Former NDP MPP Mel Swart, who represented the riding of Welland-Thorold from 1975-1988 passed away yesterday.
I didn't know Mel that well, but I had interviewed him a few times and worked along with him on election campaigns. He was an extremely dedicated New Democrat, having run 8 times for the party before finally winning in 1975.
Just last month, as part of a project on the history of the labour movement in St. Catharines, I wrote a piece on Mel and his relationship with organized labour in the Niagara Region.
