Provincial Politics
Mahoney was first elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1987 provincial election, defeating his closest opponent by over 14,000 votes in the newly-created riding of Mississauga West. For the next three years, he served as a backbench Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) supporting the government of David Peterson.
The Liberals lost the 1990 provincial election, though Mahoney was re-elected without difficulty and became Chief Opposition Whip. He ran for the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party in 1992, although he had only a minimal support base within the party. Most political observers believed he was attempting to increase his public profile, to be assured of a cabinet position when the Liberals returned to power. He was generally regarded as being on the right-wing of the party during this campaign.
Mahoney placed fifth out of six candidates on the first ballot of the 1992 Liberal leadership convention, following a nomination speech that one reporter likened to a stream-of-consciousness performance. He withdrew from the contest after the second ballot, and endorsed Lyn McLeod. (This support was pivotal to McLeod's victory on the fifth ballot, as she defeated runner-up Murray Elston by only nine votes.)
Read more about this topic: Steve Mahoney
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