Atlantic Canadian Politics Thread

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Originally Posted by Ozabald

Still on the Saint John vs. St. John's "confusion". Doesn't to be much of an issue oputide of youn posts.

Want to try that again in English? lol

Though, I think I got what you meant, and if that's all you took away from my post... well... not surprising

Have anything useful to add on the prospects for amalgamation in the Saint John Region, or do you just want to continue to dispute the fact that there remains a considerable amount of confusion between Saint John and St. John's... two Atlantic Canadian port cities with nearly identical names.

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

That last line sounds especially interesting...

link to the rest of the article:

https://tj.news/new-brunswick/irving-oil-blasts-holt-gas-cut-warns-of-immediate-negative-impacts

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Who would you want to be the next mayor of the Port City?


Who do we think is running?


So far, I assume Mayor Reardon will be running for reelection. It also seems the Captain of the Marco Polo himself, Barry Ogden, will be throwing his hat in the ring.

Beyond those two names, the list of likely candidates seems to dwindle pretty quickly.

There's former mayor, Mel Norton (and his brother Greg on city council). I've noticed former Mayor Norton posting a lot of stuff regarding the local Saint John political economy on social media, and he certainly presents himself well. I don't know if he's looking to dip his toes back into politics with mayoral ambitions, or looking to take another crack at the PC leadership?

His brother, Greg, has been floated by a few as someone who might run, and maybe he will, but many seem to think he will stick with his job as a vice principal.

There's always former mayor Don Darling, but I don't really see it, while he remains part of the Wayne Long political machine.

Some claim that Brent Harris has committed to not running again, but I'm pretty sure we've only got confirmation that he won't be running for council again, not confirmation that he's not running for mayor... so there's still a chance he runs.

I guess there's still the second place candidate from last time, Mel Vincent, but I'd be surprised if he ran again.


Of the names mentioned above, I guess I'd probably prefer Reardon to be reelected, or maybe have Mel Norton come back. Mel Norton remains the only local Saint John politician I've seen say something positive about bringing back a cross harbour ferry or water taxi on record. So he'd probably get my vote, lol.


However, I think there is one ideal candidate, who if he can be convinced to run, could help Saint John finally get a fair new deal with the province on matters of taxation, suburban/urban collaboration, along with a strong provincial support for a new plan for Saint John... and that person is former member of Team Holt, David Alston, who narrowly lost the Saint John-East riding by 34 votes, and has conveniently kept his campaign website up and running.

I think David Alston as Mayor would be the best case scenario for Saint John's future, as I see Holt's Liberals at least winning another term... so it would be very advantageous for Saint John to have a mayor who was one of Holt's all star candidates.



Anyways, any other obvious names I've likely left off?

Any dark horse /dream candidates?

[CharlotteCountyLogan]

Originally Posted by EnvisionSaintJohn

Who would you want to be the next mayor of the Port City?


Who do we think is running?


So far, I assume Mayor Reardon will be running for reelection. It also seems the Captain of the Marco Polo himself, Barry Ogden, will be throwing his hat in the ring.

Beyond those two names, there's a list of likely candidates dwindles pretty quickly.

There's former mayor, Mel Norton (and his brother Greg on city council). I've noticed former Mayor Norton posting a lot of stuff regarding the local Saint John political economy on social media, and he certainly presents himself well. I don't know if he's looking to dip his toes back into politics with mayoral ambitions, or looking to take another crack at the PC leadership?

His brother, Greg, has been floated by a few as someone who might run, and maybe he will, but many seem to think he will stick with his job as a vice principal.

There's always former mayor Don Darling, but I don't really see it, while he remains part of the Wayne Long political machine.

Some claim that Brent Harris has committed to not running again, but I'm pretty sure we've only got confirmation that he won't be running for council again, not confirmation that he's not running for mayor... so there's still a chance he runs.

I guess there's still the second place candidate from last time, Mel Vincent, but I'd be surprised if he ran again.


Of the names mentioned above, I guess I'd probably prefer Reardon to be reelected, or maybe have Mel Norton come back. Mel Norton remains the only local Saint John politician I've seen say something positive about bringing back a cross harbour ferry or water taxi on record. So he'd probably get my vote, lol.


However, I think there is one ideal candidate, who if he can be convinced to run, could help Saint John finally get a fair new deal with the province on matters of taxation, suburban/urban collaboration, along with a strong provincial support for a new plan for Saint John... and that person is former member of Team Holt, David Alston, who narrowly lost the Saint John-East riding by 34 votes, and has conveniently kept his campaign website up and running.

