Only one person is now seeking the Progressive Conservative nomination in the riding of Saint John Harbour.
Arlene Dunn and Barry Ogden had both put their name forward to represent the party in the provincial election.
But Ogden announced in a Facebook post early Friday afternoon that he is no longer in the race.
“Folks, I am not going to be a candidate in the election for Saint John Harbour. Thank you all for your support and thank you to all the people who have supported the community projects I have been involved with,” wrote Ogden.
Ogden was the PC candidate for Saint John Harbour in the last election, losing to Liberal candidate Gerry Lowe by a mere 10 votes.
In a previous interview, Ogden said he put his name forward because he wants to see the city improve and prosper.
“We need to deal with our taxation, that’s probably the number one issue. We need to deal with our poverty in Saint John Harbour. We need a new school and we need to deal with housing,” said Ogden, a longtime educator, coach and social entrepreneur.
The nominating convention was expected to take place Sunday. There is no word if it will still go ahead as planned, though it is still listed on the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick’s website.
Meanwhile, Dunn said she wants to get involved in politics to help make the riding a better place.
“That means bringing prosperity to the community,” Dunn said during an interview earlier this week this week.
“It also means facing some of those tough challenges which is high drug addiction issues, substance dependency, there’s some mental health issues that are going on, housing is another one.”
Dunn said she has spent many years helping people right across the country. She started in Saint John by providing employment opportunities for those seeking work, training and educational upscaling.
She went on to spend three decades working in the building trades, including as director of Canada’s Building Trades Union.
Dunn said she thinks her expertise helping people achieve better outcomes in life will benefit her in the election.
As for why she is running for the Tories, Dunn said she thinks the party has the right leader to get the job done.
“I think that he has the right priorities in terms of making sure that it’s not politics first, it’s people first. That’s really appealing to me,” she said.
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