Port Hawkesbury mayor facing 2 challengers as nomination deadline approaches

Brenda Chisholm-Beaton will have to fend off at least two opponents to win a third term as Port Hawkesbury's mayor in Nova Scotia's Oct. 19 municipal elections.

Archie MacLachlan and Jason Aucoin are the challengers, creating a three-person race in Port Hawkesbury for the first time in 24 years. The deadline to enter the race is Sept. 10.

Aucoin is seeking the top job as he wraps up his first term as a town councillor. MacLachlan is making his second bid for the office after losing out to Chisholm-Beaton by 358 votes in the 2020 municipal election.

Chisholm-Beaton was acclaimed in 2016 after Billy Joe MacLean opted not to reoffer following 22 years as mayor.

Town 'stuck in neutral' — MacLachlan

MacLachlan has never served on town council, but he is hoping to tap into what he describes as a desire for change in Port Hawkesbury. 

He cites the debate over the lane configuration on the town's main thoroughfare — Reeves Street — as a sign that town residents want a new leadership style. The Oct. 19 ballot in Port Hawkesbury will include a non-binding plebiscite that asks residents whether they prefer the current three-lane street layout or the four-lane system that existed prior to 2019.

"The people in Port Hawkesbury are not happy with the way things have gone over the last number of years," MacLachlan said. 

"They've had a feeling that the town of Port Hawkesbury is stuck in neutral."

MacLachlan is president of Unifor Local 972, the main union representing workers at the Port Hawkesbury Paper mill in nearby Point Tupper.

He was vice-president of the same union local when the mill was shut down in 2011 and sold by NewPage Inc. the following year to Stern Partners, the parent company of Port Hawkesbury Paper. 

"It taught me a lot on how to deal with situations," MacLachlan said. "You can't panic in those situations. You have to play with the cards you're dealt."

Prior to 2020, MacLachlan's only previous experience in politics came in 1988 when he finished third in the former provincial riding of Inverness South as a Progressive Conservative candidate.

Aucoin touts affordable housing, economic development

Aucoin also brings a union background to his municipal work, as a longtime tradesperson who served as the national vice-president of a construction union serving 25,000 members. 

He says his work experience in industrial areas in Alberta and Canada's northern territories has him well positioned to lead the town through green hydrogen development in nearby Richmond County.

"I've seen what works there, and I don't think we're that far from being that type of community," Aucoin said. "I think it's an exciting time."

Sticking with the same slogan — "I'll Work Hard For You" — that helped him win the second-most votes among town council candidates in 2020,  Aucoin thinks his first council term has shown town residents his creative approach to longtime issues. 

As an example, he points to his drive to see a new commercial development district established for a portion of Reeves Street that would allow economic development and affordable housing to share the same municipal zone. According to Aucoin, Nova Scotia's Department of Municipal Affairs and Housing gave the town permission to proceed with this new zone earlier this summer.

"If a new commercial building goes into that area, they'll receive a significant tax break for the first 10 years," Aucoin said. 

"People will say, 'Well, why are you giving our taxes away?' Because we own the property, we're not collecting taxes on it, and we're creating a new revenue stream by taxes, and we're also creating new jobs. It's a win-win for everybody."

Mayor welcomes multi-candidate municipal race 

Meanwhile, the incumbent mayor welcomed all mayoral and council candidates to what she hopes will be "a very positive and constructive campaign."

Following Tuesday's regular meeting of town council, Chisholm-Beaton said she was running an "optimistic" campaign centred on a new growth plan for the town. 

"A huge focus on that growth plan will be to focus on revenue growth, so we can reinvest in a lot of important infrastructure needs that we need to experience growth, including growth in our population," she said. 

Chisholm-Beaton added this strategy is still "nimble and flexible" enough to include ideas presented to her on doorsteps through the campaign.