Rick Johnson (Canadian politician)

Rick Johnson is a Canadian former politician and musician. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2009 to 2011 who represented the riding of Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock. He was elected in a by-election on March 5, 2009, defeating Progressive Conservative leader John Tory. He lost to Laurie Scott in the 2011 election who had previously held the riding.

Not to be confused with Rick Johnson (Michigan politician).
Rick Johnson
Ontario MPP
In office
2009–2011
Preceded byLaurie Scott
Succeeded byLaurie Scott
ConstituencyHaliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock
Personal details
Political partyLiberal
Spouse(s)Terri Crawford
Children2
ResidencePontypool, Ontario, Canada
OccupationMusician

Background

Before entering politics, Johnson was a musician, working alongside his wife Terri Crawford both in the Terry Crawford Band of the 1970s and 1980s and later as a children's music duo billed as Terri & Rick.[1]

Politics

Johnson previously served as a public school trustee for, and chair of, the Trillium Lakelands District School Board[2] and as president of the Ontario Public School Boards Association. In his term on the OPSBA, Johnson introduced breakfast, co-operative education and literacy programs for his district. He has also served on the Lindsay Chamber of Commerce.

Johnson was the Liberal candidate in Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock in the 2007 provincial election, losing to Laurie Scott.[3] On January 9, 2009 Scott resigned her seat, in order to provide Conservative Leader John Tory a seat in the legislature. Johnson capitalized on public anger from Scott's move to narrowly defeat Tory in the subsequent by-election.[4]

Johnson served as the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Infrastructure, Bob Chiarelli. He previously served as the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. In the 2011 election, Johnson lost again to P.C. candidate Laurie Scott by 6,000 votes in the 2011 provincial election.[5] He tried again in 2014 but lost again to Scott, this time by more than 3,000 votes.[6]

Electoral record
2011 Ontario general election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
Progressive ConservativeLaurie Scott22,35745.4+4.3
LiberalRick Johnson16,52233.6-10.13
New DemocraticDon Abel8,51717.3+11.32
GreenAnita Payne1,6523.2-3.44
FreedomCharles Olito2540.5+0.1
Total valid votes 48,942 100.00
Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock by-election, March 5, 2009
resignation of Laurie Scott
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
LiberalRick Johnson15,48243.73+14.22
Progressive ConservativeJohn Tory14,57641.17-8.73
GreenMike Schreiner2,3526.64-0.56
New DemocraticLyn Edwards2,1175.98-5.92
IndependentJason Taylor3200.90
Family CoalitionJake Pothaar2580.73-0.07
FreedomBill Denby1400.40-0.4
IndependentJohn Turmel920.26
LibertarianPaolo Fabrizio710.20
2007 Ontario general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive ConservativeLaurie Scott24,27249.9
LiberalRick Johnson14,32429.5
New DemocraticJoan Corrigan5,77311.9
GreenDouglas Smith3,4757.2–
FreedomBill Denby3910.8
Family CoalitionJake Pothaar3640.8

References
  1. Jim Coyle, "The rock ‘n’ roll road to Queen’s Park". Toronto Star, November 25, 2010.
  2. Trustees accept Johnson’s resignation
  3. "Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. October 10, 2007. p. 5 (xiv). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 7, 2009.
  4. "John Tory loses bid for seat in by-election". Toronto Star. March 5, 2009.
  5. "Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. October 6, 2011. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 30, 2013. Retrieved 2014-03-02.
  6. "General Elections by District: Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock". Elections Ontario. June 12, 2014. Archived from the original on July 2, 2014.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.