Elite martial artists grapple at Conservative nomination meeting

In the 1990s, Winona Hutchinson was a two-time Shōtōkan karate national amateur champion, studying under sensei John Palitti in Toronto.

Sonny Spina was a long-haired kid here in the Sault, winner of multiple international kuk sool won grand championship titles around North America, trained by local legend Rudy Timmerman.

Neither Hutchinson nor Spina talk much about those days now.

They've moved on to many other accomplishments.

But last night, the two elite warriors found themselves in a ballroom at Quattro Hotel and Conference Centre, contending against each other for a different kind of prize: the right to carry the Conservative Party of Canada's local banner into the Oct. 21 federal election.

Hutchinson, who placed fourth of five Ward 3 candidates in last fall's municipal election, offered administrative experience in both private and public sectors.

Her curriculum vitae includes stints at Mark's, Home Depot, Lowe's, Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services, in tax preparation and as a volunteer meet manager and Level IV referee with Swim Ontario.

Last night, speaking to party faithful, Hutchinson promised to be a fighter.

She might not be as universally liked as Constable Spina, a well-known volunteer fund-raiser and City Police spokesperson, she said.

But she'd get the job done.

"For us as Conservatives, we have to get away from voting in people because of who we know," Hutchinson said. "That's what got us Trudeau."

"You may not like me, that's okay. But you're going to love the job I can do for you. That's the key."

"The other thing I want to mention about being a Conservative is that, we tend to be nice. We need someone who's willing to fight for you. I'm going to do that. It's your voice that matters, not mine."

Hutchinson talked about fiscal responsibility and committed to be tough on politicians she considers climate fear-mongers.

"We've heard the whole doom-and-gloom, world's-gonna-end-in-12-years. I don't believe that, but I do believe in personal responsibility. That is our responsibility as people here in Sault Ste. Marie, to ensure that we do control our pollution. One hundred per cent. We can do that. But we need to make sure that we hold the people that are on the federal stage now accountable for the fear-mongering. It does nothing. All it does is... confuse everyone. Distraction is smoke and mirrors."

After the votes were counted last night, it was Spina who emerged victorious.

"It's clear that there's a strong Conservative movement happening in this riding and my message tonight is clear: Terry Sheehan, your time is up," the former Sault Ste. Marie United Way chair said.

Having two strong candidates seeking the local party nod has considerably boosted the Sault riding association. 

"Together, we've grown our local party to nearly 500 members in the last few months and that's something we can all be proud of," Spina said.

"Tonight was an incredible turnout," Spina said.

Indeed, 59.9 per cent of those 500 members came to the Quattro last night to vote.

"I want to thank Winona and her team for everything they were able to do to bring our party together tonight," Spina said.

"Quite honestly, if we did not have a leadership contest the way that we had tonight, our party would not have grown by such significant numbers this evening. Quite frankly, I don't think it's grown this significantly in the history of our party locally."

"Starting tomorrow, you'll see that our team is ready, our team is willing and our team is able to start moving forward together with everyone in this party to make sure that this October, Sault Ste. Marie is Tory-blue and we'll represent every person in this city to the absolute best of our ability," the newly minted Tory candidate said.