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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Friday September 8, 2006 - 3 Flynn announces he'll stay put as MPP By Angela Blackburn OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Oakville MPP Kevin Flynn hopes to be at Queen's Park for some time to come. The veteran Oakville Town, regional and now provincial politician held a press conference at Central Library Wednesday afternoon to end speculation he may be doing anything other than staying put at Queen's Park. According to Flynn, he was being inundated by inquiries about whether he would consider running for Halton Regional Chair in the November municipal election. Long-time Regional Chair Joyce Savoline has announced she will not seek re-election. Facing a roomful of local community leaders -- politicians, supporters and others -- Flynn announced that while he'd be proud to lead the Region, he's happy being MPP for Oakville. "I'm quite happy to be on the Premier's team," said Flynn, noting the McGuinty Liberals have accomplished more than even he envisioned so far, and there's more to come. "I plan to be at Queen's Park for some time," said Flynn. With that speculation put to rest, Flynn said it opened the door to others he believes were waiting on his decision to announce their intentions. The MPP told the crowd of about 50 that he'd notified Premier Dalton McGuinty of his announcement before making it. In a statement released following the press conference, McGuinty stated, "Kevin is a tireless advocate for his community, and he is one of the hardest working MPPs at Queen's Park. His community OAKVILLE MPP KEVIN FLYNN of Oakville and the Ontario government are lucky to have a member with such a depth of experience and a strong commitment to public service." Flynn admitted the pay is better as regional chair than MPP, and there's a car deal as opposed to commuting to Toronto. He also noted that while being named to a Cabinet post is the aspiration of every MPP, McGuinty's Cabinet has the distinction of one that has survived most of its term without anyone being asked to leave or jailed. "The Premier doesn't want to mess with a good thing and he's got a good thing with his Cabinet right now," said Flynn. Since being elected MPP, Flynn has been Ministry of Labour Parliamentary Assistant and Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister Responsible for Democratic Renewal. Noting support for making a run at the regional chair's position had come from across the community -- political, business, community, residents, even Town and Regional staff -- Flynn also said he, despite being a Liberal, had received support for such a move from Conservatives. Calling Savoline's decision to step down as regional chair a "shock," Flynn said, "I expected some other people to step forward." Flynn however noted that Oakville Mayor Ann Mulvale chose to run for the mayor's position again. Burlington Mayor Rob MacIsaac announced he was stepping away from his longtime position as mayor. So far the only prominent name to step forward for regional chair to date is former Oakville Conservative MPP and Halton Liberal MP Gary Carr. He faces a challenge from Burlington resident Robert Plaschka. Having made his announcement, Flynn said, "Anybody with any other aspirations should go and get to it." Flynn was a Town and Regional councillor for southwest Oakville's Ward 1 for 18 years. He moved to Oakville nearly 30 years ago as a newlywed and he and his wife, Janice, have one son, Nigel. It was only last Friday that Flynn said he reached his decision, having sat down and gone through much thought and discussion with his wife. Calling both the Province and the Region, under-appreciated levels of government, Flynn touted all the good things the Region has done -- from low-cost, but effective policing to its landfill, which is the envy of the GTA -- "if a dump can be a point of envy." Flynn then reflected on the accomplishments of the McGuinty Liberals, particularly in Oakville -- commitment for a new hospital to be under construction by 2009 (site still to be determined by the hospital), expansion of Bronte Creek Provincial Park in addition to the preservation of nearly half the Ontario Realty Corporation (ORC) lands in northwest Oakville, funding that helped boost the Ford of Canada site in Oakville, a Natural Heritage System (NHS) in north Oakville and Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) reform expected to be brought to the fore this fall at Queen's Park. On a broader perspective, he said the books of the Province have been balanced, $2 billion has been injected into schools and more. 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