On the ticket

Bay Roberts Mayor to represent the PCs in Harbour Grace – Port de Grave

By Craig Westcott

t’s official, Bay Roberts Mayor Walter Yetman will represent the PC Party in the next provincial election, which could be called before this edition even hits the streets.

Yetman won the nomination unopposed. He said he put the word out last April after deciding a couple of months earlier that he would run, hoping to stave off any challengers.

“I’m really anxious to get going,” said Yetman, who is an advocate of fixed election dates.

“There’s too much uncertainty. People’s careers are involved here. They should have a fixed date for this,” he argued. “But for me I’m just anxious. It’s been a long time (waiting).”

Yetman said running provincially has been a lifelong dream.

“I had 20 years of municipal government experience. I was 10 years prior to that with the volunteer fire department,” he added. “I have a lot of experience around municipal government. And so you see the needs municipally, but a lot of it ties into all the municipalities across the prov-ince. We’re having the same issues. I felt that I have a lot more to offer. I have a lot of experience… I’d like to say that I’m a good listener, good communicator. You need to communicate with the different groups. The councils need to be heard. The different groups need to be heard. And communication is very important, extremely important.”

The 55-year-old said the important issues in the district are the obvious ones.

“It might seem that it’s repeated over and over, but healthcare – there are serious issues with healthcare,” he said. “Just in our local area, there are people that are having trouble availing services, such as testing. There’s a huge backlog for testing. There’s a lot of issues around healthcare that need to be addressed.”

Other things that need attention, said Yetman, are the cost of living, policing, and support for volunteer firefighters who are increasingly taking on the role of first responders to accident calls. Public safety is a huge issue in Conception Bay North, he added. “And so that’s where I come in and that’s where I want to get down and meet with these groups and listen.”

Yetman said he has never run or dabbled in provincial or federal politics before. So why the PC’s, especially when it looks like the Furey Liberals are likely to win re-election and past history shows Newfoundland’s ambitious political wannabes usually seek a jersey on the winning side?

“Well, first of all, I looked at Tony Wakeham,” said Yetman. “I think Tony Wakeham is a good leader. I’ve met Tony on several occasions. Tony is a very authentic person. He’s a listener. And I have the experience of knowing people that have had issues, and Tony has picked up the phone and called them personally. So, he cares. And I would love to be in a caucus or in the same party with Tony as leader.”

Yetman said he met with most of the PC caucus last fall. “And they are a great group of people. They do care,” he said. “They really do… And they see what needs to be done.”

Sometimes when you’re in Opposition, Yetman argued, it’s hard to get people’s attention.

“This party needs a chance to get out there and do the things that need to be done,” he said.

Yetman has 31 years of self-employment experience a building contractor.

“It’s allowed me to stay in my hometown,” he said. “It’s allowed me to serve my community. And CBN is a beautiful area. It has so much potential. We could be doing so much better, and there are issues that need to be dealt with.”

But Yetman added, government has to be responsible in its decisions as well. Referring to a recent interview in The Shoreline with the area’s current MHA, Liberal Pam Parsons, Yetman said he was surprised to see her calling for a new community centre and swimming pool to be built in Bay Roberts without having asked council or the Town if it can afford to take on that financial obligation.

“If I wasn’t involved in provincial politics, I’d still say this, that that’s not for her to say,” said Yetman. “You sit down with a community first before you make (such) a statement. Yes, it sounds favorable. Some people would like that. But you need to sit down with the community. Can their budget handle this? Can they financially sustain a community center? So that’s where the discussion would need to happen. Come and sit down specifically (in this case) with the Bay Roberts council. Maybe there are other communities that want to have some of these (things), and the residents are crying for it. It’s okay to say that, but you’re talking about a $20,000,000 to $25,000,000 facility. And for a town of 6,000 people, can we sustain that? Can we afford that? Is that part of a plan that we have? Is that the right way to spend our money? And to go out and say these things, no, it’s not the way it should be done. Consultation should happen with communities before anything.”

Yetman is worried that with three elections on this year – provincial, federal and in October, municipal – people may get tired of voting. A by-election in St. John’s, he noted, had voter turnout of less than 20 per cent.

“And that’s concerning,” said Yetman. “People need to be encouraged to get out. Now is your chance. Have your say… We have all these very serious issues that are going on around the province. Okay. So now is your chance. Have your say. Have your input. Get involved, either put your name out there or just get out and vote. Support a candidate.”

If history is anything to go by, elections in Harbour Grace – Port de Grave tend to be exciting and often close.

“I’m looking forward to it,” said Yetman. “I’m very, very anxious to get going. I’m very proud to represent the PC party… I think they can form a government. I feel they have the right intentions. They’re ready to do the work. They see the problems and they’re anxious to get to work.”