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A Family Tradition for 127 Years" Confident he would win Alex Shepherd chosen as Durham's Liberal candidate By Scott Anderson Port Perry Star The political picture is start- ing to take shape in Durham. Last week, the Durham Lib- erals chose their candidate to represent them in the next fed- eral election. Alex Shepherd, a 46-year-old accountant from Seagrave, was chosen to represent the party in the election slated for later this year. Mr. Shepherd garnered the 'most votes during the party's nomination meeting on May 10 in Bowmanville. The preferen- tial balloting went to the third ballot before he was chosen over Dave Robinson, Rosemary Con- nell and Glenn Malcolm. Although "pleasantly sur- prised" by the result, Mr. Shep- herd said he was confident he would win. "We did the work. I've been all across the riding, seeing a lot of the members and I had a lot of excellent people working for me," he said. ~ . With the most recent and ad- mittedly the toughest obstacle out of the way, Mr. Shepherd said he will now begin gearing up for the election. "My campaign team is basi- cally in shape and we're ready to begin," he said. And it didn't take the newly elected Liberal candidate long to set his sights on the riding's current MP. "Ross Stevenson is a scared politician," Mr. Shepherd told the Star after the meeting. "The . Tories have lost the sentiments of the people." Mr. Shepherd said the public is looking for a change after nine years of Tory rule and believes this is the year for the Liberals to come to power. He said a change in the leadership will not be good enough for the coun- try. "I don't think you can fool the ople," he said. "The people now they've been in power and. they're worse off." Mr. Shepherd believes the 1993 election will be "the year of the Liberals." "Mr. Chretien is very much in tune with the mood of the peo- ple," he said. Mr. Shepherd said the key to the next election is to deal with the people's problems and be sympathetic to them. ' With that in mind, Mr. Shep- herd said he will attempt to be "the vanguard for their issues and changes." d The Liberal candidate out- lined a five-point plan which he intends to focus on during the campaign. The areas include ag- riculture, education, social, eco- nomicand the nation. "These five issues plus seven years will bring us to the dawn of the 21st Century. Seven years to change our ways for a tter society. Seven years to leave a legacy to the next gener- ation," hesaid. : i ~ 985-8552 Durharn Steam LOOSE RUGS : BROADLOOM Cleaning ypHOLSTERY 3 M Scotchguard o Custom designed in any size o Self-storing « Hi-tech electronic sun and wind control system Enjoy sun or shade on your patio or deck Sun if you want t-Shade when you don't The Choice is Yours Aristocratic Retractable Patio and Deck Awnings No Obligation - Call Today OPPERS 193 North St., Port Perry 416-985-4910 * Perfect for today's lifestyle | No permanent framework * Beautiful fabrics from European designers. Although he has outlined five concerns, Mr. Shepherd said the number one concern must be placed on the economy. The Scugog accountant said he has witnessed first-hand a number of companies closing and people being forced out of work. He said the number one priority must be to get people back to work. He believes the best way to do this is by offering loan guaran- tees to small and medium sized businesses and farms to finance new and innovative ventures. He said many of the issues fo- cussing on the economy all come back to one thing, "jobs, jobs, jobs." Turning to Durham specifi- cally, Mr. Shepherd said there was a need to target industries in the areas "which will be at the forefront by the turn of the cen- tury and putting those factors in place to ensure we get there." These areas include transpor- tation, communication and en- vironmental engineering. Turning to the nation, Mr. Shepherd called upon all people in the country to unite as Cana- dians first, to bring this country together again. "We need Canadians with a brave new vision, people who will pick up the broken pieces and glue them back together into a stronger and better na- tion," he said. This same idea could be ap- plied to the Durham Liberals as well. Over the past 18 months, ~ the party was divided by inter- 'nal strife concerning a "pro-life" faction. But he said the division was fixed when he got elected. + "The party has been brought back together by the election process," he said. "We have one strong, united front. We're very much alive and ready to go." es on A : a RR ---- An 1670 SIMCOE ST. N. (Exit Simoce 81. Go North of Taunton Ad.) en ---- FRE with each trailer hitch purchase d | Time Offer dian A oh hur ee In the front flower beds at the For good food & a wide selection of beer & wines & spirits visit the Derbyshire CD mi RAN A AAAI SARA THE SHADOW MOUNT™ CUSTOM CLASS 1 RECEIVER, FEATURING A REMOVABLE DRAW BAR! A A see A RR Ra Xr er Hitch Ball es Ry A aL 2 ah BS nd PICKERING | 1050 BROCK RD. S. (Exit Brock Ad. Go 1/4 mile south.) SIO! | Memorial Public Library their green thumbs to