I think David Alston as Mayor would be the best case scenario for Saint John's future, as I see Holt's Liberals at least winning another term... so it would be very advantageous for Saint John to have a mayor who was one of Holt's all star candidates.



Anyways, any other obvious names I've likely left off?

Any dark horse /dream candidates?

Once upon a time i was told by someone that Paula Radwan would run for mayor. Now this was a while ago and things change but she has always struck me as someone with higher political ambitions

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Originally Posted by CharlotteCountyLogan

Once upon a time i was told by someone that Paula Radwan would run for mayor. Now this was a while ago and things change but she has always struck me as someone with higher political ambitions

I could possibly see her running. I think someone noted recently she has the most no votes of all current member of the council.

She's also one of the most active councillors on Facebook.

[gtsoc]

Originally Posted by EnvisionSaintJohn

Anyways, any other obvious names I've likely left off?

https://www.harris4mayor.com/

[gtsoc]

Originally Posted by EnvisionSaintJohn

I could possibly see her running. I think someone noted recently she has the most no votes of all current member of the council.

She's also one of the most active councillors on Facebook.

If Paula ran for Mayor, I'd have to follow her lead and vote NO!

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Originally Posted by gtsoc

https://www.harris4mayor.com/

Wow, you really gave me a scare there for a second! (Was thinking it was Brent Harris)

Originally Posted by gtsoc

If Paula ran for Mayor, I'd have to follow her lead and vote NO!

lol, yeah, she wouldn’t be my first choice either, but she’d still probably be a better fit for the role than Barry Ogden. 😅

[Dengler Avenue]

https://m.youtube.com/shorts/W1uKp5sB2-w
L’actuel premier ministre du Nouveau Brunswick libéral est effectivement conservateur.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

https://m.youtube.com/shorts/W1uKp5sB2-w
L’actuel premier ministre du Nouveau Brunswick libéral est effectivement conservateur.

Just like our federal prime minister.

As a Progressive Conservative, I feel aligned with Holt and Carney. Higgs and Poilievre make me nervous.

[adamuptownsj]

Are Fredericton and Moncton facing municipal elections as potentially as crowded and dramatic as Saint John's will be? There's going to be at least four open council seats (Killen, Harris, Ogden, Lowe) and possibly five (Radwan), and one incumbent (Darling) who got into office in a midwinter byelection with 300 votes. MacKenzie and Stewart might be sick of it, and pack it in. I have no idea. Presumably Sullivan runs again.

Ward 1: 1 seat open
Killen- retiring
Norton- likely to run again

Ward 2: likely 1+ seat open
MacKenzie- unknown
Ogden- running for Mayor?

Ward 3: likely 1 seat open
Darling- unknown, presumably running again
Lowe- retiring

Ward 4: likely 1+ seat open
Stewart- unknown
Radwan- running for Mayor?

At-large: likely 1+ seat open
Harris- retiring
Sullivan- unknown

Mayor
Reardon- possible
Radwan- possible
Ogden- likely

The mood since the last election in 2021 has changed dramatically, as have the most salient issues. I don't think incumbency benefits anyone but Norton, who is basically a one-man opposition party.

It also looks like there's an opening for an outsider/business candidate at the mayoral level who could benefit from a split of the vote between the three names kicking around right now.

[paperplane]

Originally Posted by adamuptownsj

Are Fredericton and Moncton facing municipal elections as potentially as crowded and dramatic as Saint John's will be? There's going to be at least four open council seats (Killen, Harris, Ogden, Lowe) and possibly five (Radwan), and one incumbent (Darling) who got into office in a midwinter byelection with 300 votes. MacKenzie and Stewart might be sick of it, and pack it in. I have no idea. Presumably Sullivan runs again.

Ward 1: 1 seat open
Killen- retiring
Norton- likely to run again

Ward 2: likely 1+ seat open
MacKenzie- unknown
Ogden- running for Mayor?

Ward 3: likely 1 seat open
Darling- unknown, presumably running again
Lowe- retiring

Ward 4: likely 1+ seat open
Stewart- unknown
Radwan- running for Mayor?

At-large: likely 1+ seat open
Harris- retiring
Sullivan- unknown

Mayor
Reardon- possible
Radwan- possible
Ogden- likely

The mood since the last election in 2021 has changed dramatically, as have the most salient issues. I don't think incumbency benefits anyone but Norton, who is basically a one-man opposition party.

