Round up the usual Liberal suspects (Updated)

Bob Wood’s retirement speech isn’t even cold yet and already people are starting to line up to replace the departing Nipissing MP.

So just like Capt. Louis Renault did in the 1942 film classic Casablanca, baytoday.ca decided to round up the usual Liberal suspects.

At this point, four people stand out.

Outgoing North Bay city councillor Susan Church wants the job so badly she can taste it. In fact, Church was first off the mark Friday, just minutes after Wood announced he was leaving politics.

Will she seek the nomination?
Absolutely, Church said.
“Probably within the first six months of working as Bob’s executive assistant both here and in Ottawa it occurred to me that this is my life goal, this is what I want to do and I haven’t wavered from that goal,” said Church, pictured here.

“Today’s announcement is very sad for me to hear because Bob’s done an amazing job for this riding. But it’s an encouraging day for me as I look forward to the future.”

A definite ‘yes.’

Walk in the snowstorm
North Bay lawyer Hugh McLachlan has been toying with the idea for a while since, he told baytoday.ca.
Wood told him a year ago he probably wasn’t going to run in another federal election.

“There’s a good probability I’ll run, but I’m not in a position yet to give a definite answer,” McLachlan said.

He may have an announcement to make in the next few weeks, McLachlan said. But, like former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, McLachlan said he may wait for “ a violent snowstorm” so he can take a walk in it to make up his mind.

“I’ve practiced law for 31 years in North Bay and the community has been good to me, and now it’s time for me to give something back, “ McLachlan said.

Nothing to announce
The other two people are being a little more circumspect in how much information they’re releasing at the moment.

Anthony Rota, an innovation and network advisor who works for the National Research Council of Canada, in North Bay, appears to have interest but said, “I have nothing to announce at this point.”

North Bay chartered accountant Ted Hargreaves rounds out the field.
“I’m not ready to say anything yet, and one reason is that today is Bob’s day,” Hargreaves said, “but there are some discussions going on.”

Liberal insiders tell baytoday.ca the candidate will emerge from the Group of Four just mentioned.

Yet to lose
But, like baseball, there’s always the wild card.

Other names bandied about include Callander's outgoing mayor Hec Lavigne, and North Bay Coun. Peter Chirico.

Lavigne said it would be an "honour and a privledge" to serve as Nipissing's MP.
"But I wouldn’t consider it right now," Lavigne said.
He added he will be involved in the race but only to support the candidate of his choice, "and right now Ted Hargreaves is at the top of my list because he's always been a great supporter of North Bay and area."

Chirico said he's weighing his options.
"Right now we're concentrating on the municipal election, but aside from that it's obviously an honour to have your name thrown about. One never knows, but it's still a few months away."

Then there's Temiskaming-Cochrane MP Ben Serre, who will be out of work if is riding disappears and could look toward Nipissing.

"That's extremley unlikely because he doesn't live here, although he could try for the nomination if he wanted to," said Gunther Buschmann, president of the Nipissing Federal Liberal Riding Assocation.

Nor does Buschman think future Prime Minister Paul Martin would appoint Serre.

"He favours an open and democratic party, so the chances of appointment are very low," Buschmann said.

Great deal of interest
And don’t count out the Northern part of what could become the Nipissing-Temiskaming riding.

Carol Lonsdale, the president of the current Temiskaming-Cochrane federal riding association, says she knows of at least two or three people in her area who would like to run to succeed Wood.

In the meantime, though, Lonsdale wants to try to prevent her riding from being divided between Timmins-James Bay and Nipissing, as was recommended by a commission on electoral boundaries.

The Nipissing riding association will be issuing a news release within the next two weeks about the candidate search, said Garth Goodhew, chairman of the candidate search committee.

“There is a great deal of interest in this riding, obviously and I think it’s going to be an absolutely incredible and phenomenal contest,” Goodhew said.
“But it will be up to the people who are interested to make their own announcements.”

To read about another person who would like to be making that announcement click here.