David Winninger
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David Winninger (born October 10, 1949 in London, Ontario), Canada, is a politician in Ontario. He was a New Democratic Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 to 1995.
Winninger has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and a Master of Arts degree in English literature from the University of Western Ontario, as well as a law degree from McGill University in Montreal. He practiced law for 10 years before entering political life and received the Quebec Bar Prize in 1977.
Winninger first ran for the Ontario legislature in the 1985 provincial election, finishing a distant third place against Liberal Joan Smith in the riding of London South. He ran again in the 1987 provincial election, and again finished third against Smith.
[edit] Elected as a NDP MPP
The Ontario NDP won an unexpected majority government in the 1990 provincial election, and Winninger was elected over Smith by almost 6,000 votes in their third contest. Despite being one of the few lawyers in the NDP caucus, Winninger was never appointed to Bob Rae's cabinet, and served as a parliamentary assistant from 1990 to 1995. From 1991 to 1995, he was the parliamentary assistant to the Attorney General. In 1992, he passed a private member's bill to save the Talbot Block, an historical site within London.
The NDP were defeated in the provincial election of 1995, and Winninger lost his seat to Progressive Conservative Bob Wood by over 7,000 votes (Smith finished third). He has not sought re-election to provincial parliament since this time.
[edit] Elected to London city council
Winninger turned to municipal politics after his defeat as an MPP, getting elected to London city council on his second attempt in 2000. He is currently a councillor in the city of London, representing Ward 6, and sits on the London Public Library Board.
He supports the province's legislation prohibiting smoking in public buildings. He also supports a ban on pesticides for cosmetic purposes in the City of London. He is seeking election as councillor for Ward 11 in London's revised ward system of 14 wards--each represented by one councillor--based on communities of interest.
