Who will be the next mayor of Cape Breton's CBRM in 2016?

Joe Ward Follow Me

Posted this 2016-01-31 3:29 PM AST (updated 2016-02-01 9:57 AM AST)

With some missteps by Mayor Cecil Clarke, the door is open for a strong challenger in the 2016 mayoral race in the CBRM.

What are some of Clarke's political vulnerabilities? An all-in strategy on the container port and partners that draw reasonable scrutiny, quotes like "If not the port, then what?" indicating lack of foresight to alternatives, the controversial Archibald's Wharf sale, letting our roads deteriorate, keeping the MacNeil report from council for so long, excess utilization of confidentiality to keep info from the public, and being a Progressive Conservative in a red province where Harper's party was just soundly defeated.

But all of that means nothing without a strong challenger emerging. Rankin MacSween seems like the most obvious power opposition. At 17,847 votes, he drew more than 50% of Clarke's vote total (27,732) in 2012 and is the head of New Dawn - with claims to making investments in many of the region's most successful technology startups. If Chief Terry Paul or Dan Christmas enter the race, all bets are off. They've Membertou the epicenter of growth in Cape Breton. Several strong candidates causing vote splitting could make the race less and less predictable.

There are many different sectors to draw from. The chart indicates some of the different sectors that could result in a mayoral candidate.

Who would you put on this list and nominate to run?

Who will challenge the mayor in 2016?

Somewhere out there is a viable challenger. And the time is now for them to initiate their campaign.

The Rebuffed MacNeil Report: Is the Sydney Port Strategy Viable?

Posted by Joe Ward
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The mayoral election in the CBRM is coming up in October 2016. So far, only current Mayor Cecil Clarke has announced he'll run again. Who will challenge him?

