EDITORIAL: Mauro gets snubbed

It’s beginning to look like MPP?Bill Mauro’s call to cabinet may never come.

Mauro, a 10-year veteran of the Liberal backbenches at Queen’s Park, was snubbed on Monday when the new Ontario Premier selected her executive council.

Once again Michael Gravelle is back in cabinet, this time at the helm of Northern Development and Mines, a post he held from 2007 to 2011.

Mauro, a one-time parliamentary secretary, had voiced some optimism that his time had come.

But with nine newcomers in Wynne’s inaugural cabinet, none named Bill Mauro, it’s obvious the Liberal Party brass have given the Thunder Bay-Atikokan representative the cold shoulder.

Yes, Wynne had to reward her supporters, and those who came to her rescue and pushed her over the top in what became a two-way race with former MPP?Sandra Pupatello.

While David Zimmer will likely make a great Minister of Aboriginal Affairs, given that a vast tract of Mauro’s riding is populated by First Nations communities, it might have been a smart move to give him a shot at the portfolio.

With the development that’s planned, and his already established relationship with Gravelle, it might have been a natural fit, one that could help move all sides forward.