SPRINGHILL – Liberals in Cumberland South have spoken, and they’ve elected Scott Lockhart as their candidate in the upcoming Cumberland South byelection.
“The last few elections we ran against a leader of a party and we fought hard, Kenny (Jackson) fought hard, we all did, and we tried our best and it wasn’t easy,” said Lockhart at the Liberal nomination meeting Sunday afternoon at the Dr. Carson & Marion Murry Community Centre in Springhill. “This time we’re running against a party with no leader. They don’t have one, so we have a really good chance to win this election on the doorsteps.”
Two candidates were on the ballot Sunday afternoon, Lockhart and Brian Sanderson. After the 127 ballots were counted, Lockhart was declared the winner.
“We have a big job ahead of us,” said Lockhart after winning the nomination. “Anybody who didn’t vote for us today I hope will support us and take a lawn sign.”
Lockhart says it’s a good time to elect a liberal because they will sit on the government side of the legislature instead of the opposition side.
“The choice is pretty simple here. The people of Cumberland South have a chance to elect a Liberal, and, if I win, I will be in the government for three years,” he said. “I will do my best. Give me a chance, and if I don’t do a good job in those three years, when the next election comes, I’ll be out.”
Lockhart works at Thibault Importation, where he is the district sales manager for the Maritimes, selling power sport products to motorcycle and snowmobile enthusiasts.
Lockhart has also worked on Bill Casey’s campaigns going back 30 years. Casey, the MP for Cumberland-Colchester, praised Lockhart for his strong work ethic and hopes he gets a lot of support in the coming byelection.
“He’s a very hardworking salesman in a really tough business but he is the leader in his whole industry in Atlantic Canada, and he does it by hard work,” said Casey. “He’ll work hard on this election, and that’s what it’s going to take.”
Before the ballots were cast, Lockhart talked about his priorities. They include:
Healthcare
“I have served five years on the Springhill Hospital Board and that experience directly involved the recruiting and the retention of medical professionals” said Lockhart. “I want to put that experience to use in government.”
Lockhart said he has reached out to doctors and pharmacists to discuss ways to ease the backlog of patients at emergency rooms in Cumberland South.
“It might not all be done with doctors, it might be done by providing pharmacists with enhanced duties, and maybe some nurse practitioners as well,” said Lockhart.
New School in Springhill
“There needs to be a new school in Springhill heated by geothermal energy,” said Lockhart. “The dedicated teachers and staff are doing a remarkable job keeping the school functioning but enough is enough. I will work tirelessly to ensure a new school is built as soon as possible.”
NSCC corrections training course
“I would like to see the creation of a corrections training course here at NSCC to enable our youth to secure employment at the prison,” said Lockhart. “The Springhill institution employs over 400 people with very good government-paying jobs,”
Community
“I will work with every community group; the municipality of Cumberland, our member of parliament, and anybody who wants to make Cumberland South a better place to live and raise their family,” said Lockhart.
Tory Rushton is the Progressive Conservative candidate in the upcoming byelection, and Larry Duchesne is the NDP candidate.
The date of the byelection has yet to be called by Nova Scotia premier Stephen McNeil.
