Paradise mayor going federal

By Mark Squibb

The next time you see Dan Bobbett’s name on a ballot, it may be for a federal election.

The Paradise mayor recently announced his candidacy for the nomination of the Conservative Party of Canada in the riding of Cape Spear.

“The Conservative Party, and some of their values, and what they’re striving for resonated with me,” said Bobbett. “Pierre’s Poilievre’s plan to ‘Axe the Tax’ resonated with me, and with a lot of Canadians… I think Poilievre is committed to families and to making life better for families, especially when it comes to cutting taxes and looking at the cost of living, and how we can assist as a party, and trying to right-side the economy.”

Bobbett also applauded Poilievre’s tough stance on crime.

“Crime rates seem to be rising, and that’s one of the things Pierre Poilievre has come out on,” said Bobbett. “They’ll do what they can to increase funding for police, like supporting more policing and strengthening the criminal justice system. People are seeing the crime rate increase, and they’re wondering ‘Are we safe in our own communities?’ Petty crimes are on the rise, break-ins are on the rise. The Town of Paradise has had several meetings with the RNC, and we’ve had yearly check-ins with the RNC, and we have a good relationship with municipal enforcement and the RNC, and the need for that good relationship carries over to Poilievre’s ‘Stop the Crime’ platform.”

Bobbett said this coming September will mark his twentieth year serving on council, including 12 years as mayor, and he was ready for a change so running for the federal Conservatives seemed like a good fit.

“People are getting to the point where they want an alternative, and I think Pierre Poilievre is that alternative,” said Bobbett.

The bioengineering technologist with Health Services NL said Poilievre’s “common sense approach to finances” appealed to him, and, should he be elected, he would work to improve funding agreements between the federal government and municipalities, using Paradise’s infamous lift station 10, which suffered another major malfunction last week, as an example.

The Town applied for cost shared funding for the project based on an initial pre-tender estimate of $12.6 million. But when the project went to tender, the lowest bid came in at $24 million.

“I remember when Trudeau was elected, I attended a Federation of Canadian Municipalities Conference, and he said he was going to find a way to get the money directly to municipalities,” said Bobbett. “And you know what? It never happened. So, here we are with a project that we got cost shared funding on for $12.7 million that ballooned to $25 million when it went to tender, and Paradise had to pay the difference.”

Bobbett said, should he win the nomination, he will remain on as Mayor until the election is called. Once the election is called, he would take a leave of absence to campaign, and Deputy Mayor Kimberley Street would likely assume the Mayor’s chair.

Bobbett would also have to step away from his position at the Health Sciences Centre once an election is called should he win the nomination.

“I’m a hard worker, I feel proud of the work I’ve done as the mayor of Paradise, and I feel like I can take that work and work ethic and use it in helping the riding of Cape Spear and doing what I can for everyone in that district,” said Bobbett.

Bobbett hasn’t yet met Poilievre face-to-face but welcomes the opportunity.

The riding of Cape Spear, meanwhile, is a redistribution of the former riding of St. John’s South— Mount Pearl. It consists of Mount Pearl, Paradise, Petty Harbour-Maddox Cove, and a portion of St. John’s. It boats a population of 85,000.

Political newcomer Manoj Khandavelli, whom The Shoreline interviewed earlier this year, is also seeking the nomination.