Rothesay by-election results

A by-election held yesterday to elect a new MLA for the riding of Rothesay proved victorious for the Progressive Conservative party.

PC candidate Hugh John (Ted) Fleming III was elected in Rothesay on Monday, June 25th to replace former PC MLA and Minister of Energy Margaret-Ann Blaney.

Blaney, who also served as the Minister of the Status of Women and Minister of Environment under Premier David Alward, resigned her seat in mid-May 2012, citing personal reasons. She was then appointed to the position of President and CEO of Efficiency NB, a Crown corporation seeking to promote energy efficiency.

Blaney will earn an estimated $150,000 to $170,000 in her new position, which opponents criticize, saying it is a case of political patronage on the part of Premier Alward.

Margaret-Ann Blaney

Fleming's most significant challengers in the by-election were Liberal candidate John Wilcox, a former police officer, and New Brunswick NDP leader Dominic Cardy, who ran in hopes of earning the New Democrats a seat in the New Brunswick Legislature.

The grandson of former Premier Hugh John Fleming (1952-1960) was also provided a challenge by Sharon Murphy, who ran for the Green Party, and Marjorie MacMurray, an independent candidate.

With Fleming's victory, the Rothesay riding continues to be a Tory stronghold. The provincial PCs have held Rothesay since 1999, while the Liberals held the riding prior to that, and were within 100 votes of claiming Rothesay in the 2006 provincial election.

Fleming finished the election with a total of 1,625 votes, or roughly 36 percent of the vote, while Wilcox and the Liberals had 1,328.

Cardy emerged with 1,158 votes. Murphy and the Greens had only 69 votes, while independent MacMurray had 62.

There were 9,357 registered eligible voters. Voter turnout was 45.4 percent, or 4,248. A total of 846 people voted at the advance polls, which were held over a two-day period.

Fleming claimed to have campaigned hard, and acknowledged that Rothesay voters were disappointed with patronage appointments and other issues.

Ted Fleming

"I campaigned hard door-to-door," Fleming stated in a press release published on the CBC website. "I know there [are] issues. I know that in a by-election, halfway through a term, people have a tendency to want to let off a little steam."

"So they did. But at the end of the day, I think our hard work prevailed and the record of the Alward government prevailed."

Wilcox, who finished second place, said that more than half of voters voted against the Tories.

"Its a shame the vote is split," Wilcox stated. "But you know what? A message was sent to the Conservative party."

John Wilcox

Cardy told the CBC that his party has been working to rebuild and modernize, and that Monday's by-election defeat in Rothesay means that the NDP need to continue on that path.

"My goal as NDP leader is to make sure our party can take government," Cardy stated. "And this was a first shot for us to try out our new campaign techniques."

Like Fleming, Cardy reflects on campaigning hard, while increasing the NDP presence in Rothesay.

"We managed to knock on every door in Rothesay and massively increase our vote over previous results, and clearly re-establish ourselves as a contender for power in the province," Cardy told the CBC. "But we didn't get there yet."

"So my party has to continue to change, to modernize, to move forward."

Dominic Cardy

Cardy feels the NDP did accomplish a lot in this by-election, and will be prepared for the 2014 provincial election.

"In just three and a half weeks, we managed to put together a team that pulled nearly thirty percent of the vote," Cardy reflected. "Just see what we can do in two years."

With files from Elections NB and www.cbc.ca