FALL RIVER: Liberal MLA Bill Horne knows he has an uphill climb to garner re-election when the writ is dropped for a provincial election, even if he is the incumbent.
That’s because Horne’s decision to vote with his fellow Liberal colleagues to impose a contract on teachers has upset many in the community, who are now thinking about voting for another party. It’s also an item that opposition parties are seizing on as they gear up for a run to take the Waverley-Fall River-Beaver Bank riding and turn it their colour, whether that’s NDP orange with Trevor Sanipass or Tory blue with Dan McNaughton.
Horne isn’t quite sure what to expect at the polls as a repercussion for voting yes to Bill 75.
“I honestly don’t know,” said Horne. “I still believe that I’ll be able to get enough votes to be the MLA for this area for another term. I’m not taking it lightly. I will have to work very hard.
“I’ve got good opponents.”
He said he knows McNaughton, but not much of Sanipass.
“I’ll be busy trying to outguess and outwork him (McNaughton),” he said. “I feel confident. We have a good team coming together. We’ve been out door knocking, and we’ve been getting good feedback at the doors.
“I’m out trying to find out where people are standing on various issues, like the Film Industry. They’re not happy, but they did say ‘let’s go out and have a beer and we’ll talk about it some more.’ They’re not holding it against me.”
Horne thinks he will do okay in the election, whenever Premier Stephen McNeil calls it.
phealey@enfieldweeklypress.com