Arthur Howard Potts[1] (born c. 1957) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2014 to 2018 who represented the riding of Beaches—East York. He announced that he was running for the Ontario Liberal Party leadership in October 2019, but bowed out days later.
Arthur Potts | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Ontario MPP | |
| In office 2014–2018 | |
| Preceded by | Michael Prue |
| Succeeded by | Rima Berns-McGown |
| Constituency | Beaches—East York |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1957 (age 66–67) |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Spouse | Lisa Martin |
| Children | 2 |
| Residence(s) | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Profession | Businessman |
Background edit
Potts attended the University of Toronto and graduated with a bachelor's degree in political philosophy. He then obtained a master's degree in industrial relations from Queen's University. He worked as a lobbyist in the city of Toronto and at the provincial level; and gained some notoriety by buying dinner with the mayor at an auction.[2] Among his clients was the Open Shop Contractors Association of Ontario,[3] an organization that sought to open up tendering to all qualified contractors, regardless of their union affiliation. Potts was a registered lobbyist for the Open Shop Contractors Association, following the merger of the Toronto Independent Contractors Association, which he founded, with OSCA.[4][5] He also represented The Beer Store, assisting them in convincing the Ontario government to implement a deposit/return system on LCBO containers, as well as firms in the film, recycling and construction industries, During this time he also served as President of BioWaste Treatment Technologies, which owned the Ontario rights to an Israeli-based anaerobic digestion technology that can divert upwards of 75% of mixed municipal waste from landfill, while creating clean water, energy and compost. He also co-founded Woodwaste Solutions, a firm specializing in waste wood reuse and recycling. He lives in Toronto, Ontario with his partner Lisa Martin, who has three children, while he has two daughters of his own, Robin and Dara.[6][7]
Politics edit
In the 1994 municipal election he ran for councillor on Toronto City Council in Ward 8 (Riverdale) but lost to incumbent Peter Tabuns.[8] In the 2014 Ontario election, he was elected in the riding of Beaches—East York in a tight race, beating incumbent New Democrat Michael Prue by 431 votes.[7][9][10]
In July 2014, he was appointed as Parliamentary Assistant (PA) to the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.[11] Subsequently, he served as Parliamentary Assistant for the Minister of Environment and Climate Change.
In September 2016, Potts introduced a private member's bill called "Protecting Rewards Points Act" that would prevent loyalty points from expiring. Earlier in the year, Air Miles Canada announced that points collected but not used that were older than five years would expire. Potts introduced his bill to prevent this from happening. The bill was passed with unanimous approval in December 2016. Faced with the impending legislation, Air Miles announced that they would reverse their earlier decision. However the legislation still passed to prevent Air Miles and other loyalty point schemes from doing so in the future.[12][13]
Potts was defeated in the 2018 Ontario election.[14]
Election results edit
| 2018 Ontario general election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| New Democratic | Rima Berns-McGown | 24,064 | 48.21 | +9.24 | ||||
| Liberal | Arthur Potts | 13,480 | 27.01 | –13.08 | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Sarah Mallo | 9,202 | 18.44 | +4.51 | ||||
| Green | Debra Scott | 2,128 | 4.26 | –1.16 | ||||
| Libertarian | Thomas Armstrong | 458 | 0.92 | –0.30 | ||||
| Independent | Andrew Balodis | 161 | 0.32 | |||||
| Special Needs | Regina Mundrugo | 117 | 0.23 | |||||
| None of the Above | Joe Ring | 104 | 0.21 | |||||
| Canadians' Choice | Bahman Yazdanfar | 74 | 0.15 | |||||
| Cultural Action | Eric Brazau | 68 | 0.14 | |||||
| The People | Tony Chipman | 58 | 0.12 | |||||
| Turnout | 49,914 | 62.79 | +6.69 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 79,496 | |||||||
| New Democratic gain from Liberal | Swing | +11.16 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Ontario[15] | ||||||||
| 2014 Ontario general election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | Arthur Potts | 17,218 | 40.09 | +4.01 | ||||
| New Democratic | Michael Prue | 16,737 | 38.97 | -7.85 | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Nicolas Johnson | 5,982 | 13.93 | ±0 | ||||
| Green | Debra Scott | 2,329 | 5.42 | +2.74 | ||||
| Libertarian | Alex Lindsay | 524 | 1.22 | – | ||||
| Freedom | Naomi Poley-Fisher | 158 | 0.37 | -0.01 | ||||
| Turnout | 42,948 | 56.1 | +4.46 | |||||
| Liberal gain from New Democratic | Swing | +5.93 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Ontario[16] | ||||||||
| 1994 Toronto election, Ward 8 (Riverdale) | ||
| Candidate | Votes[8] | % |
|---|---|---|
| Peter Tabuns | 6,134 | 46.61% |
| Arthur Potts | 4,319 | 32.81% |
| Dan Salapoutis | 1,991 | 15.12% |
| Michael Green | 716 | 5.46% |
| Total | 13,160 | 100% |
References edit
- ^ @ONPARLeducation (July 13, 2022). "Within the halls of the Legislature are walls that contain the names of every Member of Provincial Parliament elected to Ontario's Legislature since 1867. The names for the 42nd Parliament were recently added. For the first time a Member's name was inscribed in Oji-Cree syllabics" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Lobbyist buys a date with Mayor Miller". January 27, 2004. Retrieved August 4, 2023 – via www.theglobeandmail.com.
- ^ Committee document toronto.ca
- ^ Amending Fair Wage Schedules and Related Items toronto.ca
- ^ "OSCA to lobby against proposed changes to labour relations act - constructconnect.com". Daily Commercial News. November 23, 2004. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
- ^ "Waste industry veteran wins Liberal seat in Ontario". Solid Waste and Recycling News. June 16, 2014. Archived from the original on September 1, 2014.
- ^ a b Lavoie, Joanna (June 19, 2014). "Liberal Arthur Potts wins election battle over NDP incumbent Michael Prue in Beaches-East York". Inside Toronto. Metroland Media.
- ^ a b "1994 Toronto general election results (former Metropolitan Toronto)". City of Toronto. 1994. Archived from the original on May 1, 2013. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
- ^ Simmie, Scott (June 13, 2014). "Liberal Arthur Potts ousts NDP Michael Prue in tight race in Beaches-East York riding". CBC News. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
- ^ "General Election by District: Beaches-East York". Elections Ontario. June 12, 2014. Archived from the original on June 14, 2014.
- ^ "Arthur Potts: Biography". Government of Ontario. July 2014.
- ^ Krashinsky, Susan (December 5, 2016). "Ban on expiry of loyalty points passes in Ontario". The Globe and Mail.
- ^ "Bill 47, Protecting Rewards Points Act (Consumer Protection Amendment)". Legislative Assembly of Ontario. 2016. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
- ^ "NDP reclaims Beaches-East York with Rima Berns-McGown". The Toronto Star. June 7, 2018.
- ^ "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 28, 2018. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
- ^ "Official return from the records, 005 Beaches—East York" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 2, 2015. Retrieved June 28, 2015.