Shelley Rinehart named Liberal candidate in Saint John East

Saint John Deputy Mayor Shelley Rinehart will be the Liberal candidate in the Nov. 17 Saint John East byelection, Premier Brian Gallant said in a statement on Monday.

​Rinehart, who was first elected as a councillor-at-large in the 2012 municipal election, will be appointed as the party’s candidate, instead of holding a formal nomination in the riding.

Rinehart told Information Morning Saint John that she was approached by a representative from Gallant's office about the possibility of running in the upcoming byelection after a council meeting last Tuesday.

She admitted she was surprised by the request.

Rinehart said she has never been involved in a political party before, but she is eager to represent her city in the provincial legislature.

"I look at where Saint John is currently in this particular period and we need some help and some movement here," she said.

"We have some really good people on the side of opposition but we need equally strong people on the side of government, and that was a tipping point for me."

Rinehart is a professor at the University of New Brunswick in Saint John and has a PhD in business administration.

The Liberal candidate does not reside in the Saint John East riding, but she said her parents live in the riding and she lived there earlier in her life. Rinehart also said she bought her first house in the area when she moved back to the city after completing her PhD in the United States.

Rinehart said she believes she can represent the issues of Saint John East well in the legislature, if she is elected, even if she is not living in the riding.

"I’m a councillor-at-large so I represent the entire city, so I maintain an interest and a good set of information on what is happening, the pulse of what is happening in the east side," she said.

Rinehart will not be giving up her position as the city's deputy mayor during the byelection. She said she spoke to her council colleagues on Sunday night and it was decided that she should continue in her municipal role.

Rinehart’s candidacy also has the potential of adding another female voice to the Liberal caucus.

Only four of 26 Liberals are women and Gallant has promised to work harder to recruit more women as candidates.

​The premier called the Nov. 17 byelection on Saturday, only a few days after Gary Keating, the Liberal who won the riding by nine votes on Sept. 22, suddenly quit.

Gallant is using a procedure which is part of the Liberal party’s rules to appoint a candidate.

"I'm incredibly proud and humbled to have someone as experienced and accomplished as Shelley join our mission to move New Brunswick forward," Gallant said in a statement.

Gallant is travelling in Alberta today as a part of a trade mission to promote the Energy East pipeline project.

The pipeline project, which still needs regulatory approval, plans to send 1.1 million barrels of oil per day from Western Canada and eventually to the Irving Oil Ltd. refinery in Saint John and a proposed deep water marine terminal.

'A significant get'

​J.P. Lewis, a political scientist at the University of New Brunswick in Saint John, said the appointment of Rinehart is important for the Liberals in terms of potentially boosting the number of female caucus members and cabinet ministers from the city.

“[Rinehart]'s not someone that we would guess that will just end up on the backbench. It is a significant get for the Liberals,” Lewis said on Monday.

The UNB political scientist also said Rinehart’s lack of history with a political party should also play well with people who are disaffected from traditional politics.

“I think parties are always happy if they can bring in a high-profile, so-called non-partisan, even though as soon as they agree, they become partisan,” he said.

The fact that Rinehart was appointed instead of being elected in an internal party nomination battle is unlikely to create a problem for the Liberals during the byelection, Lewis said.

An appointment could hurt the party if there was a messy fight with the local riding executive.

“The average voter doesn’t get worked up in the inner party processes, especially now that Brian Gallant should have quite a bit of capital right now with his Liberal party, internally. So I would imagine those complaints would come from the outside,” he said.

“If there is ever an argument for those types of appointments it is when New Brunswick is falling so far behind in getting female numbers up [in the legislature].”

Priority on economic development

Rinehart and some of her supporters met with reporters on Monday morning outside of her parents' home in the riding of Saint John East.

​Roly MacIntyre, a former Liberal cabinet minister who previously represented the riding that Rinehart is running in, said he doesn't believe the fact that Rinehart doesn't live in the riding now will have an impact.

"Shelley Rinehart representing Saint John and east Saint John is a great choice. She’ll be a great addition to Brian Gallant’s government for sure," MacIntyre said.

MacIntyre was also asked whether the business professor would make a good fit for Gallant's cabinet. The former cabinet minister said that call is always made by the premier, but he pointed out how Saint John does not have the same level of cabinet representation as in previous years.

"We could sure use another representative in Saint John," he said.

"In my days, we had five, six and seven [ministers]. We have one at the moment. So it is really important that we work hard for Shelley Rinehart, I think she’ll be a great addition to Brian Gallant’s government."

Rinehart told reporters she has not been promised a cabinet position if she is elected and she has not asked for one.

The UNB professor said she will also finish teaching her three classes this term, even if she is wins the byelection.

Rinehart said creating jobs in Saint John will be her top priority if she's elected on Nov. 17.

"It is really about economic development and development in general to get a little bit more oomph back in our community," she said.

"My conversations with the premier tell me that he does recognize that Saint John is an economic driver in our province and that gives me a lot of comfort. If we are the economic driver, then we need to get our engine going."

The Liberal candidate also said she doesn't know how voters will react to having to go back to the polls so soon after the general election.

"I am sure there is a little bit of voter fatigue there, but I hope that the residents understand the importance of the byelection and the importance of getting out to vote and having really good representation for their riding in government," she said.

Glen Savoie will be running again for the Progressive Conservatives in Saint John East.

Savoie was elected in Saint John-Fundy in 2010 but lost in last month’s election.

Rinehart's previous political allegiances also became an issue on Monday after she made her announcement.

Dorothy Shephard, the Tory MLA-elect in Saint John Lancaster, said on Twitter that Rinehart supported her in last month's election.

Dominic Cardy being urged to run

Dominic Cardy, who said he intended to resign as the province’s NDP leader on election night, has been urged to run by some people inside the party.

Cardy said on his Facebook page on Friday that he is considering the possibility of running in Saint John East and would listen to what people think about his potential candidacy.

"Before I make any decisions I need to keep listening, to my party, to my wife, and to people in Saint John East. I’ll make this decision the same way I try to make every decision: I’ll listen, I’ll think, and then I’ll get going," he wrote.

Cardy's NDP did not win a seat in the Sept. 22 election.

However, Saint John has been willing to elect NDP members in the past. Former leader Elizabeth Weir held the riding of Saint John Harbour from 1991 to 2005.

Peter Trites won the riding of East Saint John in a 1984 byelection.