Jennifer F. Mossop (born ) is a former

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 ...

and journalist 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 C ...

, Canada. She was a

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 ...

member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2003 to 2007 who represented the

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a Canada 2016 Census, population of 569,353, and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington, ...

riding of Stoney Creek.

Background

Prior to her election, Mossop was a well-known television news anchor and reporter in

. She joined Hamilton television station

CHCH-TV CHCH-DT (channel 11) is an Independent station (North America), independent television station in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Channel Zero (company), Channel Zero, the station maintains studios on Innovation Drive in the west end of Ham ...

in 1981, and remained a member of the station's reporting team for more than twenty years. She also served as a news anchor for the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

, and wrote articles for the ''

Hamilton Spectator ''The Hamilton Spectator'', founded in 1846, is a newspaper published weekdays and Saturdays in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. One of the largest Canadian newspapers by circulation,''The Hamilton Spectator'' is owned by Torstar. History ''The Hami ...

''. Mossop is married to Dave Betts, a musician, currently with the Canadian rock band

Honeymoon Suite Honeymoon Suite is a Canadian rock band formed in 1981 in Niagara Falls, Ontario. The band's name was a nod to the fact that Niagara Falls is the unofficial honeymoon capital of the world. History 1981–1985 The band was originally formed ...

Politics

Mossop's election to the Ontario legislature in the 2003 election took place under unusual circumstances. The original Liberal candidate for Stoney Creek was Tony Magnini, who was not generally regarded as a credible match for the Progressive Conservative incumbent,

Brad Clark Brad Clark (born 1960) is a Canadian politician in Ontario, Canada. He was the councillor in Ward nine in Hamilton, Ontario from December 2006 to December 2014. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario fro ...

. Magnini was forced to resign after serious fraud allegations emerged in mid-campaign, however, and Mossop's last-minute candidacy reinvigorated the Liberal Party's organization in the riding. On election day, Mossop was able to defeat Clark by about 5,000 votes. She was appointed

parliamentary assistant In UK politics, a parliamentary assistant is an unelected partisan member of staff employed by a Member of Parliament (MP) to assist them with their parliamentary duties. Parliamentary assistants usually work at the House of Commons in the ...

to Madeleine Meilleur, the

Minister of Culture A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organizatio ...

, on October 23, 2003. She later served as parliamentary assistant to the new Minister of Culture Caroline Di Cocco. In June 2007, Mossop announced she would not seek re-election in the 2007 provincial election. The Liberal Party chose another journalist, Nerene Virgin, as its candidate, but Virgin was defeated by

New Democrat New Democrats, also known as centrist Democrats, Clinton Democrats, or moderate Democrats, are a centrist ideological faction within the Democratic Party in the United States. As the Third Way faction of the party, they are seen as cultural ...

candidate Paul Miller in the redistributed riding of Hamilton East—Stoney Creek.

After politics

She now runs her own public relations and media consulting firm, Mossop Media.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mossop, Jennifer 1960 births Canadian television news anchors Canadian television reporters and correspondents Journalists from Toronto Living people Ontario Liberal Party MPPs Politicians from Hamilton, Ontario Politicians from Toronto Women MPPs in Ontario Canadian women television journalists 21st-century Canadian politicians 21st-century Canadian women politicians