E.J. Douglas Rollins (November 7, 1938 – November 19, 2012) was a
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
in
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, Canada. He was a
Progressive Conservative member of the
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...
who represented the riding of
Quinte
The Bay of Quinte () is a long, narrow bay shaped like the letter "Z" on the northern shore of Lake Ontario in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is just west of the head of the Saint Lawrence River that drains the Great Lakes into the Gulf of ...
from 1995 to 1999.
Background
Rollins was active in many community organizations and served as President of the Belleville Agricultural Society and the Quinte Exhibition and Raceway. For many years he owned and operated a gas station in the east end of Belleville. His cousin,
Clarke Rollins, was the MPP for neighbouring riding
Hastings—Peterborough from 1955 to 1981.
Politics
In the
1995 provincial election, he was elected as a Progressive Conservative in riding of
Quinte
The Bay of Quinte () is a long, narrow bay shaped like the letter "Z" on the northern shore of Lake Ontario in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is just west of the head of the Saint Lawrence River that drains the Great Lakes into the Gulf of ...
, defeating
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
George Zegouras by 2,103 votes.
Rollins served as a
backbench
In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of the " ...
supporter of the
Mike Harris
Michael Deane Harris (born January 23, 1945) is a Canadian retired politician who served as the 22nd premier of Ontario from 1995 to 2002 and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PC Party) from 1990 to 2002. During his time ...
government for the next four years.
The Harris government reduced the number of provincial constituencies from 130 to 103 in 1996, and many sitting MPPs were forced to run against each other. Rollins ran for the Progressive Conservative nomination in the new riding of
Prince Edward—Lennox—South Hastings, but lost to
Gary Fox. Fox was defeated in the
June 3, 1999 election.
Later life
In 2003, Rollins was appointed to the Ontario Parole Board which was seen as a patronage appointment. He died from
leukemia
Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...
on November 19, 2012.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rollins, Douglas
1938 births
2012 deaths
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs
University of Guelph alumni