A sad end to a good day

It was a good day. It was! We were letting the NDP and the PCs have it, from start to finish, with all sorts of stuff.

At the end of it, we felt good. We may not get any ink, but we knew we had landed a few blows. We did our job.

And then, tired and at home, a very sad ending to the good day: political fighter Jamie Deacey had died.

We had been political adversaries, years ago, belonging to different tribes within the Liberal Party. Then, we were brought together by our wise mutual friend Don Guy, to work for Dalton McGuinty’s Ontario Liberals.

I came away impressed by Jamie’s mind, and his civility, and his candour. He told me he had judged me wrongly. I told him I had done the same.

The last time I saw him was a few weeks ago, at a political meeting where I was flailing about, unsure why I had been invited. Jamie was the guy who later thanked me for coming, and offered encouragement.

I am very sad about his passing. It had been a great day, and I know he would have enjoyed hearing about how we did. I am sorry we did not get to tell him.

My sincere condolences to his family and many friends.