CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. - One of the biggest issues facing P.E.I. is the lack of long-term vision, says the Green party’s District 11 byelection candidate Hannah Bell.
It’s a problem Bell hopes to provide some solutions for after winning the party’s first-ever contested nomination meeting at Murphy’s Community Centre Monday night.
Bell won the nomination with 72 votes compared to Karla Bernard’s 22 votes.
Bell said too many provincial decisions are being made with a lack of long-term direction due to a system that offers no incentive for looking beyond an election cycle.
“That translates into policies that don’t have long-term strategic thinking behind them. They’re not designed for what’s best for the community,” said Bell. “The overall vision isn’t there and we’re falling behind in terms of our quality of life.”
Bell, who said she was humbled and thrilled to get the nomination, described her personal motto as “gentle pressure, relentlessly applied.”
“It’s a continual reminder to me that the most effective change is done by continually showing up and never giving up,” said Bell, who is the executive director of the P.E.I. Business Women’s Association.
As a member of the party for a number of years, Bell is the party’s finance critic and has previously drafted and researched policy as well as helped other candidates write speeches.
She said her primary area of expertise is economic development and criticized the province’s large debt, while adding she would be committed to making “evidence-based decisions.”
“A lot of it is looking at what we’re doing now and asking why are we doing it that way? Is there a better way to do it? Can we make adjustments to make it more cost effective?”
Bernard, who congratulated Bell following the vote, has also pledged to support her throughout the campaign.
Green party leader Peter Bevan-Baker congratulated both candidates for putting their names forward.
He described the District 11 seat as “absolutely winnable” by noting the Green candidate had earned more than 19 per cent of the district’s popular vote during the 2015 provincial election.
“We’re not starting from nothing, there are so many things in our favour,” said Bevan-Baker, who also pointed out that Green candidate Lynne Lund more than doubled the party’s percentage of the popular vote during a District 21 byelection last year. “If we do a similar thing here, we win this seat. It’s as simple as that.”
Monday night also saw the Liberal party nominate Bob Doiron as a byelection candidate. The Progressive Conservative party of P.E.I. will hold a nomination meeting Wednesday.
Unlike the Liberal nomination meeting, which only allowed members in the district vote, the Green party’s nomination meeting was open for all members of the party for more than 30 days. That’s because the party does not yet have a district association in the area.
Bell said there is still a lot of planning to do while waiting for the writ to drop.
“Whenever it comes, whether it’s in two days or two months, we’ll be ready and we intend to win.”
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