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THE NEW TANNERTHURSDAY, MAY 24, 2018 7THE NEW TANNER THURSDAY, MAY 24, 20186 By: Vivien Fleishe Ted Arnott has repre- sented many versions of Wellington County for over 28 years, much of it in opposition, but enjoying the challenges the whole way. His first two terms were straight- up Wellington County, NDP first, then PC. The second Mike Harris term he was MPP for Waterloo- Wellington, and again in opposition before the rid- ing changed again. For the last three terms, he's represented Wellington- Halton Hills throughout the entire Liberal ten- ure. And that's actually what he describes as his biggest challenge here: getting things done from the opposition benches. "You have to find ways, and what I've tried to do is reach out to the (cur- rent) government, tried to become friends with the ministers, grow the relationships based on trust...different parties, different attitudes, differ- ent philosophies, but that doesn't mean you have to be enemies scream- ing at each other." Aside from that, he says in Hal- ton Hills in particular, the biggest challenge is transportation, which he's tried to get the gov- ernment to recognize, and he's reached out through private members bills to address this, saying that Acton may very well need a truck bypass. The topic of the green- belt is high on everyone's mind after PC party leader Doug Ford was overheard assuring business he'd open them up for de- velopment, followed by a hasty retraction. But as far as the expansion in his riding, Ted is resolute: it should be left as it is, say- ing in his consultations with the county, people said there are many layers of overlapping land-use protections already in place. He goes further, saying the greenbelt ex- pansion was more of a political thing by the Lib- erals to attract voters in this election, and besides, the provincial govern- ment had put in a 10 year review plan, allowing for changes, a fact he feels people have lost sight of. Now for the big ques- tion: does he feel at this point that his constitu- ents are voting for him or the party leader, aka Ford Nation? His initial response is that all the party leaders have had their strengths and weak- nesses; to be an effective premier in Ontario, you need strong staff in your office, experienced cab- inet, a dedicated caucus, and everybody working together. Anyone sug- gesting it's a one-man or one-woman doesn't have an idea of how it works. "The leadership is import- ant, I wouldn't dispute this. But as I get to know Doug Ford, I believe he is aware of the experience of the members who have served under the Liberals. He phoned me after he won the leadership. I said we learn from each other and I'll learn from you. It's a relationship that will continue to evolve. We don't know who's going to win the next election. There's still three weeks to go." Ted is from a construc- tion family and was headed for engineering when his math marks started to slip in grade 10, making room for a love of history and English, and ultimately leading him to "take a de- tour" and study political science at Wilfred Laurier. It was the governance as- pect more than the politics that drew him in, and while working on Jack Johnson's campaign in 1987, he found in Johnson a men- tor who encouraged him, and inspired him to work hard and be honest. When Ted took over in Welling- ton, Johnson became his go-to person, resulting in multiple phone calls each week as he learned the ropes. Ted's gone to bat for rural residents over the lack of high-speed inter- net via the Barton Report just after the 2014 elec- tion. He feels the "Places to Grow" legislation was not well-received by his riding and should be reviewed. And, on min- imum wage, his position is that it was too much too soon, and the final one-dollar hike should be put on hold for a few years. As for Hidden Quarry, since it's at the OMB now, he feels it's irresponsible for an MPP to express a position, but cites involvement with the CRC and has written many letters with respect to improvements to the process, advocating for a long-term truck strategy. Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario Candidate: Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Ted Arnott Meet the Candidates for the June 7 Election