Liberal candidate comes out of the gate, says what he wants to do as MPP – if elected.

By staff

BURLINGTON, ON, February 24, 2011 –  He isn’t the candidate yet but that isn’t stopping  Burlington lawyer and Chair of the city’s 2010-11 successful United Way campaign, Karmel Sakran from getting out the word that he wants his name on the ballot for the October 6, provincial election.  Sakran is seeking the Liberal nomination which becomes an interesting contest with the retirement announcement of MPP Joyce Savoline last week.  The Progressive conservatives have held the riding for more than 40 years

Burlington lawyer Karmel Sakran announces he will be a candidate for the Liberal Party nomination.
Burlington lawyer Karmel Sakran announces he will be a candidate for the Liberal Party nomination.

Sakran recently announced that he would seek the Burlington Provincial Liberal nomination. Alyssa Brierley, another lawyer has also announced she will seek the nomination.   The nomination meeting is expected to take place some time in April

Sakran grew up in Burlington and talks of us his experience. “Growing up in downtown Burlington on Ontario Street behind my late father’s little grocery store on Ontario Street  taught me the importance of community,” said 46-year-old Sakran, who arrived in Burlington at age 13. “From behind that counter, I saw how he treated people with friendship and respect and how they returned it in kind. It was a powerful message that will stay with me forever.”

Reflecting that early influence, Sakran has become well known in Burlington for his community involvement. A long-time Rotarian, former Regional Chair of the Halton Community Consultation Committees, he is a founding board member of The Carpenter Hospice.

Sakran is currently a member the Board of Governors at Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital since 2006 and member of its executive, chairing its Human Resource Policy and Compensation Committee. He is the board representative on the hospital’s Foundation Campaign Steering Committee whose target is to raise $60 million for much-needed capital re-development.

For Sakran, chairing Burlington’s United Way campaign, which raised a record $2.2 million this year, was an eye-opener.  “People don’t typically think of Burlington as having citizens in need, but we do,” he says. “Many youth, families, and seniors benefit from the 44 social programs and services funded by the United Way.”

Seeking the Liberal nomination in Burlington is Sakran’s way of continuing to work for his community. Originally from Nazareth, Israel, of Christian Arab parents, he arrived in Canada at the age of 3 and moved to Burlington when he was 13. Sakran attended Central High School and later Assumption Secondary School, because “I didn’t make the football team at Central and at Assumption, I made the team”. 

Sakran later attended the University of Windsor and, after graduating in law, articled for the Criminal Appeals Division of the Attorney General of Ontario in Toronto. He returned to Burlington after being called to the bar.  “I always wanted to live and work in Burlington – that is where my heart is,” he said. “Burlington has been my home and my community for the past 34 years, and my goal is to win the nomination and then represent Burlington in the Ontario Legislature.”

Boundaries for voters in Burlington.  Provincial Liberals in Burlington gear up for an election they think they can win – after 40+ in the wilderness.
Boundaries for voters in Burlington. Provincial Liberals in Burlington gear up for an election they think they can win – after 40+ in the wilderness.

For Sakran, “It’s time Burlington had a Liberal at Queen’s Park.” Conservatives have represented this riding for decades, he notes, adding that they have been less than effective in upholding Burlington’s unique heritage and its integral role as the hub between the GTA, Hamilton and Niagara Corridor.  “Burlington has a leadership role to play in what is happening around and inside its border and we can’t allow another four-year term to pass with us taking a spectator role. The Conservatives want to pave paradise with the mid-peninsula highway and, despite having a Conservative MPP for all this time, no provincial money has been secured for capital re-development of our hospital in the past 40 years.” 

A matrimonial lawyer in Burlington, Sakran recently founded Roseland Law Chambers, a group of seven sole-practitioner lawyers with wide experience across all aspects of the law. He is married and has 2 daughters; his youngest is 5 ½ years old.

 

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1 comment to Liberal candidate comes out of the gate, says what he wants to do as MPP – if elected.

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