It also looks like there's an opening for an outsider/business candidate at the mayoral level who could benefit from a split of the vote between the three names kicking around right now.

Blaine Harris announced he's running for Mayor.

Eric Savoie running for council.

[irisheyes]

As a non-partisan, I think the sooner the federal Liberals are gone the better at this point.

[bingun]

I am hoping we start to hear more noise in the new year about other potential candidates, as it seems to be very quiet so far.

I prefer Radwan stay as a councillor. While I don't agree with all of her positions, she takes the role seriously and is very engaged with her ward, and we could do with more of that. Sullivan also takes his job seriously, at least from what I see of him on the PAC and the Finance Committee.

I couldn't really care less about the rest at this stage. I feel neutral about some, but others I will be happy to see the back of.

I'd like someone who cares about the North End and recreation as much as Barry, but isn't Barry lol.

[MonctonRad]

Things are very quiet in Moncton.

Dawn Arnold is of course gone. She is now cooling her heals in the Senate of Canada.

Her replacement (Deputy Mayor Paulette Theriault) is not reoffering this year.

No one has yet declared themselves for mayor. I would expect Shawn Crossman will.

We need a stronger council in Moncton. Civic leadership is now weaker than it has been for quite some time.

[lirette]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Things are very quiet in Moncton.

Dawn Arnold is of course gone. She is now cooling her heals in the Senate of Canada.

Her replacement (Deputy Mayor Paulette Theriault) is not reoffering this year.

No one has yet declared themselves for mayor. I would expect Shawn Crossman will.

We need a stronger council in Moncton. Civic leadership is now weaker than it has been for quite some time.

Unfortunately the way we speak about and to politicians has consequences. The online cesspool and algorithms likely leads to many good candidates being scared off.

Go to any one of these local newschaser pages and see how these people spoke about Dawn Arnold.

Certainly hope we see some new blood entered into the race. Local politics is one of the easiest places you can enact change that affects you. I mean even something as simple as a small group of inviduals going to their councilor can result in putting up a new crosswalk in your neighbourhood (Ive seen this in the north end). How many things in provincial or federal politics can be accomplished so easily by comparison?

[SevenSquared]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Things are very quiet in Moncton.

No one has yet declared themselves for mayor. I would expect Shawn Crossman will.

Of the current council Charles Leger seems like the obvious person who could run for mayor and stand a pretty good chance to win.... if he actually wanted to run, but my gut tells me he doesn't.

Butler and/or Crossman seem like they would want the job, but highly doubtful they'd win. lol

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Couldn't help but be reminded of Carney's interview on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, which turned out to be an incredibly prescient interview, especially this portion where they discuss Venezuela and oil starting at 4:05:

• Video Link

Will the situation in Venezuela have a long term impact on the Saint John refinery if Venezuela turns into America’s gas station? 🇺🇸 ⛽️🗽

[stephan.richard]

Originally Posted by lirette

Unfortunately the way we speak about and to politicians has consequences. The online cesspool and algorithms likely leads to many good candidates being scared off.

Go to any one of these local newschaser pages and see how these people spoke about Dawn Arnold.

Certainly hope we see some new blood entered into the race. Local politics is one of the easiest places you can enact change that affects you. I mean even something as simple as a small group of inviduals going to their councilor can result in putting up a new crosswalk in your neighbourhood (Ive seen this in the north end). How many things in provincial or federal politics can be accomplished so easily by comparison?

In Moncton I am hearing of two potential names for the mayorship: Shawn Crossman and Brian Murphy. There are maybe more in the pipe. In Dieppe there are a few names going around.

[bingun]

Mayor Donna Reardon -

https://tj.news/saint-john-south/in-qa-mayor-says-province-still-behind-on-homelessness

Are you going to run again in 2026?

I’ll make that decision over the holidays. It’s something I’ve been (thinking about), I’ve been at it since 2012. The Facebook stuff is one thing but out in the community there is a lot of support for myself and for council and the work we’ve done. I have enjoyed it and I’ve seen so much growth since 2012.

I think back to not having a long term financial plan and having no financial policies, I wonder how we could have done that? All the things that no business could run without. Staff is amazing here, they love the city and they work hard for it. My team has been good, they’ve moved a lot of heavy files, like the Lorneville file, we changed zoning when we got the Housing Accelerator Fund, we’ve moved some heavy lifting and it hasn’t always been easy.

We’ve taken criticisms for some of it, but it’s all moving in the right direction.