What has drawn me into the political arena?
My wife Verna and I have three children and five grandchildren. We have been married for over 39 years and have lived in Nackawic since 1974. Both my wife and I were born in Woodstock N.B. and graduated from Canterbury Regional High School. I also attended the University of New Brunswick, enrolled in the Forestry program.
I worked for St. Anne Nackawic Pulp Company for over 34 years. Most of my career years were spent in the Woodlands Division working as a woodlands supervisor. Presently, I am working as an on line stock trader, operating from an office in my home.
What has drawn me into the political arena? My family and I are no different from many of you. We are disappointed with what continues to go on in government. With the lure of power, greed and corruption, accountability in government is imperative. People have a right to expect open honest government which puts the people of this province first, not the politician.
Government after government continue to give big corporations handouts in the millions of dollars while the everyday working class suffers. Remember this is borrowed money they are giving away and we are 8.4 billion dollars in debt. Where is the accountability and transparency?
So many people I have talked to are upset with the politicians voting themselves in such self-serving pay increases during these tough economic times. All MLA’s increased their salaries, doubled their pensions and severance packages in the spring of 2008. They did this at a time when many New Brunswickers were losing their jobs, their pensions and benefits. Then these same elected officials froze the wages of government employees in the name of restraint. Is this leading by example? No it isn’t!
The New Brunswick plan for MLAs’ now pays a $30,000 a year pension after eight years of service, up from $16,500 and $76,000 after 20 years, almost double the previous $41,000 under the old guidelines. All pension amounts are fully indexed to inflation.
The 2008 pension reforms boosted provincial politicians’ pension benefits by 85 per cent, giving New Brunswick MLAs one of the richest political pension plans in the country. Is this leadership? Is this putting the people first or is it putting the politician first?
Is the system broken? Well 48% of the voters did not show up to vote in the last Provincial election. What’s the reason? Have they given up? The voters are disgusted and are saying, “Whats the use? They are all alike. No one cares. They are not listening. They won’t return my phone calls” .
Just before an election we are promised the Moon, the Stars and the Sun and that Sun will shine every day if we give them our vote. The politicians act like magicians before the election by making things appear and after the election it all disappears.
When everyday people like you and I stand up, we are a force to be reckoned with. We need every day people like you to take back our province. We need a future for our children and grand children. We need to take control. We need people who are running for office for the purposes they can serve far more than to merely get elected.
It would be so refreshing to hear our representatives say something constructive, say something good about each other, or talk about working together. Don’t forget we’re all serving the same people.
I am looking forward to working very hard for our riding. We need everyone working together. We need to walk the walk.
No one person can do everything on their own, but we can if we work together. If its broken lets fix it…if its wrong lets make it right…if you have received an injustice, lets stand together as one until you receive fair and proper justice.
Please give me a chance to represent you in the Legislature and I will do everything within my power to put you “first”.
Your vote is so important. Have your say in making our province one we can all be proud to pass on to our grandchildren.
Thank you.
Steven Hawkes
People’s Alliance Candidate York North Email: sphawkes@nbnet.nb.ca Phone: 506-575-2490 Website: http://www.sphawkes.blogspot.com/ 29 McNair Drive Nackawic, N.B. E6G
