HUNTSVILLE MAYOR SCOTT AITCHISON SEEKS TORY NOMINATION

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com

PARRY SOUND-MUSKOKA —Huntsville Mayor Scott Aitchison, awash in the benevolent community spirit of a flood fighter, is ready to take on rising tides of Liberalism in Parry Sound Muskoka.

Scott Aitchison will be at Sawdust City Brewery in Gravenhurst Thursday June 6 for a meet and greet.

The veteran town and district politician has finally declared his candidacy for the riding’s Progressive Conservative Party nomination.

And with his political pedigree it makes him the Tory candidate to beat.

Holly Thompson, Meaghan Shannon and Alan Fraser are also in the same race.

A date to pick a party successor to Independent MP Tony Clement is expected to be announced any day now for late June.

Aichison, longtime Tory who appeared to waffle on his decision to, has been pre-occupied the past month with the headwaters of this spring’s devastating floods.

But now he is off and running with a series of meet and greets.

This Thursday he is in Gravenhurst at the Sawdust City Brewery, hosted by former Gravenhurst deputy mayor Jeff Watson, Bruce Hemphill and Ian McNaughton.

He is also doing a couple of house gatherings this weekend; he’s in Burk’s Falls Monday, at the Muskoka Brewery in Bracebridge on Tuesday; and in Parry Sound Friday, the last day for party membership sign-ups to vote.

Aichison, who was first elected to Huntsville council at age 21, sought the provincial MPP nomination in 2004.

The NDP are running Tom Young, and the Liberals Trish Cowie.