The New Brunswick Beacon

People’s Alliance of N.B. making a splash
Posted By Mike Sanderson On September 20, 2010 @ 12:34 AM In This Week's Edition
[1]People’s Alliance of New Brunswick candidate Steven Hawkes doesn’t mince words when he talks about politics in New Brunswick.

“The people I’ve talked to have had enough,” he said. “They want the power of government back in the hands of the people, and not in the politicians. We want to bring that power to them.”

Hawkes is running in the York North riding, encompassing the villages of Millville, Nackawic and Stanley. The former mayor of Nackawic has been going door-to-door in one of the biggest ridings in the province to get support in the upcoming N.B. election.

“It’s one of the more rural ridings,” he said. “It’s been a story in itself just to go door-to-door and to talk with voters in this riding and hear their stories. There are great people here.”

The People’s Alliance of New Brunswick is running 14 candidates, including Hawkes, in this election.

They were formed last spring by leader and failed Progressive Conservative candidate Kris Austin in response to the Liberal government’s handling of the NB Power deal. Austin ran for the PC nomination in the Grand Lake-Gagetown riding, but ultimately lost to Ross Wetmore.

The party has three pillars of their policy, mainly to bring power back to the individual MLAs and the constituents they represent.

If they get in power, they hope to establish the right to free vote, meaning MLAs won’t have to toe the party line if it goes against their riding’s wishes. They want politicians to be able to represent their people freely without fear of party reprimand.

Additionally, they want to set up an ethics committee to check on parties during elections, to make sure that their promises are held true and that they follow up on policy promised with votes on the table.

As well, their goal is to create a government that is as open and transparent as possible. They want to consult the people of New Brunswick with major decisions and make sure that the people have a say in the direction of the province.

Hawkes said that the People’s Alliance doesn’t really have a home on the political spectrum. He said that the party is the best representation of the ordinary citizen in New Brunswick, and that’s a posture he’s been trying to convey to the voters in his riding.

“The ordinary citizen was never consulted in the NB Power deal,” he said. “We, as a party, feel there’s a disconnect there between the government and the citizens of the province, not just with Graham’s government, but also with the governments before that.

“Our party, from Kris (Austin) on down, wants to bring the citizens back to the fold. We want to make New Brunswickers aware of the services available to them, and we want to make sure they know of their roles. We want them at the table with government, too.”

Hawkes plans to bring that role by going to his roots. He was a former mayor of Nackawic and brings his municipal experience into the provincial political arena.

“One thing you learn when you run in municipal politics is that you have to listen to your constituents,” he said. “We solved many issues just by listening to the people of our community.

“I find that provincially the government needs to listen in on the people more. They don’t seem to do that at all now, and that has gone on for a while. We want to get more connections with the people.”

Hawkes also emphasized a better use of the civil service.

“We want the people to know that there are civil services that they pay for that can help them,” he said. “Often they are neglected or are not used or made available properly to the best advantage to the taxpayer.”

Miramichi South West candidate Wes Gullison is also running for the new People’s Alliance of New Brunswick, and he shares the same views as Hawkes. The young politician is running for change.

“I decided to get into politics due to a desire to clean up the corruption and partisan ways of the liberals and conservatives in legislature,” he said. “I feel with the People’s Alliance free vote system, the voters will actually have an opportunity to represent them.”

Gullison’s focus in his own riding is to foster and improve the economy in south west Miramichi. He wants to focus on local markets, but also favourable overseas ventures. He also has plans for adding private woodlots to the forestry sector, maintaining and expanding mining and industry in the area, freezing property tax assessments and modest tax cuts to select areas to stimulate growth.

“We need to use our resources and expand our exports to new markets,” Gullison added. “The People’s Alliance wants to give power back to the people, and foster open transparent government business.

“I want to improve my region.”

Gullison is in a five-way battle in South West Miramichi to forge a path to the Legislative Assembly in Fredericton. Liberal incumbent Rick Brewer, PC candidate Jake Stewart, NDP politician Jason Robar and Green Party candidate Jimmy D. Lawlor are his opponents.

Hawkes is in a catfight of his own. Incumbent Kirk MacDonald of the Progressive Conservatives has held the York North seat, and the Mactaquac seat before that, since 1999. Eugene Price for the Liberals, Genevieve Macrae of the NDP and Jarrod Currie of the Green Party are also running.

The People’s Alliance of New Brunswick know that they can’t control the Legislative Assembly with just 14 candidates, but they can try to get a foothold on the established parties in this election. Hawkes said that the party’s goal is to try to get into a position of power; to elect a number of candidates that could control the house by swing votes.

“We know as a party that we can’t get a majority,” he said. “We are looking at trying to squeeze in there with a few candidates. Our best case scenario is we get a minority. We want that balance of power. We want to have our voices heard in Legislature.”