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By Eric Dowd
Toronto –Ontario voters have long distrusted backroom politicians, but Progressive Conservative leader John Tory appears to be winning them over.
Tory, who has spent almost all his political life as a party strategist, has not only won a seat in the legislature, but overcome a tradition of half-a-century that backroomers cannot get elected.
Tory was at the top, or some may think the bottom, of this profession. He was principal secretary, or chief staff political adviser, to William Davis, whom he helped get elected more times than any other recent premier, and ran federal campaigns.
In one Tory committed the most notorious election gaffe in memory, running a TV ad that emphasized the partial facial paralysis of Jean Chretien, then Liberal opposition leader.
Chretien responded with dignity `this is the face God gave me’ and won sympathy, and prime minister Kim Campbell apologized, but it helped her lose.
This now appears forgotten, judging by the ease with which Tory won a by-election in Dufferin-Peel-Wellington-Grey riding, although the Ontario Liberals may think of some way to remind voters of it next election.
Other backroom politicians who tried to get elected but failed include Tom Long, who ran two successful election campaigns for Tory premier Mike Harris, but did not know his limitations and ran for leader of the Canadian Alliance and was rejected
Hugh Segal, a chief adviser to both Davis and prime minister Brian Mulroney, twice ran unsuccessfully for the Commons in an Ontario riding and failed in a run for federal Tory leader.
Dalton Camp, whose varied career included writing speeches for Davis, coining the appealing phrase `cities are for people’ (not cars) and was a senior adviser to Mulroney, ran federally in Ontario twice but could not attract voters.
Pierre Trudeau’s chief aide, Jim Coutts, had similar ambitions and the Liberal prime minister considerately freed up a traditionally safe seat in Toronto by naming its MP to the Senate, but voters did not give their blessing.
The most effective press aide to a premier was Sally Barnes, who had Davis’s confidence and could speak for him on virtually all issues, but could not win the confidence of voters.
Murray Weppler, a press adviser to New Democrat provincial and federal leaders, and Ellen Adams, senior aide to two Ontario NDP leaders, were among others who fell short in elections.
The last backroomer of note to win a seat was Donald C. MacDonald, who was a party organizer when the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation, later the NDP, chose him leader in 1953.
Some who plan campaigns for parties remain more fascinated by organizing, planning and devising strategies and have no interest in running.
Others accept they lack talents required for the public arena and already have some status in their parties and would not want to give it up to go knocking on doors pleading for votes.
They also have seen backroomers run and be rejected and this discourages them from trying.
Voters tend to be wary of backroomers, viewing them as a breed who watch the battle, but don’t get into it.
They also see them as manipulators who often bend the truth and are rewarded when their party is in power by its steering taxpayers’ money to them, the most generous dispensers being Tories under Davis and Harris.
Elected politicians rate low on the scale of professions people admire, but at least have been prepared to enter the public arena, and backroom strategists would rate even lower.
Tory is being accepted more than other backroom strategists because he is articulate, earnest, restrained and not glib and has moderate policies.
He has not taken huge sums of money from governments he worked for, perhaps because his family is wealthy particularly from communications and he does not need any.
Voters also mostly have forgotten his role in the backrooms and he was given a safe riding to run in – not all his tasks will be as easy.
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