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Dick Ruston

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Dick Ruston
Ontario MPP
In office
1975–1985
Preceded byNew riding
Succeeded byPat Hayes
ConstituencyEssex North
In office
1967–1975
Preceded byNew riding
Succeeded byRiding abolished
ConstituencyEssex—Kent
Personal details
Born(1919-08-28)August 28, 1919
Essex County, Ontario
DiedMay 19, 2002(2002-05-19) (aged 82)
Essex County, Ontario
Political partyLiberal
SpouseShirley Ruston
Children5
OccupationCo-op Manager

Richard Fletcher Ruston (August 28, 1919 – May 19, 2002) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1967 to 1985, as a member of the Liberal Party.

Background

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Ruston was born in Essex County in southwestern Ontario, and educated in the area. He was manager of the Essex County Medical Co-op. He and his wife Shirley lived in Essex where they raised five children.[1]

Politics

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Ruston was a councillor in Maidstone Township from 1960 to 1962, reeve of the community from 1963 to 1968, and an Essex County councillor.[1]

He was elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1967 provincial election, defeating Progressive Conservative candidate Fred Cada by 991 votes.[2] He was re-elected in the 1971 election by roughly the same margin, and won with larger majorities in 1975,[3] 1977,[4] and 1981.[5] He served as Liberal Party whip for a period. The Progressive Conservative Party governed Ontario during this period, and Ruston was an opposition member for his legislative career. He was primarily a defender of farmer's interests.

Ruston announced that he would retire from the legislature in mid-1985, and was not a candidate in that year's provincial election.[6]

Later life

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He died in 2002 after suffering from Alzheimer's disease.[7] Fellow MPP and friend Sean Conway described him as a follower of Ontario's Clear Grit tradition, and a believer that "the best government [...] is the smaller unit closest to the people".[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Richard Ruston: Obituary". Windsor Star. May 19, 2002.
  2. ^ "Riding-by-riding returns in provincial election". The Globe and Mail. October 23, 1971. p. 10.
  3. ^ "Table of vote results for all Ontario ridings". The Globe and Mail. September 19, 1975. p. C12.
  4. ^ "Ontario provincial election results riding by riding". The Globe and Mail. June 10, 1977. p. D9.
  5. ^ Canadian Press (1981-03-20). "Winds of change, sea of security". The Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario. p. 22. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  6. ^ "2 more MPPs decide to quit". Toronto Star. February 15, 1985. p. F11.
  7. ^ Richardson, Brendan (May 22, 2002). "Rushton lived for family, electors". The Windsor Star. p. A5.
  8. ^ "Tribute to Richard Ruston". Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
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