Pubdate: Fri, 10 Jun 2016
Source: Hamilton Spectator (CN ON)
Page: A13
Copyright: 2016 The Hamilton Spectator
Contact:  http://www.thespec.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/181
Author: Andrew Dreschel

BALDASARO WAS KING OF THE POLITICAL FRINGE

The City's Texture Is Dulled by the Passing of One of Its Most 
Colourful Characters

This city's election campaigns will never be the same without Michael 
Baldasaro, who sadly died this week at age 67 after a brief bout with cancer.

For decades the pot-smoking bushy-bearded Church of the Universe 
minister was the undisputed king of Hamilton's political fringe, a 
forerunner in a field which in recent years has become much more crowded.

Whether sporting his towering Cat in the Hat stovepipe or crocheted 
Rasta skull cap, Baldasaro's presence and off-beat commentary 
provided a welcome touch of comic relief which never failed to 
entertain voters at town halls and candidates' debates.

By my count, Baldasaro ran for mayor eight times, not to mention 
appearing on who knows how many provincial, federal and council seat ballots.

His final jaunt was in last year's federal election as a Marijuana 
Party candidate in Hamilton Centre, which predictably was retained by 
New Democrat David Christopherson. Baldasaro came fifth in a slate of 
seven candidates, pulling in 348 votes.

But his most successful political outing surely had to be in 1988 
when he racked up 7,528 votes in a two-man race against incumbent 
mayor Bob Morrow.

Though Morrow smothered him with 74,969 votes, Baldasaro not only 
prevented a victory by acclamation, he provided a valuable relief 
valve for any and all protest votes.

Over the years I've witnessed any number of people at all-candidates' 
meetings who began by quietly tsk-tsking his irreverent ways but were 
soon laughing appreciatively at his sometimes politically incorrect 
solutions to the problems of the day.

Depending on the issue, Baldasaro could be right wing, left wing or 
just plain wingy. In his earlier years, he nearly always managed to 
loop whatever topic was being discussed back to criticisms of 
Canada's restrictive drug laws.

My favourite personal memories of Baldasaro tend to revolve around 
his advocacy for the legalization of pot, which the Church of the 
Universe uses as a sacrament.

As I've previously noted about our election encounters, I fondly 
recall his brotherly offers of a joint if I ever found myself in need 
of some religion.

I also cheerfully remember the time Spectator editorial cartoonist 
Graeme MacKay called on Baldasaro at his church in a professional 
capacity and returned to the office with a tray of brownies made, 
Baldasaro assured him, by the ladies auxiliary.

Our straight-arrow editor at the time, fearing the police drug squad 
might break down the editorial page doors at any moment, insisted on 
throwing the brownies away before they could be sampled and shared.

Along the same lines, Baldasaro once brought a tray of hemp chocolate 
chip cookies to a meeting of the Spec's editorial board with some of 
the fringe mayoral candidates. He assured us the psychoactive 
ingredients had been removed. I took him at his word, but decided to 
give them a pass.

There was always a clownish aspect to Baldasaro's politicking, of 
course. But, intentionally or not, it usually played as satire. It's 
as if his uncomplicated solutions to the city's problems and 
challenges were deliberately sending up the conventional approaches 
and boiler plate responses of traditional candidates.

In recent years, others have tried to play a similar outsider role on 
the political scene, but so far nobody has come close to matching 
Baldasaro's combination of good humour and human warmth. He really 
was a unique Hamilton character. We're going to miss him.

The king is dead. There is no successor. And the city's political 
texture is dulled by his passing.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom