Federal Liberals courting Dan McLean
June 05, 2009
Andrew Dreschel
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/Opinions/article/577863
Will former CHCH anchor Dan McLean run for the Liberals in the next federal election?
The word on the political street is yes.
But McLean himself is circumspect.
He's been approached by the Grits; he's mulling it over; but he's also looking at other options.
"Let's put it this way, since retirement there have been a number of different suggestions and offers made, several of which I am considering," McLean said yesterday. "But to say I'm going to do this might be a bit premature."
If he takes the plunge, he's widely expected to do so in the riding of Ancaster-Dundas- Flamborough-Westdale, held by Conservative David Sweet.
But McLean, who lives on the outskirts of Ancaster, says there are other scenarios in play as well.
The search for candidates is heating up now that Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff is rattling election sabres over the Harper government's handling of the economy.
Though it's doubtful a mid-summer election will happen, the fact the Liberals have crept ahead in opinion polls does suggest they might try to topple the minority Conservative government sooner rather than later.
By any definition, McLean would be a star candidate for them.
After a 28-year career as anchor of CHCH News, he enjoys a high profile, huge name recognition, and deep-seated popularity in the Hamilton area.
When McLean retired in December, he was widely seen to have been forced out by the same cost-cutting wave that saw the departure of on-air host Connie Smith and others.
McLean, who publicly handled his exit with diplomatic aplomb, has been courted to run for more than one political party over the years.
"It's something I've talked about doing for a long time but, again, a lot of things have to fall in line before I make a commitment like that. It's food for thought and that's basically where I am -- I'm thinking."
Meanwhile, a well-placed Liberal source says another former CHCH employee is also considering throwing his hat in.
According to the insider, former Liberal MP and cabinet minister Stan Keyes has expressed interest running in ADFW.
Keyes, who lives in Waterdown, lost his seat in 2004 after 16 years in Ottawa when he contested the redistributed riding of Hamilton Centre with New Democrat David Christopherson.
At the time, Keyes supporters felt the former TV reporter should have avoided Christopherson and tried to win the Liberal nomination in his own back yard.
Be that as it may, Keyes, now president of the Canadian Payday Loan Association, says he has no intention of mounting a comeback, though he has been approached.
"I think it's time younger, fresher faces come on the political scene," he said.
The Liberals, who have been shut out in all five Hamilton ridings in the last two elections, see ADFW as eminently winnable.
They're probably right.
Sweet captured it from Liberal incumbent and longtime municipal politician Russ Powers by a solid 2,874 votes in 2006.
And he easily held on in '08, defeating second-place Liberal candidate Arlene MacFarlane-VanderBeek by almost 11,000 votes. But the largely rural riding also has deep Liberal as well as Conservative roots.
Before Powers came on the scene, it had been held by Liberal John Bryden for more than a decade.
Bryden crossed the floor to the Conservatives in 2004 after falling out with the Paul Martin camp over, among other things, the Quebec sponsorship scandal.
If McLean saddles up, he may very well be the guiding star the party needs to lead the riding back into the fold.
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