the Liberals to the edge of the abyss.

In Simcoe Grey I feel it's a toss up between the Icon Guergis, NeoCon Leitch, and Liberal Smardenka. I really like Jace Metheral, he was great at the All Canadidate meetings, and this kid does have a great future in politics and I hope he stays very active. If he does he could one day be leadership material. With the surge of the NDP, it might bump Katy Austin a couple of percentage points but not enough to elevate her into the top three.

So now back to the top 3. Leitch ran a typical Conservative campaign, and by this I mean she towed the party line stuck to her script, and did not engage in dirty politics except for her mild attacks against Guergis. She also did what most Conservatives do and that was to miss All Candidate meetings, with the highest record I've seen at 3 for this election. She has a few local municipal members of council praising her, which does not surprise me, but I think it's a really stupid idea for municipal council members to endorse any Provincial or Federal candidate. The reason I say this is because if their candidate does not win, it will be hard for them to deal with whoever does. I have to give Jim Wilson credit as he stayed out of offering any endorsements during this campaign and also the municipal campaign in 2010.

Now over to Helena Guergis, I have to say I was never a fan of her when she was a member of the Harper Conservatives, but what Harper did to her this past year, just goes to prove that Harper is a control freak and she did not deserve the treatment she received, and to this day Harper owes the people, all the people of Simcoe Grey a reason why he did what he did, and even after she was cleared by the RCMP. I find it funny that Conservatives were for the most part united behind Guergis until she was kicked out of the party. It just proves to me that most of the local Conservatives are followers, and by this I mean they follow and support who the leader tells them to. So much for being free if you are a member of the Simcoe Grey Conservative party. So much for my rant on the local Conservatives, and now back to Guergis. I believe her when she says that she has as much resources as any other member of Parliament, and without the PMO controlling her speeches, and telling her what to say and what not to say, Guergis is free to act in the best interests of all residents in our riding. Yes she's a Conservative, like Leitch, but she's a free thinking Conservative, whereas Leitch is controlled by the PMO.

Where Alex Smardenka finishes up is really hard to tell since the decline of the Liberals in the polls. Usually the percentage of the vote that the party gets across Canada is within 2-3% of what they get at the local level. Based on the latest Ekos poll the Liberals were around 18%, and Smardenka would need about 27-29% of the vote to win this riding, and I just don't think it will happen unless voters change their minds when they enter the voting booth. Smardenka ran a so-so campaign, and he's a great guy, who, along with his wife Sandy have done amazing things for the local communities of Wasaga Beach and Collingwood. They donate their time and money to several worthwhile causes, and I know it's more than all of the other candidates combined.

This was Alex's first time running for public office, and take it from someone who's done it before, it's not easy to stand in front of 500 people and gave a speech in what is a strong Conservative riding. I also find it funny how people who have never ran for piublic office can say that the negative things about any candidate who's taken the time to put his/her name out their, and stands behind their chosen party. It's not easy trust me when I say that. If he's not elected I do hope he stays active in politics as he will be successful in the future.

So who will win Simcoe Grey? I will leave that to you the voter to decided, and please if you've not voted in one of the advance polls, please go out on May 2nd and cast you vote. This could be one of the most important elections in recent memory given the surge of the NDP.

Until next time!