Arnott acclaimed as PC hope for Wellington-Halton Hills riding

Waterloo-Wellington MPP Ted Arnott will be the Progressive Conservative candidate in the Wellington-Halton Hills riding during the next provincial election. Arnott, 43, of the Fergus area, was acclaimed at the riding's Provincial PC Association nomination meeting held Monday in Rockwood. "My objective in the coming campaign is the same as it was when I first ran in 1990-- a deep and profound ambition to devote all of my experience and energy towards improving the quality of life for the people in our riding and across the province," said Arnott, a 16-year veteran of the Ontario legislature. "I am not, and never will be satisfied with the status quo, in any branch of the provincial government's activities or responsibilities...we can do better and do better we must." The new riding Arnott will run in during the anticipated October 2007 election will include the Halton Hills area. Arnott believes the communities in the riding, which mirrors the current federal riding, have a "great deal in common." As it is for the other communities in the riding, Arnott said, agriculture is a very important part of the Halton Hills economy. "I look forward to meeting people in Halton Hills and getting a better grasp of their aspirations and concerns," said Arnott. At the nomination meeting Arnott thanked his supporters and the association members for the help and encouragement they have given him and his wife Lisa over the past 16 years.

He criticized the Dalton McGuinty Liberals for their mistakes. "We will continue to fight hard and hold the government accountable for its failures in Caledonia, its lack of support for farm families, rural and small town Ontario's infrastructure needs, on transportation and deplorable conditions of our roads, their broken promises on hydro, their unwillingness to show leadership on waste management, their betrayal of families with autistic children, their inattention to the doctor shortage, and their refusal to act in support of protecting jobs, particularly in the manufacturing sector," Arnott said. "So let us begin our task, reaching out to our families and friends and neighbours, reminding them that integrity and politics need not be mutually exclusive, and let us invite them to help us build the Ontario of our dreams." Arnott, raised in Arthur, has a BA in political science and a diploma in business administration from Wilfrid Laurier University. He and his wife have three sons.

`I look forward to meeting people in Halton Hills and getting a better grasp of their aspirations and concerns.'