Lou Rinaldi

Who is Lou Rinaldi?

Luigino "Lou" Rinaldi is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He is a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, representing the riding of Northumberland—Quinte West for the Ontario Liberal Party.

Rinaldi moved to Canada with his family in 1960. He received an automotive technology diploma from George Brown College, and started a small business in the automotive field in 1972. He moved to Brighton, Ontario in 1980, having purchased Brighton Speedway, a family entertainment venue.

Rinaldi's political career began at the municipal level. He was appointed to council in the former Brighton township in 1992, and was subsequently won election to the same position. He was subsequently elected as deputy reeve. He was appointed reeve of the township in 1998, and in late 2000 was elected mayor of the newly amalgamated municipality of Brighton. He was sworn into the latter office on January 10, 2001. As mayor, he presided over the establishment of the Brighton Health Services Centre in the community.

In the provincial election of 2003, Rinaldi defeated incumbent Progressive Conservative Doug Galt by about 2500 votes to become the new Member of Provincial Parliament for Northumberland. The Liberals won the election, and Rinaldi was named parliamentary assistant to David Caplan, the Ontario Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal, on October 23, 2003. He was re-elected in 2007 and served as Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.