Ties matter: Green MLA will represent New Brunswickers by sporting their neckties
Kevin Arseneau doesn't own many ties — so he's calling on his constituents for ties meaningful to them
As soon as Kevin Arseneau realized he'd been elected as the new Green Party MLA for Kent North, he knew he had a problem.
He was going to have to start wearing neckties.
"One of my first questions to the clerk was, 'What are the other options?'" he said. "I was kind of looking for a creative way to get out of it, but there's not really any way out of it."
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The rules of the legislative assembly require men to wear ties if they're in the chamber during official business.
But Arseneau, a 33-year-old organic farmer from Rogersville, owns exactly two ties — each of which he has worn exactly once.
"I got married without a tie," he said.
'I'm not wearing it for me'
He complained on Twitter, tongue-in-cheek, about the stuffy requirement, and in response received two ties in the mail from one of his fans, Louisiana-based Cajun singer and activist Zachary Richard.
Pas un secret que je redoute le port obligatoire de la cravate à l’Assemblée, décorum oblige. Reçu deux cravates de <a href="https://twitter.com/ZacharyOfficiel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ZacharyOfficiel</a>. Ce geste m’a fait réfléchir. Je lance donc l’invitation à tous et à toutes... <a href="https://t.co/hsPN4zsBgY">https://t.co/hsPN4zsBgY</a> <a href="https://t.co/MtpbPAOBlW">pic.twitter.com/MtpbPAOBlW</a>
—@kevinarseneauAnd that gave Arseneau an idea.
"The tie means nothing for me, absolutely nothing for me. I'm not wearing it for me. I'm not going to go shop for some ties and blow my money on some ties," he said.
"I'm thinking to myself: 'Why am I wearing a tie? I'm wearing a tie so I can be in the legislative assembly and defend my constituents and defend the people who elected me, so why don't I wear their ties instead?'"
Having meaningful ties
Arseneau posted to Facebook to ask that his constituents mail him ties — ties that are meaningful to them somehow.
And, he said, he plans to find a way to pass on why the ties matter.
"I might as well, if I have the tie on, know what it means and what it stands for," he said. "I definitely want to tell those stories."
Before posting the request, the rookie MLA checked with the ethics commissioner on the restrictions on accepting gifts.
My biggest problem now is I've got to learn how to tie the knot. I haven't done that yet.-Kevin Arseneau, MLA
So he's stipulating that he'll send back any ties from people or businesses who have dealings with the government, or that exceed the maximum allowable value for a gift: $250.
"I hope there are not ties that are worth that kind of money," Arseneau said.
No ties have arrived yet, but Arseneau said he has received many messages that some are on the way.
"My biggest problem now is I've got to learn how to tie the knot. I haven't done that yet," he said. "I was hoping Zachary sent them with the knot already in. I'm going to be looking at YouTube videos or asking my dad or [Green Leader David Coon] for some pointers."