Gov Political Commentary

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Eric Lortie Follow Me 2016-01-31 8:12 PM AST Reply 1 0 Madonna Doucette or Monika Dutt would be viable options. They represent an ideological view I've never really considered for that level of politics on a local level, but would which would certainly benefit us. Doug Milburn would be am interesting option, his frankness and community involvement would serve the region well after the Cecils reign of closed doors and political fluffery. Rankin MacSween would, as he was in the last election, be an excellent choice. It's hard to find someone with better social development credentials in the region. I'd be very interested in seeing Chief Paul throw his hat in. I can't even imagine how that would play out, or what the logistics involved in that would be. It would definitely shake everything up, and while it would bring out the worst in some, I have no doubt things would be run better than they currently are. Joe Ward My Post Follow Me 2016-01-31 8:38 PM AST Reply 0 0 We definitely have some interesting options out there. Regardless of the outcome, several of these local leaders you mentioned would deliver an invaluable conversation and public awareness about what's important to the community (not to be read "political community" or "elite business community"). Each of those you noted has their own particular strengths, and all would make for an interesting mayorship, certainly different than what we've been experiencing. I'm just hopeful that those who are considering a run announce early enough for supporters to help them spread their message and gain enough momentum to be viable. It's almost a certainty, IMO, that Cecil will make some kind of announcement 30-45 days prior to the election to try to solidify things and firm up his base. Stuff akin to the NSCC move to downtown type promises that don't have to have any substantiation behind them can give him political leverage, as did the money that Lisa Raitt delivered (port marketing, as well as at risk youth investment). Anyone with a Liberal affiliation should do well now as well.
Elaine Reid Follow Me 2016-02-01 9:22 AM AST Reply 1 0 Rankin or John Morgan. Other than that someone new would have to come out of the woodwork.
Peter Sheehan Follow Me 2016-02-01 12:32 PM AST Reply 0 0 No election should take place until a municipality has full transparency of their finances in numbers and charts on their websites ; including stats on production,number of clients,$ per capita, as starters . Wayne O'Toole Follow Me 2016-02-01 12:43 PM AST Reply 1 0 Clarke would never allow that kind of transparency, that is an issue in itself James MacKinnon Follow Me 2016-02-01 2:05 PM AST Reply 1 0 Kind of a chicken and egg problem. Do throw eggs before, or after, the tar and feathering? Peter Sheehan Follow Me 2016-02-01 4:53 PM AST Reply 1 0 There is nothing wrong with any forum or discussion group starting to help readers understand the issues of a pending election , including any current or potential candidates . Politicians are avoiding groups like this and you wonder why ? Joe Ward My Post Follow Me 2016-02-02 7:25 PM AST Reply 1 0 As they've worked against transparency, I would say they would be more than happy to just stay in office and not hold the election. :)
Mark Sparrow Follow Me 2016-02-01 10:06 PM AST Reply 1 0 Personally, I feel that Sherry Finney (recently former CBU professor) or her husband Paul would both make for great challengers. They are from Clarke's home town and are well respected there, are actual business owners and job creators running multiple businesses, are very intelligent and articulate, have been fighting against the Archibald Wharf privatization debacle and informing the community about the details, and which is literally happening right out their back window of their business. I have no idea if either would put their name forward, but if they did, I think they would garner quite a lot of support. Joe Ward My Post Follow Me 2016-02-02 7:24 PM AST Reply 0 0 Someone who could erode his hometown base would be a good strategic option. I think they would need to initiate their campaign early, but I'm quite certain it's going to be a mistake for any candidate that isn't already working on their platform, getting ready to announce and kick off the process.
Joe Ward My Post Follow Me 2016-02-02 12:50 AM AST Reply 1 0 I'll update the list as new suggestions come in. One that I intended to include, but somehow overlooked during editing was Ray Paruch!
Donald Calabrese Follow Me 2016-02-02 4:57 PM AST Reply 4 0 The last election revealed two important characteristics of voting tendencies in CBRM. 1. Voters will ignore the candidate whose message includes a serious call to action. Rankin drew attention to the various crises in CBRM and offered solutions that were complicated, thorough and urgently overdue. He was mocked and attacked for not being "positive." Clarke said little of anything, relying instead of political windiness and vague, general endorsement of Sydney's port. He smiled when he talked and said things like "standing forward". People are more interested in vague optimism than in concrete problems and solutions. 2. Only a contender who is able to mobilize a well-organized partisan election machine can beat Clarke. No matter how sensible, well-regarded and plain speaking Rankin was, he simply could not compete with the donor lists and the conservative volunteer banks that CC dusted off from his political glory days. This election will be no exception. The only viable contender, in my opinion, is Geoff MacLellan. He can muster a larger, better organized political machine, his record is much cleaner (even in the midst of a deeply unpopular provincial government), and one could wager he'd actually have a much longer political career if he left the NS government before the next election. I'm very surprised he's not in the diagram above. If someone can think of a Cape Breton Liberal politician as popular as GM (who is not currently part of the federal government), feel free to substitute his name above. Joe Ward My Post Follow Me 2016-02-02 6:39 PM AST Reply 1 0 Just some quick thoughts: Rankin pulled almost 18,000 votes in 2012. So his message still resonated, just not enough at the time. He should be able to make adjustments in strategy, and their "Invest Local" strategy will give him more political capital: http://invest.newdawn.ca/ Clarke came into 2012 with political weight, but no performance as mayor to evaluate. He'll be up against answering for 2012 through 2016 now. There are very specific criticisms to be waged. And he's left the door open for it. He should be far more vulnerable now. He's not going to shake stuff like Archibald's Wharf or the buried MacNeil report easily. But the information campaigns against him have to be very careful. Ranting and raving won't cut it. It has to be professional language that points out his missteps. Dutt and Doucette lost to the Liberal candidates. However, they have political influence with over 7,500 voters. While neither may run, they can certainly use their supporter networks to stump for another viable candidate, such as Rankin. Rankin and New Dawn are closely connected to young, tech savvy folks that (if recruited) would make a major impact in mounting a campaign to offset political backers with deep pockets for Clarke. Clarke is a Harper man, a PC. And he's a Harper man in a time when the former PC was driven out of office in a sweep. That won't play well for him in the present environment. A Liberal backed mayor makes more sense (Federal dollars invested in their own). Geoff MacLellan would win and should be on the list. However, I think from a career perspective it would be a huge step back and a poorly calculated risk. He's seen how it worked out for Cecil Clarke, and it could derail his trajectory as well. I'd imagine he'd rather rub elbows and drink wheat grass shots with Trudeau than hang out with Sheehy for morgan and cokes. I think we're going to hear some new names emerge soon. Most safe strategic bet is anyone backed by the Liberals.
Joe Ward My Post Follow Me 2016-02-02 7:22 PM AST Reply 0 0 Question: Shoulder Parker Rudderham be on the list? He has the financial means to run the campaign. He's well connected. He has a publishing unit available through his Frank Magazine staff. He recently made a $1 million dollar donation to the YMCA. And if his ownership with Frank Magazine is any indication, he's unlikely to be someone that would pull any punches during a mayoral run.
[comment deleted] Posted 2016-02-04 10:51 PM AST Joe Ward My Post Follow Me 2016-02-04 10:59 PM AST Reply 0 0 I don't know much about Mae Rowe. What was her career/background before council? [comment deleted] Posted 2016-02-04 11:09 PM AST Joe Ward My Post Follow Me 2016-02-04 11:27 PM AST Reply 0 0 I guess I have some Googling to do. ;) [comment deleted] Posted 2016-02-04 11:31 PM AST
Jason Morrison Follow Me 2016-03-01 12:38 PM AST Reply 0 0 I know I might be grilled for this but I am happy with Mayor Clarke, I know it seems like a gamble to push for port development but the payout could be enormous for the area and I support him in his efforts. I know there are transparency issues with him, especially over the port, but we have had them with every politician so I will accept the non-disclosure statements for the time being and see what comes of this. Most people are good people and I believe Cecil is in this for the betterment of the community. I don't agree with everything that CBRM has done under him but you can't please everyone on every issue. Wayne O'Toole Follow Me 2016-03-01 1:38 PM AST Reply 4 0 I don't believe you will be grilled. You have every right to express opinion and did so in a way that doesn't deserve being grilled. Many may disagree but thats part of a valuable open discussion. I agree IF the port is viable it could have positive impact however do not agree with non disclosures and secrecy. This project is near 30 years and well over $100,000,000 taxpayer dollars invested. We are the shareholders and we need an open and transparent system. We should, as citizens question things that impact community in 100 million dollar way. As for "all politicians are the same" well that needs to change. Our mayor has dropped us to near last in transparency as stated in another article and he also does not involve counsel in decisions which in a true democracy you do. I will play devils advocate...what if the port is and has been a bust for years....what could we have accomplished with well over $100,000,000 to better our island?
Joe Ward My Post Follow Me 2016-06-23 8:19 PM ADT Reply 0 0 We've talked about who might run for mayor. But with a strong council, the mayor's power is rightly limited. What would the next council have to do to be a strong one? Let's talk about it in this new topic: https://capebreton.lokol.me/ides-of-october-13-plain-speak-tips-for-our-new-cbrm-councillors
Joe Ward My Post Follow Me 2016-08-12 9:16 PM ADT Reply 1 0 6 months ago, I questioned who would be our new mayor. It looks like we now know that it'll be Rankin MacSween rising to the challenge: https://capebreton.lokol.me/rankin-macsween-running-for-mayor