The New Democrats have their candidate in Hastings Lennox & Addington for the upcoming provincial election.
Napanee paralegal Eric DePoe officially received the nomination on Saturday.
He will be running to replace current Conservative MPP Daryl Kramp who is not running again.
DePoe, who is also an entrepreneur, local union leader, and is involved with several community organizations, says he is committed to helping families by making life more affordable and helping them access services they depend on, such as health care.
He also believes the rights of workers and small businesses hit hard by the pandemic need to be protected.
DePoe will be running against Loyalist Township Mayor Rick Bresee who is representing the Conservative Party, Liberal Ted Darby, a former healthcare executive, and former MP Derek Sloan.
Eric DePoe BIO
- DePoe worked as a mail sorter at Canada Post for 28 years where he defended the rights of his fellow CUPW workers.
- DePoe founded and successfully ran The Waterfall Café in Yarker for 17 years, declared “Business of the Year” in 2013.
- DePoe became a paralegal, licensed by the Law Society of Ontario, and continues his practice representing both union and non-union workers with their claims at the WSIB.
- DePoe is the founding member of the Yarker and Colebrook Community Association. He took on a leadership role in the fight to save the Yarker Family School, and to play a continuing role on the board of the Yarker Farmers Market.
- DePoe is a member of the citizens’ committee that took on and won a fight against Waste Management’s efforts to expand the Richmond dump.
- DePoe volunteered as a cook at the Morningstar Mission in Napanee. He also volunteered at the Napanee Community Health Centre to teach people with diabetes how to cook healthy low cost meals.
- DePoe and his wife Barb now live in Napanee, where Eric still maintains his paralegal practice. They are the proud parents of a blended family of three wonderful adults, and the grandparents of a sweet six-year-old grandson.
