The most experienced politician running for the leader- ship is Cecil Clarke. Currently in his second term as mayor of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Clarke served as MLA for Cape Breton North for over 10 years. He held cabinet posts in Economic Development, Energy, Justice and Attorney General. He was also Speaker of the House of Assembly in 2006-07.
Houston is considered a front runner. In a contest where selling memberships is more important than selling ideas, he has figured out how to do both. He’s been challenged during the debates for bold ideas like no provincial income tax for people under 26 to help retain our youth. He is a hard nose battler with a soft touch. Houston has a track record of being relentless when attempting to get to the bottom of issues. A trait that has ruffled the feathers of some MLA’s and Deputy Ministers. Houston promises to fix problems not procrastinate, strengthen constituencies, model and expand a success- ful chronic illness treatment plan, create a department of Mental Health and institute a new standing committee on Health. His economic plans are focused on keeping young people at home, lowering taxes, restoring the film industry, and ensuring agriculture is world class in Nova Scotia. He’s also calling for more teaching assistants in NS classrooms, skills training in High Schools and decentralized decision making in Education. Houston is committed to helping seniors and their caregivers, fighting the carbon tax and reducing interprovincial trade barriers. If the Liberals want to run on their record of fiscal man- agement, Houston is the last person they desire in the leadership role. However, he does have some challenges. His candidate roster may end up looking very much like the one Jamie Baillie lost with in 2017. A good number of those candidates have stayed active in their constituen- cies and many have been part of Houston’s campaign for leader. He will have a tough time changing the face of the party with the same team composition.
Clarke was considered a contender to lead the party in 2006 and again in 2009, but declined to run both times.
Clarke, a very private man, entered into this leadership campaign shortly after announcing he was gay and in a committed relationship. Clarke stated he had been threat- ened with being outed. He vowed he would not have his reputation as a politician clouded by the notion that being gay, in this day and age, is a bad thing. Clarke hit the ground running and immediately became a front runner relying on his extensive experience in public office. Clarke vows to engage the party in a substantial grassroots policy initiative to revitalize it. He is against the carbon tax and pledges to lower the overall tax burden. He has also called for Ottawa to confirm the shipbuilding deal for new ships to stay in Nova Scotia. Clarke promises to restore local decision making to healthcare and promises to make seniors a priority. Clarke’s placed his name at the head of the pack and has had some solid performances at the debates to back that up. His history within the party is full of alliances and relationships sure to improve his chances of picking up
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2018
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