Good to his word from last February, former Conservative member of parliament Rex Barnes is challenging Ray Hunter for the Tory nomination Grand Falls-Windsor-Green Bay South.
Notice in a piece from NTV News that Barnes is rattling off a bunch of problems that have come up since the Conservatives swept to power in 2003. That Internet connection one is especially noticeable given that the Tories coughed up $20 million to help several private sector companies expand their business in the province.
Now this is a place where party affiliation is often a case of whatever-gets-me-elected. Ask Dipper cum Tory cum Connie Trevor Taylor about flags of convenience. Right off the bat, Rex is getting a few points for sticking with the team he started with.
But given that his constituents are complaining about stuff his buddies did or failed to do - as the case may be, it seems odd he wants to run for the Tories. As for incumbent Ray Hunter, he hasn’t always been so well loved inside the Tory caucus.
The nomination fight is on Wednesday.
It might be interesting to see if the loser - whoever that might be – decides to change parties. After all, this district is one that turned up on a few lists of districts the Liberals could pick up even while Danny was still around. With temporary leader Kathy “Dropping-like-a-stone” Dunderdale, the Tories might have a hard time hanging onto this seat regardless of whether the Tories run Rex or Ray.
If one of them changes teams after the nomination, that might be a clue as to how Tories are assessing the chances of them hanging onto this seat.
And if Kathy Dunderdale turns up with a fire truck to give away, or someone starts laying pavement any time soon, you can bet its on the Tory list of vulnerable seats.
- srbp -