Hammonds Plains-Lucasville Liberals face fight from high-profile candidate

The suburban riding of Hammonds Plains-Lucasville was part of a near sweep of metro Halifax ridings by the Nova Scotia Liberals in 2013, who won 18 of 20 seats in the Nova Scotia capital.

First-time candidate Ben Jessome waltzed to an easy win, grabbing 52 per cent of the vote, leaving the NDP (24 per cent) and Tories (22 per cent) well behind.

• Poll Tracker: 2017 Nova Scotia election

That was then.

Three and half years later, the Liberal backbencher has an austerity government to defend as he tries to hang on against a hard-chargingmunicipal councillor running forthe Tories,a leader of the local ratepayers association going for the NDP,and Green Party candidate Jessica Alexander, the party's deputy leader.

Liberal record to defend

The Liberal record includes back-to-back balanced budgets gained at the expense of heated battles withpublic sector unions.

"Quite frankly, people recognize tough decisions need to be made and they are generally speaking supportive of the fact that government can't make everyone happy," saidJessome.

Earlier this year, the Liberals capped their battle with the unions by passing legislation ending a work-to-rule strike action by public school teachers and imposing a collective agreement on teachers that included a two-yearwage freeze followed by a 3.5per cent wage increase.

• Find all of CBC Nova Scotia's election coverage here

Earlier in the mandate,the McNeil government passed legislation giving itthe rightto impose contracts on other public sector unions.

Asked if his premier is an asset, Jessome is cautious.

"For the most part, he's an asset. He's a man who gets a bad impression, but honestly he's a man who has a tremendous amount of character," said Jessome.

Whitman needed provincially, says Whitman

If Jessome is cautious, his Progressive Conservative opponent is brash.

Coun.Matt Whitman is so confident he will take the seat he's already talking about the upcoming byelection to replace him at city hall.

"Some people are concerned about what happens if I do move on, who isgoing to fill in for me. There's already five or sixor sevenfolks thatsaid they will put their name forward in the byelection, so there will be no shortage of peoplelooking at filling my shoes," said Whitman.

"Some folks would rather me stay councillor,but the risk of me staying councillor is we end up staying with the same provincial MLA that we have currently and the same provincialgovernment, so it's a risk most people are willing to take to get Matt Whitman in Province House to do what he does best," Whitman said.

He saidJessome has been overshadowed in the McNeil government, where as a city councillor he "delivers all day, every day, seven days a week fixing problems."

Whitman has not stepped down from council because he saidhe's needed to maintain quorum on community council.

'Chinese fire drill' controversy

He said he's become more cautious in his use of social media after he was forced to apologize for a video he posted to YouTube.

In the video, Whitman is sitting in a car with another passenger. He yells, "Chinese fire drill!" and then gets out of the car. Amid laughter, he and a passenger run around the car and switch seats.

The video drew criticism as some people felt it was racist.

"I should be cautious.Sometimes, I'm not as cautious as I should be," he said.

'I was grumbling along with everybody else'

Paul McGuinness, the NDP candidate, has coached soccer and served as treasurer of the Kingswood Ratepayers Association.

He saidit was time for him to step up.

"I've had the opportunity to listen to a lot of people. I was grumbling along with everybody else," he said.

McGuiness saidthe Liberal record is not playing well in the area, which is home to teachers, nurses and other public-sector workers.

"The fundamental core of what is happening in Hammonds Plains-Lucasville is a disenchantment with the existing government and of course it's pinioned on health and education, particularly the teachers, and that has created something of a maelstrom," he said.

Liberal team player rewarded

For Jessome, being on the government side has its perks.

In the first week of the campaign, the government reversed course to allow family doctors to set up solo practices, which is abig local issue for Jessome.

The Nova Scotia Health Authority had rejected attempts by doctors to set up a family practice and walk-in clinic at the Guardian pharmacy building at the corner of Hammonds Plains Road and Kingswood Drive.

Building owner Glen Ward is awaiting confirmation from the Nova Scotia Health Authority, which has received another application to open the clinic.

Hundreds of residents have put their names on a list to get a family doctor if the clinic opens.

"This change in policy is one step in making sure we have local access," said Jessome.

A spokesperson for the Nova Scotia Health Authority threw cold water on his claim.

"The Nova Scotia Health Authority is notaware of any changes in policy related to physicians setting up practice in Nova Scotia.All medical practice inquiries are reviewed by the new MD approval committee, jointly led by Nova Scotia Health Authority, the Department of Health and Wellnessand the IWK Health Centre," spokesperson Kristen Lipscombe said in an email.