Let 'Em Howl : Lessons From A Life In Backroom Politics

Patricia Sorbara has been a political operative for more than forty years―a mainstay in the background of both federal and provincial politics in Ontario, dedicating her career to the Liberal Party. She’s worked for and with Liberal Opposition Leaders, Premiers, Members of Parliament, Members of Provincial Parliament and more candidates than any staffer could imagine. Sorbara became known as the woman to have on side, the one who knows the ground game and never backs down from a challenge. In December of 2014, all of that changed. A potential candidate in Sudbury, ON, went to the media with the allegation that Sorbara, acting on behalf of the Party, had offered a bribe in exchange for stepping down from a nomination race. She was blindsided.

While on trial in Sudbury in the fall of 2017, Sorbara found herself leaning on the unique education of decades in politics, one that came with being a lifelong female political staffer, which saw her through the first emotional moments of the trial to the eventual verdict nearly seven weeks later. But it didn’t end there. In Let ’Em Howl: Lessons from a Life in Backroom Politics, Sorbara shares her best lessons from the back room―the ones that sustained her in the darkest hours―illustrated by stories featuring key political figures in Canadian politics. The result is required reading for anyone interested in Canadian politics or government.

Patricia Sorbara has held positions at every level of provincial and federal politics, from Constituency Assistant in the Waterloo MPP constituency office, to Deputy Chief of Staff and Chief Operating Officer in the Office of the Premier of Ontario, and Chief Executive Officer of the Ontario Liberal Party. She was also the Chief Operating Officer in the Office of the Leader of the Opposition in Ottawa, and Deputy Campaign Director of the federal Liberal campaign in 2011. When Sorbara wasn’t working directly in politics, she was the president and CEO of Advanced Utility Systems Corporation, a company she co-founded in 1997. Sorbara holds a BA in psychology and history from the University of Guelph and an MBA from Queen’s University in Kingston. She lives in Toronto, ON.