Four Progressive Conservative ridings and one swing riding squeezed into a single seat. Gagetown-Petitcodiac is comprised of Petitcodiac, Grand Lake-Gegtown, Oromocto, Sussex-Fundy-St Martins, and Hampton Kings. Four of those ridings saw the PC MLAs defeat second place contenders by more than 2000 votes in 2010. Many of those ridings have never seen an MLA other than a tory in recent memory.
The lucky PC to have the nomination for this new super-riding is Ross Wetmore. He is the incumbent from defunct Grand Lake-Gagetown and member of the Standing Committee on Crown Corporations and the Standing Committee of Legislative Officers. Wetmore is an accomlished buisnessman who owns grocers, wholesalers, a marina, and restaurants. If Wetmore doesn’t win this riding by a landslide, it’ll be an embarassment to him and the party.
Barak Stevens is also a successful buisnessman of more than 35 years. He is running under the red banner of the Liberal Party. Stevens is a director of the Mill Cove Nursing Home and a member of the New Brunswick Tappers and Fur Harvesters Association. Based on polling and the results from the five defunct ridings that make up Gagetown-Petitcodiac; Liberal Stevens has the best chance of overcoming the Tory stronghold, but it’s unlikely.
The NDP come to Gagetown-Petitcodiac with self-described activist Anthony Crandall; an employee of the NDP and former Tim Horton’s barrista. Crandall runs an even more difficult gauntlet than Stevens; in four of the five ridings, the NDP came in third place repeatedly, election after election. In Grand Lake-Gagetown, the NDP came in fourth place (2010) to People’s Alliance candidate Kris Austin.
The Greens enter Fred Harrison, renowned Canadian artist. Harrison came to New Brunswick in 2006 when the town of Sussex commissioned him to paint two murals. Harrison loved it so much that he decided to stay in New Brunswick.
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