I mentioned that we in the Parkdale - High Park riding are going to the polls this month in a provincial by-election to replace Gerard Kennedy as MPP. Signs, signs, everywhere there're signs. Now we have a little smear campaign against NDP candidate Cheri DiNovo to make things a little more interesting.
I only heard about it last night during the CBC radio newscast but a little digging this morning points to this entry and this entry as sparkplugs. These entries reference a VisionTV bio that states DiNovo "embraces street people, addicts and the impoverished into the church because she believes they call her congregation back to the essence of Christianity" and this juicy quote from one of her sermons: "I think I did a really good job and I spoke for quite awhile and I said, "Okay, your turn, questions?" There was this silence and then one kid put his hand up and asked, "What drugs did you sell?" And I answered, "LSD that I imported in hollowed out Bibles (the first introduction I had to the Bible) and back then it was the good stuff, not the kind of crap you kids do." That happened this week."
Cheri DiNovo is intriguing the say the least, and she's the candidate that first captured my attention when the election date was announced. A nice little fact check reminds us that she's quite accomplished and definitely worthy of consideration. When taken out of context, these quotes can be shocking to some, and that's the point. This riding voted NDP in the recent Federal election and clearly the Liberal candidate is getting a run for her money this time around. A little shock in the final week might just be enough to scare the weary back to the comfort of Dalton's big red machine.
It doesn't work for this voter, however. Now I'm really starting to dig the radical reverend. The fact she openly speaks about selling LSD in hallowed out Bibles is refreshing. She's admitted her mistakes, turned her life around and is now giving back to her community full throttle. Politics could use a few more Cheri DiNovos.
