Brad Duguid
Brad Duguid is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He is currently a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, representing the riding of Scarborough Centre for the Ontario Liberal Party.
Before seeking elected office himself, Duguid worked in government services at the municipal, provincial and federal levels. In 1994, he was elected as a city councillor for the suburban Toronto municipality of Scarborough. In 1997 and 2000, he was elected as a councillor in the amalgamated "megacity" of Toronto. During his time in municipal government, Duguid was known for his work on community safety issues and affordable housing. He drafted a crime-prevention strategy for Toronto in 1999, and was a founder of the Scarborough Community Safety Council, the Scarborough Community Safety Audit Program and the Business Crime Prevention Seminar Program. He was also known as a supporter of then-Mayor of Toronto, Mel Lastman. In 2003, Duguid supported John Tory over David Miller for Toronto Mayor.
On May 1, 2003, Duguid was appointed by Liberal leader Dalton McGuinty as the party's candidate for Scarborough Centre in the upcoming provincial election. This caused considerable division in the local party administration, as 1999 candidate Costas Manios had been widely regarded as the favourite for the nomination. Manios ran as an Independent candidate in the election (essentially campaigning as an "Independent Liberal"), and many believed that he would split the Liberal vote in the riding so as to deny Duguid victory. As it happened, though, the provincial trend overrode local factors -- Duguid was elected over incumbent Progressive Conservative Marilyn Mushinski by over 10,000 votes, while Manios finished fourth behind Michael Laxer of the NDP.
On October 23, 2004, Manios was appointed Parliamentary Assistant on urban issues to John Gerretsen, the Ontario Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. As such, he has often clashed with Mayor David Miller over allegations by the mayor that the province has reneged on funding promises to the city. Among current Liberal MPPs, he is considered a leading candidate for a future promotion to the provincial cabinet.