“Every vote counts.” Very cliché, right? Not for the case of Jordan Brown, the newly-minted Member of House Assembly (MHA) for Labrador West (Newfoundland and Labrador).
Jordan Brown is the son of Labrador Steelworkers – his father, Tony Brown, is a member of USW Local 6480 and his step-mother, Marcie Brown, is the president of USW Local 6185.
In April, Jordan announced his intention to run as the candidate for the Newfoundland and Labrador New Democratic Party (NL NDP) in the constituency of Labrador West. Tony, Marcie, family and friends quickly got to work to help Jordan get elected.
The campaign period requires long days and a lot of hard work – knocking on doors, phone calls, putting up signs, leafletting and more. But at the end of the day, there was never a question in either Tony or Marcie’s minds of how strong their commitments are to Jordan and the NDP, and it paid off!
On election night, May 16, 2019, Jordan was declared the winner in Labrador West with a five-vote lead over the then-current Liberal MHA and Minister of Municipal Affairs Graham Letto. The five-vote difference automatically prompted a re-count, administered by the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador.
After the completion of the recount on June 21, 2019, Jordan was declared the winner in Labrador West, winning by two votes. Yes, you read that correctly: two votes.
Even though the NL NDP did not win the majority of seats required to form the government, Jordan’s win means that the Liberal government is reduced to a minority. Any laws that they want to pass will require the support of an opposition party, which gives NL NDP MHAs the balance of power.
We asked Tony and Marcie what is the most important message they want to share from this experience. This is what they had to say: “It is extremely important to exercise your right to vote. It matters! A single vote can make a big difference.
“Every vote counts.” Not so cliché anymore, right?
Read: CBC article on Jordan’s win
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