Star candidates (or not)

Plus: Prescription powers for pharmacists, New Blues drop platform, Moore MIA, Ford pumps up toll-less highways, gas tax reax

ABOVE THE FOLD

STAR CANDIDATES — The Grits have enlisted a high-profile contender to carry their banner in Etobicoke—Lakeshore, but some insiders aren’t so starstruck.

LEE FAIRCLOUGH — president of St. Mary’s Hospital in Kitchener and a former VP at Health Quality Ontario — is looking to unseat rookie PC CHRISTINE HOGARTH in the heart of Ford Nation. The Star got the jump on her candidacy.

WE CALLED IT — Liberal insiders first told Queen’s Park Observer last month that a high-profile candidate was poised to drop into the race for Etobicoke—Lakeshore. Another hint: Wannabe candidate LIAM HANCOCK had suddenly bowed out of the contest.

But while Fairclough — who lives in Etobicoke — has an impressive CV, some Grits see her candidacy as a wasted opportunity to run a star candidate in a riding that many, including governing Tories, see as a highly-competitive race.

“Snoozefest,” one Liberal insider told me. Leader STEVEN “DEL DUCA had a prime opportunity to run a star but couldn’t find one,…