Townsman, 1991-09, Page 20The man from Morris
Bruce M.P.P. Murray Elston has gone from
a one -room school in Huron's
Morris Township to leadership of the Ontario
Liberals.. ,but he wants to give it all up for his family.
On the surface, it appears to be a long
way from the one -room school house in
Morris Township to the halls of power in
Queen's Park, but in many respects, for
Murray Elston the humble beginnings have
helped him remain a grass roots, pragmatic
politician over his decade long career. Those
farm roots have taught Elston to face many
challenges during crises that would have
floored lesser people, and helped him
through the triumphs and tragedies so often
found in politics.
Now, Elston is facing another challenge
as the new interim leader of the Ontario Lib-
eral Party, a post he knows he will only have
for six months until a new leader is chosen.
But none the less, just as he has approached
every task he has been given in the past, he
is enthusiastically looking forward to his
tenure at the party helm, and intends to put
his own personal stamp on it. In a recent
interview with Townsman, Elston says his
goal is to begin the process of putting the
once invincible party back on a solid foun-
dation. He'll only have the job until next
February, when the third leader in 18
months is elected by the party in a new vot-
ing procedure that puts the process back in
the hands of party members in each riding in
the province. Elston says he wants to put in
place a firm foundation that will help the
party and the new leader rebuild after their
devastating defeat at the polls a year ago.
Elston was picked August 1 as interim
leader by the 36 member provincial Liberal
caucus in a secret ballot. He succeeds long-
By Jim Fitzgerald
time Legislature veteran Bob Nixon, who has A heavy Liberal hitter, MurrayElston gets in the swing at a recent party picnic.
18 TOWNSMAN/SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 1991