Frank Valeriote

Frank Valeriote
MP
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Guelph
Incumbent
Assumed office
2008
Preceded by Brenda Chamberlain
Personal details
Born August 15, 1954[1]
Guelph, Ontario[1]
Political party Liberal

Frank Valeriote (born August 15, 1954 in Guelph, Ontario)[1] is a Canadian politician. He is the Liberal Member of Parliament for the riding of Guelph.

Background

Valeriote is the grandson of Italian immigrants and was raised in Guelph, Ontario. His father, Domenic (Mico) Valeriote, was an accomplished long distance runner and one of the longest-serving members of Guelph City Council. He earned an undergraduate degree in history and economics from the University of Western Ontario before earning his law degree from the University of Ottawa. He was called to the bar in 1981[2] returned to Guelph to establish a law practice.[3]

He served on the local Catholic School Board for 18 years including several as chair.[3]

Valeriote married Catherine Berry in 2001;[4] they have two children. The couple separated in 2013.[3]

Political career

Valeriote was initially selected as the Liberal candidate in the 2008 Guelph by-election, following the resignation of Brenda Chamberlain from the House of Commons. However, the issuance of writs for the 2008 federal election pre-empted the Guelph by-election.

On election day, Valeriote defeated the Conservative candidate, longtime city councillor Gloria Kovach, by less than 1,800 votes.

In 2011, he was re-elected, with 25,574 votes (43.37%), to 19,252 (32.65%) for Conservative Marty Burke, 9,836 (16.68%) for New Democrat Bobbi Stewart, 3,711 (6.29%) for Green John Lawson, and scatterings for four other candidates.

On November 13, 2014, he announced that he will not be seeking re-election in 2015.[5]

Controversy

During the 2011 federal election, the Guelph Federal Liberal Association, on behalf of Frank Valeriote, made robocalls that violated Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission rules because they did not identify on whose behalf they were calling, did not display a call-back number and did not identify how the person receiving the message could contact the entity sending the message. On August 24, 2012, the CRTC agreed on fine of $4900 and ordered that Valeriote undertake a "comprehensive compliance program".[6][7][8]

Also, during the 2011 federal election, many voters in the riding who had been identified as not planning to vote for Valeriote's Conservative opponent Marty Burke received phone calls on election day re-directing them to non-existent polls in a presumed attempt to discourage some from voting.[9] Evidence was discovered which linked these robocalls to the Burke campaign.

Electoral record

Canadian federal election, 2011
Party Candidate Votes%∆%Expenditures
LiberalFrank Valeriote (X) 25,574 43.37 +11.15 –
ConservativeMarty Burke 19,252 32.65 +3.47 –
New DemocraticBobbi Stewart 9,836 16.68 +0.19 –
GreenJohn Lawson 3,711 6.29 -14.86 –
LibertarianPhillip Bender 192 0.32 +0.05 –
MarijuanaKornelis Klevering 171 0.29 +0.01 –
Animal AllianceKaren Levenson 123 0.20 +0.08 –
CommunistDrew Garvie 104 0.17 +0.04 –
Total valid votes 59,021 100.00–
Total rejected ballots 2600.44 +0.12
Turnout 58,963 64.48-0.11
Electors on the lists 91,062–
Canadian federal election, 2008: Guelph
Party Candidate Votes%∆%Expenditures
LiberalFrank Valeriote 18,974 32.22 -6.17 $87,844
ConservativeGloria Kovach 17,186 29.18 -0.58 $63,415
GreenMike Nagy 12,454 21.15 +12.43 $76,344
New DemocraticTom King 9,713 16.49 -5.51 $60,470
     Radical Marijuana Kornelis Klevering 166 0.28 none listed
LibertarianPhilip Bender 159 0.27 – $0.00
CommunistDrew Garvie 77 0.13 -0.05 $374
Animal AllianceKaren Levenson 73 0.12 — $5,039
IndependentJohn Turmel 58 0.10 – none listed
Marxist–LeninistManuel Couto 29 0.05 -0.02 none listed
Total valid votes/Expense Limit 58,889100.00
Total rejected ballots 1910.32-0.03
Turnout 59,08064.59-6.17
Electors on the lists 91,463

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Parliamentarian listing". House of Commons. Retrieved 2009-06-06.
  2. ↑ SmithValeriote LLP, accessed March 19, 2008
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Frank Valeriote campaign website, accessed March 19, 2008
  4. ↑ Doug Hallett (2008-10-21). "Valeriote Follows in Family Tradition". Guelph Tribune. Retrieved 2008-11-20.
  5. ↑ "Liberal MP Frank Valeriote won't run in next federal election". CTV News. November 14, 2014. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
  6. ↑ Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (24 August 2012). "Guelph Federal Liberal Association in violation of Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules". Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  7. ↑ Gurney, Matt (24 August 2012). "Liberals, repeat Liberals fined for illegal robocalls in Guelph". The National Post. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  8. ↑ Tracey, Scott (10 March 2012). "Anti-Tory robocalls received in Guelph days before election". Guelph Mercury. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  9. ↑ "Guelph MP rejects ‘juvenile competition’ robocalls theory". Guelphmercury.com. Retrieved 2013-11-17.

External links