Hampton will be missed, and not just by New Democrats
Editorial

Howard Hampton had a tough act to follow 12 years ago, when he was named the new leader of the Ontario New Democrats.

He was chosen to replace the only leader his party ever had who was asked to form a government in Ontario, and it's likely a safe bet that he's the last such leader many of us will live to see.

Hampton took a party that had gone from governing with a majority to struggling just to maintain standing in the provincial legislature. While we don't think his leadership was ever particularly inspired or colourful, it was steady and resulted in the NDP continuing to be a going concern in Ontario.

It's easy to accept that there are many people out there who would have difficulty supporting a democratic socialist program, which the NDP have traditionally represented. That's one of the reasons why they have been asked to form only one government in Ontario, and we would submit that was more a result of an electoral fluke than a massive shift in the philosophy of the electorate.

But people are kidding themselves if they get the idea that the NDP doesn't fill an important role in the political landscape of Ontario. It is the party of a substantial number of people in our society. Granted, it's appeal is generally regional, with pockets of ridings that generally go their way at election time. While the party seldom comes seriously close to making electoral headway in this area, some places, such as south of Danforth Avenue in Toronto offer the very real potential for reliable seats in the legislature.

The people represented by the party are voters, just like all of us. They have every bit as much right as us all to a voice in the provincial parliament, whether we agree with it or not.

Without that, we don't have democracy.

Although Hampton had to spend most of his time aboard the third-place horse in the proverbial race, he made sure he was in charge of a constant presence in the field. That is a job that must get frustrating at times, but it's one that's very important to the good health of our political system.

It's doubtful that we could have ever given a Howard Hampton or his party our editorial endorsement at election time. But we acknowledge that both he and the NDP help make our system work.

For that, we all owe him our thanks.