A11

Britt Dysart

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Debbie McCann is a fresh new face on the political scene who is seeking election in the New Maryland-Sunbury West byelection on Nov. 3.

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She might not be as well known in political circles as her opponent, who tried unsuccessfully to win a seat in the legislature for the Tories in the riding of Grand-Lake Gagetown in 2006. But if there's one thing Debbie McCann knows it's the people of the riding, and that should serve her well on election day.

McCann was born in the community of Fredericton Junction and raised a few kilometers down the road in Hoyt. Her family worked the farm and in the woods, giving her a strong understanding of two major sectors that employ people in the riding.

McCann understands the people of the riding and what their concerns are. That's reflected in her platform, which can be found at www.votedebbiemccann.ca.

The people of the riding spend a lot of time on the roads, some going to and from work in both Saint John and Fredericton. Naturally, upgrading roads tops her priority list.

McCann raised three children in the riding and knows of the pull on New Brunswick's youth to seek greener pastures elsewhere. Creating jobs to keep young people at home and bring back those who have gone away matters to the people of the riding.

Through talking to friends and neighbours, McCann knows they want more doctors and shorter wait times for surgery. As a businessperson she knows of the challenges working from home without high-speed Internet, an issue throughout the riding. On a personal level, she likes to stay active and wants to help provide more recreational opportunities for people in the riding.

While her career has been in the financial industry, many people know her as a musician who often lends her talent to local fundraisers, such as one she hosted this year and last to boost the arts at Sunbury West School in Fredericton Junction.

McCann has the drive and enthusiasm of someone new to the game who sees only the opportunities in front of her and her riding.

It will be interesting to see how the Tories play their candidate in the coming weeks.

Having captured the riding for the third time in a row in fairly convincing fashion in 2006, the Tories must feel some sense of entitlement and pretty good about their chances.

Their candidate, Jack Carr, is twin brother of Jody Carr, the MLA of the neighbouring Oromocto riding. Carr's brochure points out that if elected the two will be something of a novelty act, "the first twins elected in history." Whether he gets much traction on that campaign plank remains to be seen.

While Jody has been the twin in the spotlight, Jack's literature tells us he has been something of a backroom operative for the Tories, working mainly in communications.

The message Carr will be spinning, if his brochure is any indication, is mainly a negative one about the current government. And in case anyone happens onto his brochure and takes it as gospel, there are some things that may fall a fair bit short of the whole truth. In fact, they may even fall well short of "truthiness," that priceless handle for politico-speak coined by Stephen Colbert.

According to Carr, this Liberal government "ignored higher gas prices." Just to be clear, Liberal cars run on gas and we don't close our eyes when we pass service stations.

Shawn Graham knew it irked people, particularly those in rural New Brunswick, when Bernard Lord raised the gas tax by 2.3 cents a litre. On day one in power, Graham cut Lord's tax hike by cutting tax on gas by 3.8 cents a litre, honouring a campaign commitment.

In the 2006 campaign Lord, in an effort to counter the Liberals, offered to cut the gas tax immediately by two cents, far less than the Liberals and less than his original tax hike. As a candidate in 2006 in Grand Lake-Gagetown, Jack Carr supported that platform, which offered less for consumers on gas price relief. The Tories are hoping voters ignore that very real fact.

He slams the government for supporting uranium mining. There has never been a uranium mine in New Brunswick and the biggest supporter of uranium in New Brunswick might have been his predecessor, Keith Ashfield, who said all kinds of nice things about uranium exploration on the floor of the legislature when activity picked up a few years ago.

There are other such attacks by Carr on equally shaky footing, but you get the point.

A challenge for Carr is being in the camp of party leadership candidate David Alward, who is proudly running a leadership campaign with no platform and no promises. When you're not actually for anything, there's little option but to run a negative campaign, running around claiming the sky is falling.

McCann needs to stay above such tactics, talk to as many people as she can, and do what she's doing, promise to bring those concerns to the table if elected.

What I'm hearing is, she's a good listener with a record of getting things done. If that's what people in the riding want in an MLA, I hope they give McCann serious consideration on election day.

Britt Dysart is a lawyer who practises in Fredericton and president of the New Brunswick Liberal Association.