Photos

My first election as a candidate was the 2001 by-election campaign in Halifax Fairview. Around me at campaign headquarters on election night are (l to r) mlas John Holm, Kevin Deveaux, and Jerry Pye. Amidst the celebration, though, “the bad news was that our leader, Helen MacDonald, came a disappointing third” in Cape Breton North. Courtesy of the Halifax Herald Ltd.

One local issue in the 2001 by-election was the future of Halifax West High School, which had been closed for environmental reasons. A few weeks after becoming mla, I stood in the legislature to give my maiden speech, and “I was startled to realize…that no one in the room, absolutely no one, was listening.”

Since our constituencies overlapped, I shared an office with Alexa McDonough, former provincial and federal ndp leader and mp for Halifax. “Because the mla has no job description, everything fits. So when the casework call comes in, it’s pretty well impossible to say no. You say yes, over and over, until one day you realize that casework is all you’re doing.” Catherine Joudrey

Signing the oath as a Cabinet minister at the Cunard Centre, June 19, 2009, with Lieutenant-Governor Mayann Francis (standing, left) and Premier Darrell Dexter (right). “The desire to be in Cabinet exerts an almost otherworldly pull on a politician’s mind.” Communications Nova Scotia

There was a large crowd, estimated at 1,500, at the Cunard Centre for the 2009 Cabinet swearing-in. “Everyone who had contributed to electing the ndp government was there, and they brought their friends and family. The mood was festive.” Communications Nova Scotia

The 2009 Dexter Cabinet: (back row, l to r) Graham Steele, Marilyn More, Sterling Belliveau, Percy Paris, Denise Peterson-Rafuse, Ramona Jennex, and Ross Landry; and (front row, l to r) John MacDonell, Frank Corbett, Darrell Dexter, Maureen MacDonald, and Bill Estabrooks. Communications Nova Scotia

Darrell and I getting ready to respond to one of the expert advisory reports that we commissioned during our first few months in office. “[W]ith the best of intentions—working on core priorities, commissioning expert reports, delivering a budget, figuring out what was really going on—we squandered our first eight months in office.” Courtesy of the Halifax Herald Ltd.

Leading a Back to Balance public consultation in Liverpool on February 19, 2010. “Back to Balance was…the largest public consultation on finances in the province’s history.” Communications Nova Scotia

Auditor General Jacques Lapointe (pictured here at a different event) delivered his report on mla expenses on February 3, 2010. “This was the pivotal moment at which the Dexter government’s downward slide began.” Courtesy of the Halifax Herald Ltd.

Frank Corbett, deputy premier and government house leader, and I confer during the first open meeting of the legislature’s Internal Economy Board. “Our government’s response [to the mla expense scandal], on a strictly policy level, was as good as could be hoped for…. But it didn’t matter. The damage was done. We got no credit for the repairs.” Courtesy of the Halifax Herald Ltd.

Delivering the 2010 budget on April 6, 2010. Our decision to raise the Harmonized Sales Tax from 13% to 15% ran contrary to Darrell’s televised promise not to raise taxes. “The hst issue always troubled Darrell. He is an honourable person, and it troubled him that he had made a promise, even in the heat of an election campaign, that he did not keep.” Communications Nova Scotia

Federal ndp leader Jack Layton (left) joins me and Darrell Dexter (right). Layton was a positive and popular force, and conferred often with Darrell. Layton died on the same day the owners of the Point Tupper pulp mill announced the mill would close. That may have been Darrell’s worst day in office.

Delivering the 2012 budget on April 3, 2012. Less than a month later, I told Darrell I was going to resign as his finance minister. “[W]e walked downstairs to a small meeting room…I told him that my mind was absolutely made up. There was no chance of my staying on.” Communications Nova Scotia

Being sworn into Cabinet for the second time on May 10, 2013, in the premier’s meeting room at One Government Place. (l to r) Chief Justice Michael MacDonald, Premier Darrell Dexter, me, and Maureen MacDonald. “The contrast with my first Cabinet swearing-in could not have been more stark.” David Darrow

In a crowded room at the Rodd Grand Hotel in Yarmouth, on August 13, 2013, I announced that a new operator for a Yarmouth–Portland ferry had been selected, and that negotiations would begin immediately. “Cutting the subsidy for the Yarmouth ferry was the worst decision the Dexter government made…The savings were modest…The political damage was astronomical.” Communications Nova Scotia

The goodbye card I sent to my constituents in the early spring of 2013. For a laugh, I included a photo of how I looked in 2001, as a contrast to 2013. Towards the end, “I was swimming in a sea of negativity, and it was wearing me down.”