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Bill Blair steps into the political ring to mixed reactions

Liberal leader Justin Trudeau (L) takes part in a news conference with former Toronto police chief and potential Liberal candidate Bill Blair in Ottawa April 27, 2015. REUTERS/Chris Wattie

The entry of former Toronto police chief Bill Blair into the federal political world is heralded by some as smart politics on the part of his chosen party, the Liberals, but not everyone lauds its tendency to court and attract star candidates.

Blair announced his intentions Sunday to seek the Liberal nomination in Scarborough Southwest, a riding currently represented by New Democrat Dan Harris.

Liberal leader Justin Trudeau held a news conference Monday in Ottawa with Blair, signalling his preference for the candidate, and promising public safety officer compensation under a future Liberal government for those killed or injured.

Nelson Wiseman, a professor at the University of Toronto, said bringing Blair into the Liberal fold was a smart, well-calculated move and that the Liberal party likely sought him out.

“Polls indicate that people trust the police much more than they trust politicians or reporters, or people in most occupations,” Wiseman said. “Parties are always interested in attracting people who are in law enforcement.”

Police officers — unlike Tory MP Julian Fantino, who bungled the veteran’s affairs file and could end up costing the Conservatives votes because of his missteps — are usually good PR for parties, Wiseman suggested.

He added that Blair’s checkered past with the way he handled the G20 in 2010 won’t really matter to voters; the public’s trust in law enforcement will likely override any controversy from five years ago.

“It’s a concern for some people, but if you ask the majority of the public, they will indicate that they support the police…in virtually anything they do,” he said.

Blair isn’t the candidate in Scarborough Southwest, yet. The riding association still needs to nominate a candidate but with the very public support of Trudeau, it’s easy to wonder whether anyone else looking to represent the Liberals in that constituency has a chance.

Professor Dennis Pilon believes star candidates like Blair are, on the whole, a disservice to politics.

“Celebrity candidates are a kind of a short cut, instead of having people who build up a profile in the community, you parachute in somebody who’s got this thousand watt personality and you use that as a way of trying to get the public’s attention,” the York University political scientist told Yahoo Canada News.

Pilon said star candidates might not have the same loyalty as those who have been involved — whether it be with the Liberals, the Conservatives, the NDP or whoever — with a party for years. Traditionally, these types of people work hard in the political trenches, then gain experience and credibility and earn their way to having their name on a ballot.

Pilon added that the move to more and more parachuted, celebrity candidates, especially with the Liberal Party, is a worrying trend.

“In the old days the party would sell its policy mix, and distinguish itself from other parties in terms of the distinctive policies that it offers,” Pilon said.

“But today, parties are trying to offer as little as possible so that when they get elected, they’re not encumbered by the need to do anything.”

Blair’s competition in Scarborough Southwest includes Michael Kempa, a journalist and academic, who’s been campaigning in the riding for a year and who penned a piece for the National Post after Blair’s announcement earlier this week.

“Even though I could see it coming for a couple of months (and Blair himself gave me a courtesy heads up when he was able), having a star candidate dropped on your head feels like an open-handed slap to the mouth. It stings,” Kempa wrote.

“I have spent the past year telling thousands of people that this is their chance to put forward the candidate who they think is closest to their interests. This is really important to me, because I think local candidates who earn strong support in their ridings are the antidote to our present overly centralised system of government run by cliques in the PMO,” he continued.

“This is the system that Stephen Harper has perfected, even if the other parties, including my own, have too often dabbled in it.”

Wiseman, however, said that although parachute candidates may pose some risk for political parties, these are risks that are seen as manageable.

“[The Liberals] recognize that when push comes to shove in the election, not many people follow nomination races outside of very active partisans in the parties, and it’s all inside baseball for the public,” he said.

“When most people vote now, they vote on the basis of party,” he added. “They don’t really care what happened in the nomination race, and the Liberals have been parachuting people in all over the place.”

Wiseman said that unless the political tide turns, Blair — when and if he becomes the Liberal candidate in Scarborough Southwest — will probably end up in the House of Commons after Oct. 19.