By John Moore, Columnist
Our community has been blessed with many hard working and dedicated elected representatives over the years. Through my affiliation with Maskwa Aquatic Club I have got to see firsthand how great they are. Municipal elections are just around the corner so let me start with Councilor Pamela Lovelace who has just declared her candidacy to run for Mayor of HRM.
I first met Pam about 5 years ago where we had coffee and discussed various matters regarding the local political scene. I remember her saying how difficult it was running for office and her first attempt to run for Councillor failed. She was bound and determined to run again when the opportunity arose, and she did and this time she won. She has done an amazing job as Councillor. I wish her all the best in her quest to become the next Mayor of HRM.
Over the years I have had dealings with Diana Hudson (Whalen) who in my opinion is one of the greatest Provincial MLAs we ever had. She would have been a great premier if the dice had rolled in her favor. I remember one time I wrote an opinion piece regarding the cut backs on the film industry and it wasn’t very favorable towards her. She called me and wanted to present her side of the argument. She was late for our meeting because she was accosted by an angry constituent which turned out really had nothing to do with her at all. She took it in stride and very eloquently explained to me her side. I had always admired Diana up to that point but after that meeting this admiration for her skyrocketed. I thought how fortunate we are to have such a great MLA to represent us.
On another occasion I had the good fortune of knowing and dealing with M.P. and former speaker of the House of Commons, Geoff Regan. I believe he was one of the best Speakers of the House Canada ever had …maybe even the best. Geoff was a huge supporter of Maskwa Aquatic Club and even though he was restricted as Speaker of the House he always showed up for the various events the club held. The annual Canada Day breakfast was his favorite and he always said it was the best Canada Day breakfast in the country. Hopefully it’ll be resurrected this July and he’ll be there. Stay tuned.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention former Councillor Debbie Hum. She did so much for our area it really boggles the mind. On one occasion when the Maskwa expansion was taking place, Debbie was effective in securing a grant from the Provincial government which made it possible for the Maskwa expansion to go ahead. Debbie is greatly missed as a Councillor and her legacy will always live on. I apologize for not mentioning other former worthy elected representatives but space is limited.
I realize I am dwelling on past elected representatives and not current ones. I have had dealings with most of the current ones in our community and have only good to say about all of them. They are all hard-working and very dedicated to what they do. Please remember to always be respectful. These elected representatives, after all, are only human and have feelings.
Leave Trumpism where it belongs and that’s with our good neighbors to the south. Going forward, be thankful for the elected representatives we have in our community. Let’s go out of our way to appreciate them every chance we get.
God Bless! Happy June!
