Lawyer who sued city loses Liberal nomination vote

A lawyer who successfully sued the city for $900,000 after injuring himself while tobogganing has lost his bid to represent the federal Liberals in Hamilton Mountain.

Shaun Burt — not lawyer Bruno Uggenti — will represent the Liberal Party of Canada in the Oct. 19 federal election.

Uggenti made headlines in 2004 when he successfully sued the city after injuring himself while tobogganing at a city park. The park had been marked with signs that said tobogganing was prohibited, and it was the second time Uggenti had injured himself tobogganing on city property. 

What haven't I done? And I'll tell you what I haven't done: sue the city for $900,000.- Shaun Burt, Liberal candidate

The lawsuit led to a city-wide tobogganing ban.

Burt, a teacher, beat out Uggenti at a nomination meeting on Thursday. Now he'll try to take back what has become an NDP stronghold. City councillor Scott Duvall is running for the NDP, and Allan Miles for the Conservatives.

Uggenti attempts to pull out cheque during speech

There was no mentioning of tobogganing in either Burt or Uggenti's speeches on Thursday. There was, however, no shortage of odd moments.

Take, for example, Burt's speech — one the teacher stumbled through nervously, but to the delight of a supportive and vocal crowd. Burt said he would push to bring in high-paying jobs to the city, and said Canadian democracy is "under threat" at the hands of the current government. 

Uggenti walked up to the stage in relative silence and touted his charity work, including his involvement in the local Rotary Club and Knights of Columbus.

Uggenti also took a stab at Burt and asked, "Shaun, what have you done?"

His speech was cut off for time constraints while he pulled a cheque out of his breast pocket, saying he was donating $100 to the Liberal Party.

Thank you very much for bringing up the fact that I broke my back and I have a non-visible permanent disability.- Bruno Uggenti

Asked if pulling a cheque out was an appropriate move for a nomination speech, Uggenti said he thought it was, and that he was trying to encourage others to do the same.

"I think that we're all Liberals here and we all need to support our Liberal Party," Uggenti said after his speech while members voted.

Burt was equally confident after his speech, and said it would fulfil a lifelong dream if he were the Liberal candidate. As for Uggenti's stab at his credentials, Burt fired back.

"What haven't I done? And I'll tell you what I haven't done: sue the city for $900,000," Burt said.

When asked about how people will perceive Uggenti, knowing his name from headlines about his tobogganing accident lawsuit against the city, Uggenti's tone quickly changed. 

"Thank you very much for bringing up the fact that I broke my back and I have a non-visible permanent disability," Uggenti said.

"They don't think about the fact I have done a lot of great community work and charity work, or that I was citizen of the year for Hamilton Mountain in 1995," Uggenti said. "They think about the tobogganing accident. But my case ended up saving somebody else because the city then fixed the hidden hazard that was at that location. Only because of my case. And they waited to do that for 10 years, after my case finished.

"So I've had a lot of people tell me how supportive they are of me, having taken that step against the city. And I know that my resolve, my perseverance, did that. And I think people realize that I can do the same for them as their Member of Parliament in Ottawa."

Duvall, Miles, candidates for NDP and Conservatives in Mountain riding

Burt will run against Duvall, who was tapped to replace longtime NDP MP Chris Charlton in January. An early election call by Prime Minister Stephen Harper left the Liberals without a candidate for Hamilton Mountain, a riding they held for 18 years prior to Charlton's win in 2006.

The Conservatives, meanwhile, entered Miles as their candidate before the early election call last month. He previously ran for Ward 4 trustee and lost. The Conservative Party of Canada lists no website or contact information for Miles, and did not respond to a request to contact Miles.