Zack Bell 'ready to get to work' as P.E.I.'s newest MLA

Following a solid win in the Charlottetown-Winsloe byelection Monday, Progressive Conservative Zack Bell is looking ahead to his new job as an MLA.

Bell took the election with 49 per cent of the vote, well ahead of second-place finisher Chris van Ouwerkerk of the Green Party.

"If you can make a change in someone's life, and maybe help them out, it's a very rewarding feeling," Bell told Island Morning host Mitch Cormier.

"I'm ready to get to work."

Run in the middle of a pandemic, this was a different kind of campaign. Bell chose not to go door-to-door to meet voters, instead working the phones to reach as many people in District 10 as he could. But Bell said that method of campaigning did come with some advantages.

"One of the benefits of talking to people over the phone is you're sitting there with a pen and pad and you're taking down all of their concerns," he said.

He'll be going over those notes in the coming weeks, and getting started on talking to people in government on addressing the issues raised he said.

Will reach out to other candidates

While Bell posted a strong victory, he is aware that more than half the votes cast in the election were for other candidates.

He said he would like to sit down with those other candidates and talk more about the ideas they had and the issues they heard on the campaign trail.

"You want to try to make sure you're looking out for everyone's best interests when you become an MLA," he said.

"If I can help bring some of those ideas to the table, then that's something I would like to do."

A new majority

The win gives Premier Dennis King's Progressive Conservative government a majority in the legislature, with 14 of 27 seats.

But King said he will not be changing his approach to government.

"I think Islanders really, really like the way our government has been working since April of 2019 and I see absolutely no reason to change that regardless of the makeup of the numbers of the colours," King said on Island Morning.

"It would be foolhardy for any of us to change."

Byelections are about the issues in the district, said King, and he doesn't see the victory as a vindication for his government. He said the victory belongs to Bell, who ran a strong campaign.

If there it was an endorsement of the government, he added, the credit goes to all the parties that have been working collaboratively within it. He said he hopes the opposition parties will continue to work in the same spirit they have been.

Speaking about the results Monday night, Green Party Leader Peter Bevan-Baker said there have been instances when the government backed down on legislation because it had to, given its minority situation. In particular, he mentioned the Emergency Measures Act.

King said he was fine with how the debate over that legislation worked out.

"I view that as a good, effective legislature. And I view that through the lens of the Islander who believes that that's the way we should be operating," he said.

The government does not have any agenda that it has been waiting to push through in the event it gained a majority, he said. The Progressive Conservatives will continue to consult with opposition parties about bills in advance of them being introduced to the legislature, he promised.

King noted while he has a majority, the government would still require the vote of the speaker to exercise it, and the speaker has some measure of independence.

The fall session of the legislature opens Nov. 12, but Bell will not be able to sit on day one.

The results of the election will not be official until declaration day on Nov. 18, so Bell is expected to be sworn in on Nov. 19.

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