RE: Ontario PCs reject Littell appeal, Nov. 29, 2012, Brant News.

I have watched the rejection of Mark Littell in the  provincial PC nomination process and, in spite of the difference in our politics, I truly identify with what he must be feeling.

People may remember that I stood for the 2011 provincial NDP nomination against Brian Van Tilborg, but very few people know the full story.

Like Mark with the PCs, I was initially rejected by the provincial New Democratic Party as a nominee, most likely because I had only been an NDP member for a few years at the time, having had formerly been an active member of the Progressive Conservative Party through four elections dating back to the late 1990s.

It was a fair assessment on the part of the provincial office and I might have been publicly humiliated – except for one person.

Brian Van Tilborg, to his personal credit, went to bat for me. He believed in me and argued vigorously with the provincial office on my behalf for an appeal.

Imagine my surprise when Michael Lewis, son of Stephen Lewis, grandson of David Lewis, called me at home and interviewed me twice for a re-assessment of my eligibility to become an NDP nominee. It was like having a personal audience with the Canadian version of the Kennedys.

The rest is history. We had a contested nomination in the Brant NDP and Brian, who will have my perpetual support, narrowly won.

The real reason I am writing this is not to smear the PCs or to applaud the NDP.  It is for the sake of Mark Littell, who I went to high school with in Burford.

About 35 years ago, I remember a guy who picked me up while I was hitchhiking to Brantford on Highway 53 when many others would not have done so.

Thanks for the ride, Mark. They should have granted your appeal.

Randy Schelhas
Brantford