A clean slate
Election With incumbents ousted, a wave of change is poised to wash over New Brunswick
SAINT JOHN - New Brunswickers voted strongly in favour of change Monday night, ousting incumbents in many of the province's major cities.
About 41 per cent of eligible voters turned out to cast a ballot in 104 municipal elections, a notable decrease from previous years. An average of 48 per cent have voted in the four cross-provincial municipal elections held since 1995.
"Incumbents have taken a bit of a slagging tonight," said Université de Moncton public-policy professor Donald Savoie, pointing to the obvious exceptions of Fredericton, where Brad Woodside prevailed, and Bathurst, where Stephen Brunet was victorious. "The power of incumbency seems to have been frittered away."
With incumbents ousted in Saint John, Dieppe and Edmundston, and new mayors ready to take office in Moncton, Campbellton and Miramichi, a wave of change is poised to wash over New Brunswick. But Savoie cautioned against a sudden rush to shake up the system.
"The thing about newly elected politicians is they really should take time to take stock," he said.
"They're running against the status quo, and the instinct is to get there and tear down the status quo.
"I hope they don't undo what past councils have done," Savoie added. "They need to build on the future, not tear down the past."
The hottest race was arguably in Saint John, where three-term councilor Ivan Court annihilated the competition, taking over 8,800 votes. Court campaigned on a promise to stand tall against big business, including settling long-standing water-rate disputes with the Irving industry. Incumbent Norm McFarlane trailed John Ferguson and Michelle Hooton, coming in fourth with just about 4,000 votes.
An upset in Dieppe shoved incumbent Achille Maillet out of office, making room for newcomer Jean LeBlanc, who has been critical of city council's spending on various projects, most notably cosmetic alterations to city hall and the aquatic centre. LeBlanc took over 6,000 votes, while Maillet trailed significantly with only about 1,800.
In the seven-way Edmundston race, former mayor Jacques Martin cleaned up, beating the closest runner up by about 2,000 votes. Martin had demanded more transparency at city hall.
In Moncton, lawyer and veteran councilor George LeBlanc grabbed an easy victory over challenger Pierre Michaud. LeBlanc had said during his campaign that reviewing and addressing the city's tax rate would be his first priority.
Expected sweeps in Bathurst and Fredericton returned incumbents Brunet and Woodside to office. During the campaign, Brunet touted his work on improving the city's infrastructure but acknowledged the region must adjust to the changing economy.
Woodside, now set for a record seventh term, ran on his record of service, pointing to increases in population and development. But he faced a notable challenge from longtime Fredericton resident Tim Andrew, who blasted city hall's spending as out of control. Andrew took a chunk of votes away from the incumbent, winning about 3,700 compared to Woodside's 9,000.
The call for change was not as strong in rural and small-town New Brunswick, where many incumbents were returned.
Voter turnout was also high in many small towns, which is a good sign, said David Bruce, director of the rural and small town programme at Mount Allison University.
"There's quite a large number of places where the voter turnout is well over 50 per cent, which is good news," Bruce said, pointing to regions such as Sackville, Shediac and Sussex Corner. "It means people are interested and concerned about the future of their communities."
The fact that many incumbents were returned to office shows a level of comfort with the status quo and a perception that communities have been steered in the right direction, Bruce said.
He also pointed to a large slate of candidates this year, citing increased interest in civic engagement. "People are becoming more aware that they do have some opportunity and responsibility in their small communities to make a difference," Bruce said.
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Comments (12)
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and on the brighter side, the chairman of the pension board is now chubby with the unions.
hip hip hooray!
As an outsider(with no Irving connection)I've watched with fascination over the years as major contributors to Saint John's economy are regularily bashed by people with what appears to be tunnel vision.
It seems distasteful that the "The Irvings" continue to be blamed for everything wrong with Saint John. I wonder if the revenue generated by "settling the long-standing water-rate disputes with the Irving industry" would be equal to the loss of tax revenue should they decide
leave the City and take their tax dollars with them.
If big business can't afford to operate in the City, they'll close up shop and move to an area where they can actually (heaven forbid)make a profit. I'm sure there are many communities around the Province that would welcome new industry.
Saint John is in an interesting position. SJ has decided to kick out a mayor that has worked to bring economic development to a city that usually cries that it gets the short end of the stick and elect a new mayor and brother that have acted like thugs in the past. I can’t wait to see the new city council in action, im sure it will be like watching reruns of the Muppet Show. At least now we know who will be pulling the strings of this council.
If the Muppet Show only had a character that was mix between "The Flying Zucchini Brothers" and "Statler and Waldorf", Bruce and Ivan would be all set
Another galling & arrogant statement by Michelle Hooton! Wasn't losing badly at the provincial & municipal levels enough & now you think people will listen to you outside of city hall? Keep dreaming.
Through all those exceptional years of prosperity, I can't remember when as a people, we could feel confident that, "Big Business" was shouldering a fair share of the burden. There was suspicion, that a very prominant family, were getting off, nearly "scott free"!!
The LNG "Deal" gave the people a window of what kind of deals are made for some of the richest people in the world. 5 million $, would have been on the cheap side, for a LNG terminal of this size.