Tucker tapped to tote Tory ticket - Jun. 01, 2010
Kathy Bockus/Courier
Sharon Tucker has won the Progressive Conservative nomination in the riding of Charlotte -The Isles and will run against incumbent Fisheries Minister Rick Doucet in the Sept. 27 provincial election.
She was congratulated by party leader David Alward at the convention held Saturday at Fundy High School in St. George.
BY KATHY BOCKUS
kathy@stcroixcourier.ca
ST. GEORGE –Sharon Tucker has been nominated to carry the Tory banner in the riding of Charlotte-The Isles in the Sept. 27 provincial election.
“What we’ve accomplished today is putting Rick Doucet on alert. Stay tuned. Charlotte-The Isles is going with a David Alward government,” a triumphant Tucker told cheering
Progressive Conservative supporters.
Doucet is the riding’s MLA and the Fisheries Minister in the Shawn Graham Liberal government. He plans to re-offer in the fall.
Tucker won the nomination after a second ballot during the PC riding association convention Saturday at Fundy High School in St. George, defeating fellow candidates Wilfred McAdam of Seeleys Cove and Philman Green of Grand Manan. A video satellite feed for the convention was established on Grand Manan and an audio feed was set up for Deer Island.
Party leader David Alward offered Tucker his congratulations and extended that to the delegates.
“You’ve done yourselves and people of Charlotte-The Isles and the party proud,” said Alward. “Sharon, we’ve got to get it done.”
“We’re going to get it done,” replied Tucker confidently.
Because of an agreement between the candidates, no numbers were made public after the 275 delegates voted.
The first ballot saw Green dropped from the second ballot.
He moved his support to Tucker saying he felt she was the best equipped candidate and in a position to move ahead.
The second ballot saw 230 votes cast with Tucker receiving at least the required 50 per cent of the votes plus one vote required to win.
This is not the first time that Tucker has been a Tory candidate in a provincial election. In an interview she stated she couldn’t recall if it was three or four times. According to Elections New Brunswick data, she ran in 2003 and was defeated by Doucet. She also ran in 1999 and in 1995, beaten both those times by Sheldon Lee.
Her frequency as a candidate was noted in a nomination speech by a Wilfred McAdam supporter who warned convention delegates of the futility of “doing the same thing over and over and over with the same result” saying it was “time for a different result, time for McAdam.”
In her acceptance speech Tucker stated that she was sure delegates “had heard the rumbles: ‘she ran before and lost, we need a new person’.”
“I will offer that John Diefenbaker ran for office seven times before he was elected,” said Tucker.
However, according to federal government website Collections Canada and Dick Spencer, a long-time assistant to Diefenbaker and author of several works on the Prairie icon, the late Prime Minister ran unsuccessfully five times, once municipally, twice federally and twice provincially, before being elected for the first time federally in 1940.
After Tucker was declared the winner, McAdam was the first to publicly support her. He told delegates, “Our enemy is no longer opponents in this building. Our enemy now is Rick Doucet and Shawn Graham.”
Green took off his suit jacket and rolled up his shirt sleeves when he took the microphone.
“I’m ready and able to get to work. What will win the riding is teamwork,” said Green.
Tucker said she was looking forward to both her fellow candidates being part of the PC riding team.
While they stood united at the convention’s conclusion, harmony was not all that evident before the winner was declared.
In his speech to delegates before the voting began Green made mention of what he described as a smear campaign designed to discredit him with the incorrect information that he was in favour of reducing the number of ferry trips to Grand Manan.
He called the rumour an “asinine statement” citing that living on the island, he knows how important the ferry service is and can’t see a time when he would ever support cuts. “That’s our aorta, our lifeline,” said Green.
On his defeat, he noted “Life is not bad; the sun will come out tomorrow,” adding he would do his part to help the party go forward.
Tucker said she had caught the political bug at a very young age when parents took her to a political meeting.
“Today I am more committed than ever to the PC party. My commitment has never wavered,” said Tucker. She said she has taken every opportunity to build on the skill set required by an MLA.
Tucker told supporters the riding would benefit from her experience. A registered nurse for the past 30 years, Tucker was a nursing home administrator, a member of the provincial nurses union negotiating contracts and is currently the facility administrator at the Charlotte County Hospital in St. Stephen. She has been on the St. George Town Council for 13 years, the past two as mayor.
“These are exciting times,” said Tucker as she thanked her campaign team citing the hard work ahead.
Tucker noted the words of veteran New Brunswick Southwest MP Greg Thompson who in 1988 asked the voting public to get him to the gate, and give him a chance, adding that if at the end of the four years they didn’t think he had done his job they should vote him out.
“Well, I ask the same consideration today,” said Tucker. “Get me to the gate, give me a chance … and watch me go!”
Tucker said she would continue in her job at the CCH until her nomination papers were filed the first week of September. At that time she will take an unpaid leave until after the election.
“That’s up until two weeks after the election at which time I’ll be moving to Fredericton,” stated Tucker with a smile.
Advertisements
