Mike Smith (Nova Scotia politician)

Mike Smith is a former mayor of Colchester County, Nova Scotia, Canada.

For other people named Michael Smith, see Michael Smith (disambiguation).
Mike Smith
Smith in 2007
Mayor of Colchester County, Nova Scotia
Succeeded byBob Taylor
Personal details
BornNorth River, Nova Scotia
Political partyLiberal
OccupationPolitician

Early life

Smith was born in North River, Nova Scotia.

Political career

In 1994, Smith was elected as a Colchester County councillor. Re-elected in 1997, he became Colchester County's last Warden during his second term. In 2000, Smith was elected as the county's first mayor. He was re-elected in 2004.

One of Smith's accomplishments as mayor has been the Mayor's Challenge. The Mayor's Challenge is a fitness program aimed at inactive children but has also attracted the interest of adults.

He was a candidate for the leadership of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party in 2007.[1] He placed third of four candidates on the first ballot. He dropped out and endorsed Diana Whalen, who lost on the second and final ballot to Stephen McNeil.[2]

In August 2007 Smith agreed to a request from Truro Pride to fly a flag celebrating gay pride in front of the administrative offices.[3] Colchester County's offices are "just down the road" from Truro, Nova Scotia's City Hall, where Truro council had turned down a similar request 6 to 1, and Truro's mayor Bill Mills had explained his decision on biblical grounds.[4] Smith, on the other hand, agreed to the request, without hesitation. Smith attended the flag rasing, and attended a rally supporting Gay rights in Truro's Victoria Park. CTV News characterized Truro's council as old-fashioned:[5]

"It makes us look bad. These conversations were going on 15 to 20 years ago -- I thought we were way past worrying about the flying of pride flags or gay rights parades."[5]

Smith did not reoffer for mayor in the 2008 municipal election. He also declined to run in the 2009 provincial election in Colchester North, as had been widely expected.[6][7]

In 2011 Smith was extensively quoted about his decision to resign from the Liberal Party after he learned that Karen Casey, formerly a member of the rival Progressive Conservative Party, had crossed the floor, and been accepted into the Liberal Party caucus.[8] Smith told the Truro Daily News he was "startled" to learn Casey was now a Liberal because she was "so partisan". Smith described being disturbed by Casey's "old school of throwing money hell, west and crooked to pander after votes"

Personal life

Smith is married and has three children

References
  1. "Mike Smith launches Liberal leadership bid", CBC.ca, January 10, 2007.
  2. "McNeil new N.S. Liberal leader, CBC.ca, April 28, 2007.
  3. "Truro rallies after council rejects rainbow flag: Colchester County mayor allows flag to be flown at regional building in Truro". Daily Xtra. 2007-08-06. Retrieved 2016-03-23. But Colchester County Mayor Mike Smith welcomed queers to raise the flag at the regional building in Truro this morning, Aug 7.
  4. Charles Thompson (August 2007). "Truro Mayor: Passing the Flag to the County" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-03-23. I then met with a reporter from the Truro Daily News, and later it occurred to me that many of us involved in Truro Pride actually live in Colchester County, not Truro itself, so I contacted Mike Smith, the mayor whose offices are just down the road from the Town of Truro offices. Mayor Smith was very supportive and did not hesitate to agree to fly the Pride Flag.
  5. "N.S. town council votes against raising pride flag". CTV News. 2007-08-03. Retrieved 2016-03-23. The County of Colchester building, in Truro, approved a similar request from the community. Mike Smith, the county's mayor, said the flag will fly high despite the ban at town hall.
  6. Frank Cassidy (2007-06-22). "Mike Smith, host of The Price Is Right". Truro Daily News. Retrieved 2016-03-24. Thursday, as the Barker replacement possibility was tossed around, clever reporter Jason Malloy suggested we add Colchester County Mayor Mike Smith to the mix.
  7. Smith Says ‘So Long’ to Politics, The Truro Daily News, February 2, 2008.
  8. Jason Malloy (2011-01-11). "Local Liberal to cut ties with party". Truro Daily News. Archived from the original on 2016-04-13. Retrieved 2016-03-23. "Karen Casey was in my opinion the worst MLA I have ever worked with," said Smith, a Colchester North resident and former mayor of the Municipality of Colchester County.


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