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4 Independent & Free Press, Tuesday,October 11, 2011 Riding stays Tory blue By CYNTHIA GAMBLE Staff Writer Knowing he was up against a veteran political opponent, MPP Ted Arnott approached his re-election campaign differently this time around, but the result was still the same-- a cruise to victory. "A provincial election campaign is a massive project, with a tight time frame in a highly competitive, almost cutthroat environment," he said. "Anyone who hasn't been involved in organizing one, really has no idea of the scale of the work that has to be done or the complexity involved. Figuratively speaking, it's like walking through a swamp with sinkholes you can't see, over and over for 29 days while carrying an anvil, and with poachers firing pellets guns at you the whole time just to make it a little bit more interesting." Arnott outstripped his four opponents, garnering 23,503 votes and 56 per cent of the votes in Thursday's provincial election. Arnott received the news of his sixth election victory-- and second for this riding-- at 10 p.m., one hour after the polls closed. Liberal Moya Johnson earned 11,326 votes (27%), NDP candidate Dale Hamilton received 6,132 (14%) and Green Party's Raymond Dartsch trailed with 1,309 (3%). "We took the approach that we would need to work very hard to reach out to people in the community, and we didn't concede any community-- what a special challenge in Georgetown," said Arnott, acknowledging Johnson, a longtime Town councillor, . Former Halton Hills Councillor John Duncan, who served as Arnott's campaign manager in Halton Hills, was credited for organizing the local campaign and bringing more money and people into the riding's PC Party. "We knew we had a different kind of political veteran this time in Moya Johnson. We got Ted out to meet the people in the south (Halton Hills) and concentrated on the issues (the Georgetown hospital and proposed highway)," said Duncan. Duncan received a phone call from Johnson about 10:15 p.m., just as Arnott was addressing approximately 80 supporters in a celebratory speech at the Erin Legion. Arnott credited his campaign support team and workers, who helped to knock on doors, raise funds, put up signs, and getting out the vote. "Their enthusiasm was very encouraging and helped sustain me in the seven days a week campaign," the tired candidate said. Arnott said. "I believe job one ... in the coming weeks" will be to begin immediately on his 10point action on the GTA West Corridor Study (Hwy. 4-3), including launching a petition and working to bring other MPPs on side. The overall turnout was slightly below 52% said local returning officer Joe Kuglin, and that was was considerably lower than the 2007 election (57.5%). Kuglin said Election Day ran smoothly here with no issues. The results will become official sometime this week. Newly re-elected Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Ted Arnott receives a kiss from wife Lisa after soundly winning last Thursday's provincial election race. Arnott totalled more than doubled the votes of his nearest challenger, Liberal Moya Johnson. Photo by Ted Brown Johnson `realistic' about election loss By LISA TALLYN Staff Writer Wellington-Halton Hills Liberal candidate Moya Johnson had a "realistic" view about her chances of beating incumbent MPP Ted Arnott in Thursday's provincial election. "I didn't go in thinking I'm going to win. I tried to win, but I'm realistic. This is not an easy riding to turn red, not with the current boundaries," said Johnson. When asked if she believes there's anything she could have done differently to win the riding Johnson said, "the only thing I could say is I put off making a decision (to run) so I had less time to get my campaign (going)," adding, however, her campaign was great. She said she was approached to run in the spring and said no, but over time several others asked her to run as well. She decided if she said yes, maybe she could get the funding for Georgetown Hospital. But she doesn't think deciding earlier Johnson focused most of her campaigning in Halton Hills because "this is where my strength was." Key issues she heard at residents' doors were healthcare, particularly the state of Georgetown Hospital's ER, and the potential Hwy. 4-3 option. Securing provincial funding for the hospital's renovation/expansion was one of her main reasons for running and she worked hard to ensure it came through. The highway was another impetus for her in deciding to run. Johnson arrived to cheers and applause from about 90 supporters at the St. George Pub following the election. In her speech she thanked her husband Rick, many supporters and campaign team calling the campaign "an incredible experience." Johnson, a longtime Ward 3 councillor, is happy to be back at Halton Hills council. "I'm happy there. It's something I love to do," said Johnson. At press time neither Hamilton nor Dartsch could be reached for comment. Wellington-Halton Hills 2011 provincial election results (unofficial) Ted Arnott (Progressive Conservative) 23,503 votes (56%) Moya Johnson (Liberal) 11,326 votes (27%) Dale Hamilton (NDP) 6,132 votes (14%) Raymond Dartsch (Green) 1,309 votes (3%) GEORGETOWN JUNIOR "A" Liberal challenger Moya Johnson checks early election results with husband Rick Thursday. Photo by Ted Brown to become a candidate would have resulted in a win for her. "We could have had more time to raise money and we would have had more time to build the profile," she said. GEORGETOWN JR. A RAIDERS vs BURLINGTON GAME OF THE WEEK Saturday, October 15, 2011 7:30 pm Mold-Masters SportsPlex (Alcott Arena) www.georgetownraidersjra.com