clarinews@clarinet.com (hewitt/standard broadcast news) (02/02/90)
(TORONTO) Veteran Ontario New Democrat Richard Johnston has now made it official. He's getting out of politics. Johnston, who's 43, says he expects a provincial election in the fall, and he won't be running for the N-D-P nomination in his riding on May first. Johnston first became the M-P-P for Scarborough West in a 1979 by-election. He ran second to Bob Rae in the party's 1982 leadership race. Currently the N-D-P's critic for education and women's issues, he's probably best-known for the time that he put himself on a ``welfare diet''. Johnston isn't sure how long he'll remain as an M-P-P, if the fall election that he's expecting, isn't called. Johnston had a heart attack a few years ago, and suffers from arterial sclerosis, but says he's feeling well. He isn't sure what career he'll pursue next, and wants to take some time to think things over.