Wendy Bergfeld The municipal election is underway as we speak. The campaign. There are nine people running for mayor in CBRM, and Cecil Clarke is one of the candidates, and he spoke with Kyle Moore earlier today about why he wants to be mayor. Cecil Clarke This is now two-plus months of door-knocking, and it's really getting out to where the people are earning a vote, but also listening and understanding and affordability. And getting back to basics is what I'm hearing. But also, most recently, with a new water wastewater bill coming out, people are confused. They're frustrated. They're not seeing a coordinated effort and want to have leadership step up and provide the type of clarity and stability in the municipality that they're not currently experiencing. Kyle Moore Why did you want to announce your candidacy so early? Cecil Clarke I guess, most importantly, you've got to take the time to get out if you're serious about representing people. And that was one of the lessons learned about losing an election, is what would you do differently? That's spending more time with the actual citizens where they're at, at their doorsteps, doing the best possible at over 43,000 doors. It's a daunting task for anybody. But anyone that's serious about running for mayor had to get out there and be where the people are. And to understand that the back to basics is knowing that every community is different, and those neighborhoods deserve to have leadership that will take them to the next level of stability. Kyle Moore We know who your competition is. Now a rematch with Rankin MacSween, James Edwards. How do you feel about the other candidates? Cecil Clarke Well, with nine candidates running for mayor, there's a lot of work that has to be done. I've been out doing that work on the doorsteps, earning what I hope is the support of fellow citizens so that I can lead the community forward. They have a lot of work to do in the coming days. I've been at it. I'm up for the task, and I hope that we'll have some very good discussions, that the debates to be held will be ones to allow for an informed decision on October 19. And I believe that I offer the leadership our citizens deserve. Kyle Moore Why do you want to be mayor again? Cecil Clarke I love public service. I've grown up. I've had a passion for public service. It's been in my family. And also, I understand you can make a difference. And the thing I realized about mayor, you can make the most difference right at the doorsteps, at the curbside for fellow citizens. And I want to put that passion, drive, and energy back to work for my fellow citizens. Kyle Moore What would you say to the people who want somebody new in there? Cecil Clarke I would just say, compare the candidates. Look at who has the ability, day one, to take up the job as mayor and roll up their sleeves and get things done at the first council meeting. I have the ability to do that. I know more now about what is needed in the role of mayor than before. And I've asked people to give me that consideration. I'm out earning their support, and it's up to people taking a look at the plans that are in place. I'm back to basics, putting the taxpayer first and having our fair share plan. And I look forward to having that compared to other candidates. And I'm feeling very confident with the support I've received to date. Kyle Moore Do you have any regrets from your previous terms or, you know, anything you would like to do differently? Cecil Clarke When I launched into becoming a candidate for mayor, I said one of the things I realized is you had to get out to the people more. Being behind a desk, working so hard on people's behalf, they don't necessarily see that. And that was something that I realized—you needed to be at the forefront. And so for me, I understood clearly if you want to be mayor, you have to be out with the people. And that's why I announced early. That's why I've hit the doors early. I've gone to hundreds of events, and I will continue to do that and put my passion and public service forward for people to see it will make a real difference in their lives. Kyle Moore How do you feel about the container terminal? That was a big project of yours. Cecil Clarke I always feel that when you look at where the investments have been, whether that has been being a champion for getting the Sysco site cleaned up, to looking at the dredging of the harbor, to getting the second berth, and looking at the greenfield site. And we look at the things that are happening in the offshore energy. With federal and provincial governments now moving for offshore wind, we've positioned our community to be the hub for all this offshore activity and subsequent hydrogen and other opportunities. So I think all those efforts will come to bear and we'll have success as a result of everyone's combined working efforts. Kyle Moore So what are your goals then, if you are elected mayor? Cecil Clarke My goal is to get back to basics. It's to put the taxpayer first so that we will have a declaration on every document that shows that where is the interest of the taxpayer being served, whether it's residential or commercial, and our fair share plan. There's many big projects and needs within our community, such as wastewater and other public service initiatives. And that will be all part of how we negotiate with the provincial and federal governments. So I'm excited about that, and I can get to those projects. Wendy Bergfeld Day one, that's Cecil Clarke, one of nine people running for mayor in this municipal election in CBRM. Another candidate is Rankin MacSween. Rankin MacSween This is a fascinating moment in time in this community. On the one hand, some wonderful things are happening, the infrastructure, the investments from the senior levels of government. At the same time, we have the newcomers who are having this incredible impact. The difference between August 23 and August 24, we've got 5000 more people working in this community. That's an incredible thing. At the same time, we've got big challenges. We've got a housing challenge, and we don't have enough money. Our base of assessment isn't big enough to give people the level of service that other communities get around the province. So we've got these huge two challenges, for example, to pick those two. But we need to solve those if we're going to keep moving ahead. And so it's really not a crossroads. It's like a pinnacle point. So either we move ahead, or we're going to begin to slip back. So it's a wonderful moment and a moment that calls for leadership. And that's why I'm running for mayor. Kyle Moore When did you decide? Rankin MacSween Well, it was a kind of a slow process, probably. It began to kind of take hold in August in terms of I was going to do it, and then we started preparing for that. Kyle Moore This isn't your first time running for mayor, so why do it again? Rankin MacSween Because of the challenge. Because of the challenge and the opportunity that this community has at this moment. This is a pivotal moment. I just felt this kind of need to offer at this time. Kyle Moore What have you been hearing from the community since you announced? Rankin MacSween I think number one, there is this felt sense that there's a change afoot, a good change. At the same time, I'm hearing people are concerned about certain things, certain challenges—the housing issue, the fiscal issue, the municipal fiscal issue. And the sense that while the community is moving ahead, in some respects, the municipality seems to be stuck. It can't get moving. Things just go round and around. And I'm also hearing that people are really interested in seeing a mayor, putting a mayor in place that can get things done, that has a track record of accomplishment. Kyle Moore What would you say to the people that are saying the same faces, the same names are running right now? Rankin MacSween I think people might see that. At the same time, there are nine people running altogether. Some of those faces are different. I think when it comes down to it, no matter if it's new people or old people running, electing a mayor is like hiring somebody for a job. So if you're going to hire somebody for a job, one of the most important questions is, what's your history? What's your track record? So I think for all of the nine, that's the question the good people of this community have to ask—what's their track record? What have they accomplished? Because that's the best indicator of what their performance is going to be as mayor. Kyle Moore Some people are looking at this as a rematch between you and Cecil Clarke. How do you look at it? Rankin MacSween I look at this community. It's changing, it's evolving. It's in an exciting place. I think I've got the track record to show people that I can do the job. I want the job, and I can do the job. Kyle Moore So what will you do if you win? Rankin MacSween The first thing, I mean, the priorities are, number one, housing. According to the study the province recently did, we're short 2500 housing units. That's not something that would be nice to do. That's not something we can do over the next 20 years. That's something we have to do—get on right away. I think the second thing for me that's an incredibly important priority is the whole question of the fact that we don't have enough money to deliver to people the services that they need and require. And at the same time, people here are paying municipal taxes that are the highest taxes in the province. That's not fair. And that puts us in a very uncompetitive position. Wendy Bergfeld That's Rankin MacSween, one of nine running for mayor. Before Rankin, you heard from Cecil Clarke. In total, there are nine mayoral candidates, and they are, in alphabetical order: Donnie Bacich, Cecil Clarke, James Edwards, Carla George, Vince Hall, Kevin MacEachern, Archie MacKinnon, Rankin MacSween, and Joe Ward.