David Brazil (politician)

David Brazil
MHA
Member of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly
for Conception Bay East - Bell Island
Assumed office
December 20, 2010
Preceded by Dianne Whalen
Leader of the Opposition
In office
May 14, 2018  October 12, 2018
Preceded by Paul Davis
Succeeded by Ches Crosbie
Personal details
Born (1963-09-20) September 20, 1963
Political party Progressive Conservative
Residence Wabana, Newfoundland and Labrador
Occupation Businessman
public servant

David Brazil MHA (/ˈbræzəl/ BRAZ-əl; born September 20, 1963) is a Canadian politician from Newfoundland and Labrador. He has represented the district of Conception Bay East - Bell Island in the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly since 2010.

Brazil served as Opposition Leader in 2018 between the resignation of Paul Davis and the election of Ches Crosbie as MHA.

Background

Prior to entering politics, Brazil was an independent business owner, worked in the non-profit sector, and was a senior manager with the provincial government for 26 years. He has worked for the departments of Human Resources, Labour and Employment, Health and Community Services, Tourism, Culture and Recreation, Education and Municipal Affairs.

Political career

In November 2010, Brazil won the nomination to be the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador candidate in a by-election for the electoral district of Conception Bay East - Bell Island defeating five other candidates for the nomination.[1] The by-election was being held to replace the late Dianne Whalen who had died a month earlier.[2]

The by-election was called for December 2, 2010 with two other candidates running for the New Democrats and the Liberals.[1] One week before the by-election, on November 25, Premier Danny Williams announced that he would retire from politics on December 3, 2010.[3] With the announcement that the Premier would be resigning it left many wondering if Brazil, who was initially thought to easily hold on to the seat for the Tories, would be able to win now that the party's popular leader was stepping down. However, on December 2, 2010, Brazil defeated both the New Democratic and Liberal Party candidates, winning 66% of the popular vote.[4] The percentage of the vote was consistent with previous by-election wins the PCs had before the announcement that Williams was retiring.[5]

Brazil was re-elected with 55% of the vote in the 2011 election.[6] On July 17, 2014, Brazil was appointed to the Executive Council of Newfoundland and Labrador as Minister of Service NL.[7][8] When Paul Davis took over as premier in September 2014, he moved Brazil to Minister of Transportation and Works.[9][10]

Brazil was re-elected in the 2015 election, defeating Liberal Danny Dumaresque by almost 1900 votes.[11]

In 2017, Brazil declined to seek the leadership of the PC Party and endorsed Tony Wakeham in the 2018 election, serving as his campaign manager.[12]

Following the election of Ches Crosbie as PC leader in April 2018, Paul Davis announced he would resign as Leader of the Opposition. Since Crosbie did not have a seat in the House of Assembly when elected leader, Brazil was appointed the Leader of the Opposition on May 14, 2018.[13] On September 20, 2018 Crosbie won the district of Windsor Lake in a by-election, therefore becoming Leader of the Opposition.[14]

Electoral results

Newfoundland and Labrador general election, 2015
Party Candidate Votes%
Progressive ConservativeDavid Brazil3,46359.22
LiberalDanny Dumaresque1,58227.05
New DemocraticBill Kavanagh80313.73
Total valid votes 5,848100.00
Newfoundland and Labrador general election, 2011
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Progressive ConservativeDavid Brazil3,05955.00%−11.28%
     NDP Bill Kavanagh 2,290 41.17% +14.97%
LiberalKim Ploughman2133.83%−3.68%
Conception Bay East - Bell Island: By-election - December 2, 2010 On the death of Dianne Whalen, October 3, 2010
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Progressive ConservativeDavid Brazil263866.28%−5.51%
     NDP George Murphy 1043 26.20% +15.96%
     Liberal Joy Buckle 299 7.51% −10.46%

[4][15]

References

  1. 1 2 "Liberal staffer steps up for by-election". CBC News. November 16, 2010. Retrieved 2015-11-01.
  2. "N.L. cabinet minister Dianne Whalen succumbs to cancer". CTV News. October 3, 2010. Retrieved 2015-11-01.
  3. "Danny Williams retires as N.L. premier". CBC News. November 25, 2010. Retrieved 2015-11-01.
  4. 1 2 "PC David Brazil wins N.L. by-election". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. December 2, 2010. Retrieved 2015-11-01.
  5. "Conservatives win Terra Nova byelection". CBC News. November 26, 2009. Retrieved 2015-11-01.
  6. "Conception Bay East - Bell Island". CBC News. October 11, 2011. Retrieved 2015-11-01.
  7. "Tom Marshall elevates 3 backbenchers to cabinet in shuffle". CBC News. July 17, 2014. Retrieved 2015-11-01.
  8. "Marshall shuffles cabinet to fill holes caused by PC leadership race". The Telegram. St. John's. July 17, 2014. Retrieved 2015-11-01.
  9. "Paul Davis taps Steve Kent as deputy premier". CBC News. September 30, 2014. Retrieved 2015-11-01.
  10. "Premier brings new face into cabinet room". The Telegram. St. John's. September 30, 2014. Retrieved 2015-11-01.
  11. "4 Tory cabinet ministers fall to defeat in Liberal rout". CBC News. December 1, 2015. Retrieved 2016-04-03.
  12. "Outsiders like Crosbie, Wakeham only hope for PC Party rebuild, says political scientist". CBC News. December 4, 2017. Retrieved 2018-05-14.
  13. "David Brazil to replace Paul Davis as Opposition leader". CBC News. May 14, 2018. Retrieved 2018-05-14.
  14. "Premier Announces Date for By-Election in District of Conception Bay East - Bell Island". Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. November 10, 2010. Retrieved 2015-11-01.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.