Young PC candidate pursuing his heart’s content in politics
By Olivia Bradbury/Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
He’s already made history as the youngest elected councillor in the Town of Heart’s Content
Now twenty-eight-year-old Riley Balsom, only child of Rick and Petrina Balsom, is running to become the MHA for Carbonear-Trinity-Bay de Verde district.
He’ll be up against political veteran and Liberal Party stalwart Steve Crocker, if the Province’s current Tourism Minister seeks re-election.
Balsom attended Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador where he majored in history and minored in French, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 2018. Most recently he worked as the e-commerce operations department manager at Walmart in Carbonear, a job he gave up to pursue a political career.
That was several weeks ago, when a provincial election was widely expected to be called any day. The unexpected news of Premier Andrew Furey’s resignation last week means the governing Liberals will have to put off a provincial vote at least until the party chooses a new leader.
Politics, meanwhile, has long been a passion of Balsom. Starting when he was 18, Balsom served on the executive of the PC District Association for Carbonear-Trinity-Bay de Verde for a decade. For the first five years he was secretary, and for the last five he served as president. He resigned from the presidency in October and announced his bid for the party’s nomination in the district.
“I’ve been involved in campaigns for a long time,” said Balsom. “I can remember back in 2014 when we had a byelection here in the district. I’d leave class on Friday afternoon and I’d head out and meet up with the team wherever we were to and just start knocking doors.”
In 2021, he was elected to the Heart’s Content council. “It’s a position I thoroughly enjoy,” said Balsom. He is taking a leave of absence from council to focus on the provincial campaign.
“I want to give back to the residents of the district through positive, dedicated service,” said Balsom. “This is my first time putting my name forward to run provincially, and I’m a firm believer that, if I’m successful in my bid, that I work for the people, not the other way around. Being able to be afforded the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of the residents of Carbonear-Trinity-Bay de Verde no matter the community and no matter your political stripe is the reason I want to run.”
Balsom said he supports the direction that PC Party Leader Tony Wakeham, is taking. “His ideas, his vision for the province I believe is exactly what we need after these last few hard years we’ve all had to endure,” saif the candidate. “It’s time for positive, forward-thinking ideas to bring us back to our full potential.”
Balsom said Wakeham has attracted many young people to the party.
“In the nomination vote for my district, almost a thousand people came out to vote on a Saturday, and that tells me that people want change, and I am excited to be a part of that change,” said Balsom
As the district’s PC candidate, road safety and infrastructure, fixing the healthcare system, increasing support for seniors, and addressing rising crime rates are some of the issues he intends to focus on, Balsom said.
