The mayor of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality has issued his own personal ultimatum – deliver on his goals over the next year or step down.
“If I have not achieved my goal of growing this municipality and achieving success, then by this time next year I’ll do the proper thing parliamentary-wise and I’d resign,” says Cecil Clarke.
The mayor’s statement has one political science professor perplexed.
“There is no mayor-in-waiting. Then, what if he leaves in another year’s time, he’s left before his term is complete and the CBRM is left in the lurch,” says David Johnson.
Clarke made the remarks after his travel expenses were posted on the CBRM website. They show Clarke has spent more than $73,000 on travel since being elected in October 2012.
About $16,000 of that comes from a separate fund for port development.
“In our situation of facing decline and the need for economic development requires that, at a political leadership level, we’re out there championing the community, and fostering development, it comes at a cost,” says Clarke.
“We’re at a region that is separated from the capital and it’s not a cheap thing to do, but it’s imperative that we move our economy forward and that’s what I’ve been doing.”
Although Johnson agrees that travel expenses are needed to grow the municipality, he doesn’t agree with Clarke’s vow to step down.
“If times are tough, good leaders buckle down, good captains take control of the ship and steer the ship through troubled waters,” he says. “Anybody on a ship would be very concerned if they heard that the captain was thinking about abandoning the ship in high seas.”
With files from CTV Atlantic's Kyle Moore
