Hawes, who calls Spry Harbour home, but lives outside the riding, is seeking the nomination to be the Liberal candidate in the Central Nova riding for the 2015 federal election.
“The timing is just right,” Hawes said about why he decided to put his name on the ballot.
Hawes, who found out he had been “green-lit” this week, has been involved with the Liberal Party for several years, and has worked on provincial and municipal campaigns.
“So whether it’s pounding in signs, or knocking on doors, or discussing strategies, or being at the polls as a scrutineer, I’ve seen many sides of what it takes to win an election.”
It’s not simply about running a successful campaign for Hawes. He’s been following the issues in the riding for several years, pinpointing the pulp mill and open pen salmon farming on the Eastern Shore, and thinks he can represent residents’ concerns federally.
“Since I’ve been following, there’s been a lack of local representation from the current MP and Central Nova needs a strong voice in Ottawa,” he said.
Hawes, who for years spent his days in ice rinks throughout the province consulting on energy efficiency, said he sees politics as an extension of the community service he’s been doing for years, naming his involvement on the school board and the Spry Harbour Atoms.
“If you want to know what the pulse of the community is, you’ll find that at the community rink if you take the time to listen. And I’ve done that.”
Though he does have some thoughts on local issues, stating that he believes there has been an opportunity for federal intervention and mediation in the Northern Pulp pollution debate, he’s not focusing on just one or two problems.
Jobs and economy, which play into two environmental discussions in the riding, are most important to him, a topic personal to him with one grown child living in Alberta and another moving to British Columbia soon.
He lists the closure of veteran affairs offices, cuts to CBC, and changes to transfer payments as concerns that affect everyone, including those in the riding.
Hawes is up against David MacLeod for the nomination, to be decided at a meeting at the Museum of Industry on Sept. 27 at 2 p.m.
On Twitter: @NGNewsAmanda
