Jim Bennett (politician)
| Jim Bennett | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly for St. Barbe |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 2011 |
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| Preceded by | Wallace Young |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Liberal |
Jim Bennett is a Canadian lawyer and politician in Newfoundland and Labrador. He was elected as the Member of the House of Assembly for St. Barbe in the 2011 provincial election.[1] In 2006, Bennett was acclaimed leader of the Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador, but resigned from the post after just three months.
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[edit] Politics
Bennett entered provincial politics in 2006, after he was acclaimed leader of the Liberal Party. Due to internal conflicts with his party Bennett resigned as leader after just three months. He was replaced by former interim leader Gerry Reid.[2] In the 2007 general election he was unsuccessful in his bid to defeat Progressive Conservative incumbent Wallace Young. Bennett was elected to the Daniel's Harbour town council in the September 2009 municipal elections.[3]
In March 2010, Bennett was hired by the town of St. Anthony to help in a legal case over the moving of air ambulance service to Labrador. He filed an injunction to stop the province from moving the air ambulance services but was unsuccessful.[4]
In 2011, he once again ran in St. Barbe and this time was successful in defeating Young.[1] In March 2012, the governing Progressive Conservatives announced that a month earlier Bennett had left what they considered to be a threatening voice mail at cabinet minister Joan Burke's office. Bennett, who had been seeking help for a constituent, said in the recording that “If this problem is not resolved today, you can expect me to absolutely vilify your minister on Monday morning on Open Line.” He went onto say “I will absolutely trash your minister, say what a bunch of idiots she’s got working in her department. Fix the problem and fix it today, or there will be lots of trouble.” Bennett apologized in the House of Assembly for the message.[5]
[edit] Personal life
Bennett is a lawyer, and is married to Sandra Pupatello, a former member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and Minister of Economic Development and Trade in the Ontario Liberal Party government of Dalton McGuinty.
Bennett is based in the western Newfoundland coast community of Daniel's Harbour after living a number of years in Windsor, Ontario. While living in Windsor, Bennett twice unsuccessfully sought election to Windsor's city council.
[edit] Provincial electoral history
| Newfoundland and Labrador general election, 2011 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Liberal | Jim Bennett | 1816 | 45.05% | ||
| Progressive Conservative | Wallace Young | 1778 | 44.11% | ||
| NDP | Diane Ryan | 437 | 10.84% | ||
| St. Barbe - Newfoundland and Labrador general election, 2007 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Progressive Conservative | Wallace Young | 2491 | 58.65% | ||
| Liberal | Jim Bennett | 1560 | 36.73% | ||
| NDP | Gary B. Noel | 196 | 4.62% | ||
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Plenty of new faces heading to Confederation Building". CBC News, October 12, 2011.
- ^ "Bennett steps down as Liberal leader". CBC News, May 8, 2006.
- ^ Municipal elections 2009: Daniel's Harbour
- ^ "Ex-N.L. Liberal chief hired in medevac fight". CBC News, May 22, 2010.
- ^ "Bennett apologizes for controversial voice mail". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 8 March 2012. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2012/03/08/nl-bennett-apology-voicemail-308.html. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Gerry Reid (Interim) |
Leader of the Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador February 2006 - May 2006 |
Succeeded by Gerry Reid |
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