Hazel McCallion dances on Carolyn Parrish’s political grave

Hazel McCallion dances on Carolyn Parrish’s political grave

Hazel McCallion, left, wishes no bad luck to outspoken political rival Carolyn Parrish

Mississauga’s mayor for life, Hazel McCallion, has had a thorn in her side for four years, and that thorn is named Carolyn Parrishformer Liberal MP and, until last night, the main Hazel hater on Mississauga’s city council. So desperate was McCallion to get council back in her corner that she actually campaigned in this, her 12th election. According to the Toronto Star, McCallion took the news of Parrish’s defeat with dignity and aplomb:

When she learned that Parrish had lost, McCallion could be seen jumping up and down with her arms in the air.

Shortly after, McCallion said, “I don’t wish anyone bad luck — I’m Christian.” She later added: “People have spoken and people have not been happy, obviously, of the way she has conducted herself over the last four years.”…

McCallion ran a not-so-secret whisper campaign to defeat her true opponents: Councillors Nando Iannicca, George Carlson, Carmen Corbasson, Sue McFadden, Frank Dale, Eve Adams and Parrish. The group had pushed for the inquiry into McCallion’s alleged conflict of interest in a land deal led by her son.

McCallion is a bit of an outlier in the province’s municipal elections, having been one of the few incumbent mayors to survive last night. Of course, that was never really in doubt: at this point, Mississauga doesn’t even have “politics” the way other places do. There’s only what Hazel wants, and what she gets—and the era when those two things were at all different may just have ended.

Of course, we hope this isn’t the last we see of Carolyn Parrish. She’s just so much fun.

A double victory for Hazel McCallion [Toronto Star]
• 905: McCallion’s back but incumbents fall across the GTA [Toronto Star]
• Mississauga’s McCallion to return for one last term [CBC News]
• McCallion re-elected, Parrish defeated [National Post]