Rothesay (electoral district)

Rothesay
New Brunswick electoral district

The riding of Rothesay (as it exists from 2014) in relation to other electoral districts in Greater Saint John.
Provincial electoral district
Legislature Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick
MLA
 
 		 

Ted Flemming
Progressive Conservative

District created 1994
First contested 1995
Last contested 2014
Demographics
Population (2011) 15,279[1]
Electors (2013) 10,962[1]
Census divisions Kings County, Saint John County
Census subdivisions Rothesay, Saint John, Simonds Parish, Rothesay Parish, Hampton Parish, Upham Parish

Rothesay is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, Canada. The riding consists of the Town of Rothesay and its surroundings.

The district was created in 1994 as Saint John-Kings out of parts of Saint John County, Kings County and a small portion of the eastern edge of the City of Saint John all in and around the Town of Rothesay, a bedroom community of Saint John. In 2006, its boundaries were reduced to be just Rothesay and its immediate surroundings so, as a result, its name was changed to Rothesay.

2012 by-election

Four-term incumbent Margaret-Ann Blaney, upon appointment as CEO of Efficiency NB, announced that she would resign the seat effective May 25,[2] requiring a by-election to be called no later than November 25, 2012, which means an election will be held no later than December 31, 2012.[3] On May 25, Premier of New Brunswick David Alward announced that the by-election would be held on June 25.[4]

The incumbent Conservatives chose local lawyer and businessman Hugh John "Ted" Flemming III to be their candidate over local education council member Charlotte McGill Pierce. Flemming is the grandson and great-grandson of former premiers Hugh John Flemming and James Kidd Flemming respectively.[5]

Media speculated whether one of the three candidates for the Liberal Party leadership or New Democratic leader Dominic Cardy will seek the seat in this by-election as none of them held seats in the legislative assembly.[6] While none of the Liberal leadership candidates ran, NDP leader Cardy was acclaimed by his party.[7][8] The People's Alliance of New Brunswick announced that they will not contest the election and endorsed Cardy's candidacy.[9]

The Liberals chose retired police officer and clean water activist John Wilcox as their candidate over businessman Bill Gulliver by a margin of 81 to 49.[10]

Sharon Murphy is the New Brunswick Green Party candidate and Marjorie MacMurray is running as an independent.[11]

Issues

Early media coverage of the race focussed on the controversial appointment of Margaret-Ann Blaney as CEO of Efficiency New Brunswick, a crown corporation.[12] Several prominent Progressive Conservatives backed away from the issue[13] with Finance Minister Blaine Higgs demurring "it's certainly incumbent on me, and it's incumbent on my colleagues, to respect the decision that the premier makes,"[14] and PC candidate Hugh John "Ted" Flemming III stating "I wasn't there."[15] Premier David Alward, at the time of her appointment said "I have full confidence that I have the best person for the job,"[16] and Blaney noted that her motivation for taking the post arose in part from a desire to spend more time closer to family in the Saint John area, after a difficult year.[17] The appointment was criticized as political patronage by the New Brunswick Liberal Association and the New Brunswick New Democratic Party who noted that prior to Blaney accepting the $150,000-175,000 per year position it had been carried out by the deputy minister of Environment and Local Government at no additional cost to the taxpayer.[18] Deputy Premier Paul Robichaud offered competing explanations for the appointment suggesting that the deputy minister of Environment and Local Government responsibilities over Efficiency New Brunswick was only "a temporary position."[19] Dominic Cardy, the New Democratic candidate, proposed a bill to end political patronage that would require positions such as CEO of Efficiency New Brunswick to be publicly competed.[20]

Members of the Legislative Assembly

Assembly Years Member Party
Saint John Kings
Riding created from Kings West, Saint John-Fundy and East Saint John
53rd  1995 − 1999     Laureen Jarrett Liberal
54th  1999 − 2003     Margaret-Ann Blaney Progressive Conservative
55th  2003 − 2006
Rothesay
56th  2006 − 2010     Margaret-Ann Blaney Progressive Conservative
57th  2010 − 2012
 2012 − 2014     Ted Flemming Progressive Conservative
58th  2014 − Present

Election results

Rothesay

New Brunswick general election, 2014
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
Progressive ConservativeHugh J. "Ted" Flemming 3,034 45.20 +6.94
LiberalStephanie Tomilson 1,838 27.38 -3.89
New DemocraticJohn Wilcox 1,559 23.22 -4.05
GreenAnn McAllister 282 4.20 +2.58
Total valid votes 6,713100.0  
Total rejected ballots 140.21
Turnout 6,72761.40+16.29
Eligible voters 10,956
Progressive Conservative notional hold Swing +5.42
Source: Elections New Brunswick[21]
New Brunswick provincial by-election, June 25, 2012
On the resignation of Margaret-Ann Blaney, May 16, 2012
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
Progressive ConservativeHugh John "Ted" Flemming III 1,625 38.26 -18.31
LiberalJohn Wilcox 1,328 31.27 +2.87
New DemocraticDominic Cardy 1,158 27.27 +18.30
GreenSharon Murphy 69 1.62 -4.43
IndependentMarjorie MacMurray 62 1.46 –
Total valid votes 4,242100.0  
Total rejected ballots 110.26
Turnout 4,25345.11-22.10
Eligible voters 9,428
Progressive Conservative hold Swing -10.63
Source: Elections New Brunswick[22]
New Brunswick general election, 2010
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
Progressive ConservativeMargaret-Ann Blaney 3,372 56.64 +8.01
LiberalVictoria Clarke 1,690 28.39 -18.74
New DemocraticPamela Scichilone 534 8.97 +4.73
GreenSharon Murphy-Flatt 357 6.00 –
Total valid votes 5,953100.0  
Total rejected ballots 410.68
Turnout 5,99467.21
Eligible voters 8,918
Progressive Conservative hold Swing +13.38
Source: Elections New Brunswick[23]
New Brunswick general election, 2006
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
Progressive ConservativeMargaret-Ann Blaney 2,853 48.63 +0.60
LiberalPaul Barry 2,765 47.13 +9.50
New DemocraticTroy Polchies 249 4.24 -7.88
Total valid votes 5,867100.0  
Progressive Conservative hold Swing -4.45
[24]

