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Mayor-in-waiting?


After Halifax Mayor Peter Kelly’s landslide wins in three consecutive elections, logic dictates that anyone who challenges him would have to be either incredibly confident or astonishingly foolhardy. Kelly’s challengers have all learned the same lesson: to unseat the mayor, they need political savvy and broad grassroots support.

Few challengers could match those strengths of Kelly’s. But there is one long-time politico in Halifax who could, and just might. In the spring, political circles were abuzz with the news that Peter Stoffer, the veteran MP for Sackville-Eastern Shore, might challenge Kelly in the city’s next mayoral election in 2012. Maybe.

The story, by Herald reporter Stephen Maher, was full of qualifiers: “considering,” “giving it serious thought,” “thinking about it…” But the same story also said he was planning to run in the next federal election and then serve out his full term, which would likely take him past 2012.

The contradiction should surprise no one. Stoffer has a reputation as an independent thinker, often voting against party lines. The issues closest to his heart as NDP critic in veteran affairs and East Coast fisheries are more populist than partisan. He’s passionate about defending the Canadian veterans who liberated his family in occupied Holland and the fishery workers who “risk their lives to bring us the food we eat.”

His loyalty to his constituents has created a diehard following. Reverend Iain Macdonald of the South Shore is one such fan. He says that Stoffer is the right type of person for government because he loves helping people and he loves arguing for a good cause. “He pays attention and keeps in touch and it’s obvious that he loves doing it,” says Macdonald.

Macdonald remembers Stoffer’s first victory in 1997 when he won the Lower Sackville riding by only a few votes. They joked and called him “Landslide Stoffer.” He also recalls Stoffer’s annual attendance at his church’s Remembrance Day service. “He was always there and he would take part,” he says. “Peter would be the person laying the wreath. With the firm approval of those four people in uniform that it was he who was doing it.”

Despite spending most of his time in Ottawa, Stoffer is known as an accessible MP. “The vast majority of MPs don’t see their emails,” says Stoffer. “Their staff fills them out. I see everything that comes across my desk and I call them all back.I am a Luddite. I don’t use Facebook or email. I talk to people. I know it’s strange but it works.”

An average day begins around 7 a.m. and ends around 11 p.m. In the interim he answers 40 to 50 phone calls, goes to meetings, speaks on fisheries and veteran affairs issues and, during downtime, calls random people in his riding to discuss issues facing their communities. This makes for long days but decisive electoral victories. In his first election in 1997, he won by 39 votes. By 2008, the margin grew to 16,000. That’s an enviable base for a potential mayor.

But why would he make the move? Ottawa loves him. He is routinely voted most congenial and most fun MP to work for in annual polls for The Hill Times. Considered one of the most popular MPs in Ottawa, the position seems to be his for as long as he wants it.

It was his disagreement with the policies of Prime Minister Jean Chretien that started Stoffer’s career in 1997. “If you don’t like what politicians are saying then run for election,” challenges Stoffer.

And it is clear that Stoffer doesn’t agree with Peter Kelly’s leadership.

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The man he would replace has been elected three times with big majorities. But Kelly has recently drawn criticism on issues such as the Commonwealth Games, last year’s failure of the sewage treatment system and aborted attempts at tax reform.

Stoffer is especially critical of how Kelly dealt with the Commonwealth Games. “You saw how the Olympics made Vancouver’s reputation in the world,” he says. “We could have had a smaller version with the Commonwealth Games. We were Canada’s bid and we fouled it up. We embarrassed the whole country, not just ourselves. It was a big opportunity and they didn’t make the most of it.”

Since Stephen Maher’s article in the Herald, political strategists have been wooing Stoffer. He says powerful people have approached him about running. But he continues to insist he’s not in that particular game.

“I will run in the next federal election and if I am successful I will complete the mandate of that position,” says Stoffer. As he explains why he probably won’t run for mayor, he critiques the man he would almost certainly face. “I still think our municipality can do so much better,” he says. “We are bogged down in bureaucracy. Just like we are in the House of Commons. I’d reduce council in half. If I am not mistaken, Winnipeg does it with a mayor and council of 15 and has twice our population.”

Don Mills, president of Corporate Research Associates, championed the Commonwealth Games bid and has been openly critical of the city’s government. “Members of Council and the Mayor are well intentioned people but at the same time it is my judgment that since amalgamation they have been ineffective,” he says. “There has been a rise in cost of government without an increase in service.”

A pollster by trade, Mills believes the mayor’s job is Stoffer’s for the taking, thanks to strong name recognition and solid NDP infrastructure in Halifax to back him. But he questions whether Stoffer will change things. “Changing deck chairs on the Titanic isn’t going to change whether it sinks, now is it?” he asks.

Mills says that any mayor who aims to make a difference must have a firm stance on the urban-rural divide. Research by his firm shows that the majority of Haligonians polled want to break up the municipality. “Amalgamations need to be reviewed,” he says. “We have a council that is way too big to make quick decisions, divided by geography… their needs are quite different. We really have a situation where it is very difficult to serve the needs of either constituency.”

Stoffer rejects that bit of conventional anti-Kelly wisdom, though. “I don’t think there is an urban/rural divide—I think that’s an urban myth,” he says. “I don’t think we can unscramble the omelette. If the Eastern Shore and Musquodoboit Valley want to leave, they should make it clear and go somewhere else. I do think the rural area needs more attention… Once we cut down the Council it will be easier to get their voice heard”

Stoffer also wants Council to not waste time on minutiae like the infamous cat bylaw. “The Council needs to be focused on economic developments, the safety of our citizens, our state of transportation routes and not things that could be easily delegated,” he says. He also believes that a strong government presence in Halifax’s economy has made the city complacent about the role of the private sector. He calls on Council to make the city more business-friendly.

He has a lot of opinions for someone who says he presently has no plans to run. When asked point-blank if he will one day
challenge for mayor, Stoffer is cryptic, saying that he will run in his riding in 2012 and will complete that mandate: “And after that I haven’t said yes or no to anything in that regard.”

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