THANK YOU

Thank you to the voters of Mount Pearl North!

I am truly humbled by your belief in me and I am honoured that you have chosen me to represent you.

I am really excited about joining the Danny Williams Team in the House of Assembly and I look forward to the opportunity to protecting the interests of the people of this District and to bringing their concerns to the Provincial Government.

As I have mentioned before, I did not run this campaign alone, I had many volunteers supporting me in this endeavour, and I owe a great deal of my success to the support they provided. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my volunteers.

Thanks so much to everyone who helped. I couldn't have done this without you.

I appreciate your confidence in me. I won't let you down.

Voting - a privilege and a responsibility

While the recent poll results have been really encouraging, indicating great support for the PC team and our vision, they have also caused me some concern. I wouldn't want any candidate to coast into their seat, based on the popularity of the Party in general.

No race in this province is a foregone conclusion, that's why all the PC candidates are working hard to show the residents of their Districts why they deserve to be elected. No one wants to get their seat simply riding on the Leader's or the Party's coattails. I want your vote because you believe in me, my hard work and my vision, not just because I am PC candidate.

The possibility of voter apathy concerns me as well. I wouldn't want people to feel that their votes don't matter, or worse, that there is no point in voting at all because the results have been decided.

That's why I was heartened by my encounter with an elderly voter earlier this week. This gentleman assured me that he would be taking the opportunity to vote, and not be influenced by the polls, by possible voter apathy, or by anything else. When I asked him why he was so committed to voting he gave a very moving answer:

He said, "Because a lot of good men fought and died so I could."

And that reminded me of the greater issue here. Everyone should vote, not just to ensure that their voices are heard, but to celebrate the fact that they have the right to. The gentleman was absolutely right -- our freedom, including our freedom to vote, was bought with sacrifice, and not voting is to make light of that sacrifice.

Democracy is not something to be taken for granted. Many people throughout the world suffer under dictatorships and other unfair, cruel forms of government, and we should take advantage of our opportunity to contribute to the political process.

So on Tuesday, make your voice heard: Get out and vote!

If you need information about where to vote, or if you need transportation to the polling station, please contact my headquarters at 745-5368.

Practice makes perfect

I was talking to a homeowner at the door the other day and she made a funny observation that has stuck with me.

She wanted to know if I was going to be one of those 'bobbleheads' she says she sees in the House of Assembly at times, nodding and banging their hands in enthusiastic agreement with everything that a member of their Party says but not doing much else. I assured her that I do not work that way -- I am a hard worker and I'll be a strong voice.

That's when she made the funny observation that if I could stand up to Andy Wells, I can stand up to anyone.

I don't want to inflate Andy's ego -- he is hardly the worst thing I could have to face in my career; but he is a constant critic, and he has no qualms about making his disdain known. So I do have a lot of practice in dealing with personal attacks, and in addressing challenges to my position.

And I hadn't thought of this before, but I guess I owe him one - Thanks Andy, for giving me lots of practice in dealing with opposition, I'll make good use of it!

(And as I mentioned in my earlier post on teamwork, I enjoy the interaction of working with a team but I do not blindly follow the crowd, so I am prepared to take on what needs to be done, regardless of how popular it is.)

In Sympathy

I would like to express my condolences to the family, friends and co-workers of Gerry Tobin, Liberal Candidate for Grand Falls-Windsor-Buchans, who passed away suddenly on Sunday, September 30th.



Mr. Tobin, who was 41, was a union activist and an instructor at the College of the North Atlantic in Grand Falls-Windsor.

A team is made up of individuals

I have mentioned many times how proud I am to be part of the Danny Williams PC Team, and how I feel that their vision will help carry this province forward into a time of new prosperity.


However, that doesn't mean I am going to lose my individual vision, and my intention to put the needs of my district first. I do not blindly follow the crowd, even in a group I make my own decisions.


One of the reasons people assemble teams to work on projects (even one as large as running this province) is to get input from a variety of people, with varied backgrounds and different experiences. Everyone on a team brings something unique to the table, and they get the opportunity to have their views heard.


I love to work as part of a team for that reason: the energy generated by so many different viewpoints, the passion that each person brings for their perspective. And I love the next stage of teamwork, the stage that moves things forward, that gets things done: collaboration and compromise. That's the stage in which the team finds a way to address as many of the needs of its members of as possible.


The value of that energy and that collaboration is immeasurable and that's why I look forward working with a REAL team - a bunch of go-getters who aren't afraid to make themselves heard - individually and as a group.

My Mount Pearl North includes Paradise

It might be easy for some people to forget that the District of Mount Pearl North includes parts of two communities, but I have always been aware of the steady growth and great potential of the Town of Paradise.


As Mayor of Mount Pearl, I have been a driving force in ensuring that both of our communities increase their strength by working together and sharing some goals and resources.


The Town of Paradise is the fastest growing community in the province, and that increasing population, combined with the variety of business opportunities in the community makes Paradise an important contributor to the economic growth and success of the region.



