This morning, when I was going to work, I noticed this sign. You have to admit, that bit on the top is a bit unusual for a candidate sign.

If you’re not familiar with the name, Mr. Naqvi is the Minister for Community Safety and Correctional Services; he got his appointment when Kathleen Wynne became premier. He’s been an MPP since 2007, having fought two elections and improved his popular vote in 2011.

He’s had a minor controversy. A few years ago a constituent sent him a book that he endorsed with a letter of support — apparently without reading it. That book featured a chapter that apparently endorsed wife-beating; he didn’t find out about that until last year, when he was Labour Minister. Of course he issued a quick repudiation of the book, stating in no uncertain terms that he would never support spousal abuse — but the fact that he had to admit to not reading a book he was supposed to have encouraged, probably explains why Ms. Wynne figured he should be shuffled.

But the sign above isn’t pushing his record as a cabinet minister. It just refers to him as “a good MPP.”

You know what this tells me? It tells me that Mr. Naqvi is trying to run, in this riding, on his own record. Which means his campaign isn’t emphasizing either his record in cabinet or his membership in the Ontario Liberal Party.

And you can’t really blame him. Premier Wynne’s record in office shows that the Liberal government, despite its change in leadership, still doesn’t want to believe that it should be held to account for the wrongdoing it did during its time in power. If Mr. Naqvi tries to emphasize his time as a cabinet minister, not only will his opponents bring up that book controversy, they’ll push him to explain why he did nothing, or said nothing, about the controversies that have dogged this government in the past three years.

“A good MPP,” huh? Sorry, Mr. Naqvi, but I don’t believe you qualify.