Byelections may test backlash over N.L. spending scandals

Premier Danny Williams is appealing to voters heading to polls in three Newfoundland and Labrador byelections to stand by his government's agenda.

Polls opened at8 a.m.Thursday for byelections in Ferryland, Kilbride and Port au Port districts, all of which were held by the governing Progressive Conservatives.

Ferryland and Kilbride have been Tory strongholds for more than three decades, while Port au Port has switched allegiances over the years between Liberal and PC candidates.

The byelections which will be followed on Monday by a fourth vote, in Humber Valley district come on the heels of a series of audits that have caused an uproar over politicians' spending.

It's unclear, though, whether that will spill over at the ballot box, in part because all parties have been named in reports Auditor General John Noseworthy has been filing since last June.

Williams said unhappy voters should look at the big picture.

"It's very, very important that the people I'm into battles with for want of a better term understand that I have the clear support of the people of this province," Williams said earlier this week.

Although Williams and the Tories have been leading in public opinion polls, there have been signs of discontent in some of the districts where byelections are being held.

Paul Gallant, who has been a Tory organizer in Port au Port for years, said Williams has lost touch on issues that matter locally and is too focused on dealing with Ottawa and large oil companies.

"The PC party in St. John's is not the PC party that I supported for 25 years, and a lot of people throughout rural Newfoundland," said Gallant.

"I don't think the party is listening to what we have to say, so I'm not supporting the party. I have no problem saying that."

In Ferryland, where a contentious nomination contest left a bitter taste with some PC members, some Tories are openly supporting the Liberal campaign. The same has been happening in Humber Valley, which the Tories had won in 2003.

Kevin Heffernan, a voter in Ferryland district, said some voters may stay home because of disillusionment over the auditor general's investigations.

"I'm after hearing so much stuff and none of it seems to work," Heffernan told CBC News. "Who would we put in there that would do any better?"

The byelections were called after the seats became vacant for very different reasons:

• Ferryland MHA Loyola Sullivan, the former finance minister, unexpectedly retired from politics after the Christmas vacation, though he was appointed federal fisheries conservation ambassador in January.
• Kilbride MHA Ed Byrne, named in Noseworthy's first report into excessive constituency allowance payments, quit his St. John's-area seat effective Jan. 1, saying he could no longer serve while under a cloud.
• Port au Port MHA Jim Hodder retired from politics in early January, citing health reasons and a wish for a byelection to be held at the same time as Ferryland and Kilbride.
• Humber Valley MHA Kathy Goudie, named in a Noseworthy investigation into double-billing of her allowance, resigned her seat last month, but after the other byelections were called.

Current standings in the house of assembly include 31 PCs, 11 Liberals, two New Democrats and four vacancies.