I want to help the Town of Paradise to keep up this growth trajectory. And I will work closely with the other two MHAs for the town to ensure that the citizens of Paradise are represented by strong voices in House of Assembly.


I may be the mayor of one city, but when elected I will become the member for a district... a district representing TWO vibrant, independent and economically crucial communities.

I'm all ears

For me, getting to talk to people on the street, at their doors, or even at the supermarket is one of the best parts of campaigning. It's great to hear people's concerns, and answer their questions directly, and to reassure them that their needs are important to me.

Some might assume that the comments made in a quick chat are easily lost, but not for me. I am careful to make note of conversations, and concerns expressed so I can bring them to the appropriate person to deal with them, or handle it myself at the appropriate time.

It is both exciting and refreshing to meet so many residents of Mount Pearl North, and hear what they have to say about the district and their place in it. I have a vision for the district of Mount Pearl North. And that vision has come from talking to area residents, learning what they need and what they want and what they see as the best way to get there.

I am working for the people of this district, I want to be their voice in the House of Assembly. And the only effective way to do that is to listen carefully to what they have to say.

So as Frasier Crane used to say, 'Go ahead, I'm listening.' :-)

Volunteers - the lifeblood of a community

Every community depends heavily on its volunteers, whether they are people visiting the sick, helping in the school library, collecting for charity, or just being neighbourly. In these busy times, it is hard to keep connections between individuals, families and community organizations, and it is volunteers that bridge those gaps.

Volunteer opportunities abound, and anyone interested can find a way to use their skills to help the community and expand their own abilities. And it is important that we all find ways to thank the volunteers that keep our communities running, and let them know how much we appreciate their work.

Volunteers truly are at the heart of our communities. That's part of what makes Paradise and Mount Pearl so strong.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the volunteers who are helping me with my campaign. Their hard work and dedication will make a huge difference in my success. I appreciate their belief in me, and their willingness to work on my behalf during the election season.

All organizations (including my campaign team!) can always use more volunteers. If you are interested in volunteering, contact one of the many organizations in our communities and they will be able to help you find a satisfying position.

If you are interested in working as part of my campaign team, please contact steve@stevekent.ca or 745.5368.

Go Green! Environment Week 2007

This week (June 3-9) is Canadian Environment Week, so it is a great time to consider ways we could improve our relationship with the environment.

We usually think of Newfoundland and Labrador as relatively untouched. And while it is true that we don't have the pollution problems of bigger centres and it is still easy to find green spaces, we need to get into a conservation frame of mind so we can preserve what we have and bring back some of what we have lost.

Individuals can start with small things like following the three Rs: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.


Reduce the energy you use in your house by turning the heat down at night - you'll save on electricity costs, too!

Reuse the backs of old documents for notes, use envelopes for grocery lists. Every little bit counts!


Recycle everything you can. Newspaper, aluminum cans, soft drink bottles can easily be recycled and many charities have donation accounts at the recycling centres. That makes recycling a double good deed.

And corporations can help on an even larger scale.

The City of Mount Pearl has been taking an active role in environmental responsibility by sponsoring community clean-up campaigns, introducing energy conservation systems in our buildings, creating a recycling program and improving landscaping regulations.


We all have a role to play in preserving our unique and wonderful natural heritage. We owe it to ourselves, our children and all future Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to get started.



Visit Environment Canada's website for more information



Check out the activities on these websites for kids



Join David Suzuki's Nature Challenge



For more information on local environmentalist groups see:

The Newfoundland and Labrador Environment Network

The Protected Areas Association

The Conservation Corps

You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and then you have...

Welcome to my blog! I hope this will be an excellent forum for me to share my thoughts and ideas as I embark on this next journey.

I am seeking the Progressive Conservative nomination in the District of Mount Pearl North. I hope to help Premier Williams and his team achieve great success in the provincial general election on October 9th.

I was first elected to Mount Pearl City Council when I was 19, and in many ways, I have grown up in the public eye. There were some real advantages to being involved in the political process so early, not the least of which was the opportunity to learn from the experienced people around me.

Two of my most important lessons have been in working with the media and in dealing with critique from those who disagree with me. And I'd like to think I have learned those well.

For example, on Tuesday, there was an article in The Telegram about my intention to seek the nomination for the Progressive Conservative party in Waterford Valley. I hadn't intended for the information to be released that way, but seeing as I had no choice, I answered their questions in the most positive, informative way that I could. I took the opportunity to get part of my message out in the way I preferred. As for dealing with critique, I've found that even if I have a groundswell of support, I will always have a few people who are looking to put me down. It is hard not to focus on them, the dissenting voices, but I have learned to consider their motivations, take whatever value I can from their critique and then move past it. It takes practice to find the most important, relevant information in a critique while leaving the irrelevant material out, but like any vital skill, it can be learned.

That's why I read Andy Well's comments in that same article like this. "He'll be a shoo-in," says St. John's Mayor Andy Wells, "...he's perfect." I'm not sure I'd call it an endorsement, but hey -- one has to look on the bright side!

Thanks for reading. E-mail your comments to me at steve@stevekent.ca. Stay tuned!