Saint John-Kings

New Brunswick general election, 2003
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
Progressive ConservativeMargaret-Ann Blaney 3,135 48.03 -17.56
LiberalTom Young 2,456 37.63 +12.68
New DemocraticJeff Joseph Thibodeau 791 12.12 +2.66
GreyMark LeBlanc 145 2.22 –
Total valid votes 6,527100.0  
Progressive Conservative hold Swing -15.12
[25]
New Brunswick general election, 1999
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
Progressive ConservativeMargaret-Ann Blaney 4,605 65.59 +29.62
LiberalZita Longobardi 1,752 24.95 -19.66
New DemocraticKen Wilcox 664 9.46 -2.13
Total valid votes 7,021100.0  
Progressive Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +24.64
[26]
New Brunswick general election, 1995
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
LiberalLaureen Jarrett 3,176 44.61
Progressive ConservativeBill Artiss 2,561 35.97
New DemocraticPam Coates 825 11.59
IndependentGary Ewart 497 6.98
Natural LawAllison Pring 60 0.84
Total valid votes 7,119100.0  
Liberal notional gain Swing  
Independent candidate Gary Ewart was previously affiliated with the Confederation of Regions.
[27]

* This was a new district established in the New Brunswick electoral redistribution, 1994, when the old riding of Kings West was split between Hampton-Belleisle, Saint John-Kings and Kennebecasis.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://www.gnb.ca/elections/pdf/2013Boundaries/2013-EBRC-CDCER-Report-Rapport-Final.pdf
  2. ↑ Premier announces new president, chief executive officer of Efficiency NB
  3. ↑ Sections 13 through 15 of the Elections Act
  4. ↑ CBC reporter Jacques Poitras on Twitter reporting Alward's announcement.
  5. ↑ Otiena Ellwand. "Flemming wins Tory nomination in Rothesay," New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal, June 4, 2012.
  6. ↑ CBC News. Blaney's resignation sparks byelection questions. Accessed May 22, 2012.
  7. ↑ News 88.9. Rothesay NDP acclaim Cardy as by-election candidate. Accessed June 6, 2012.
  8. ↑ CBC News. NDP Leader Dominic Cardy will run in byelection. Accessed June 6, 2012.
  9. ↑ CBC News. People's Alliance backs NDP's Cardy in byelection, June 5, 2012. Accessed June 5, 2012.
  10. ↑ Otiena Ellwand. "Retired officer wins Liberal nomination ," New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal, June 6, 2012.
  11. ↑ Elections New Brunswick. "Five candidates running in Rothesay byelection," June 8, 2012. Accessed June 9, 2012.
  12. ↑ CBC News. "Blaney controversy hangs over Rothesay byelection" June 12, 2012
  13. ↑ CBC News. "Blaine Higgs balks at endorsing Blaney's appointment" June 6, 2012
  14. ↑ CBC News. "Higgs backs Alward, refuses to endorse Blaney's job" June 8, 2012
  15. ↑ CBC News. "Tory candidate refuses to endorse Blaney's appointment" CBC, June 7, 2012.
  16. ↑ CBC News. "Blaine Higgs balks at endorsing Blaney's appointment" May 17, 2012
  17. ↑ CBC News. "Blaney resigns to become Efficiency NB CEO ," CBC, May 16, 2012.
  18. ↑ CBC News. "Liberals question if Blaney's new job was vacant ," CBC, May 17, 2012.
  19. ↑ "Deputy premier offers new rationale for Blaney's job" CBC News, June 14, 2012
  20. ↑ Country 94.1 FM "NDP Candidate Makes Election Promise" News June 7, 2012
  21. ↑ Elections New Brunswick (6 Oct 2014). "Declared Results, 2014 New Brunswick election". Retrieved 16 Oct 2014.
  22. ↑ "By-election, Rothesay, June 25, 2012 - Report of the Chief Electoral Officer" (PDF). Elections New Brunswick. 6 July 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  23. ↑ "Thirty-seventh General Election - Report of the Chief Electoral Officer" (PDF). Elections New Brunswick. 27 September 2010. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  24. ↑ New Brunswick Votes 2006. CBC News. Retrieved May 22, 2009.
  25. ↑ http://www.gnb.ca/elections/pdf/2003ProvRpt.pdf
  26. ↑ http://www.gnb.ca/elections/pdf/1999ProvRpt.pdf
  27. ↑ http://www.gnb.ca/elections/pdf/1995ProvRpt.pdf

External links