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Greg Morrow to carry PC banner in Guysborough-Tracadie

Veteran broadcaster wins four-way race on first ballot

  • June 9 2021
  • By Corey LeBlanc    

GUYSBOROUGH – A familiar voice to radio listeners in the Strait region is now the Progressive Conservative (PC) candidate for Guysborough-Tracadie in the next provincial election.

Greg Morrow won the nomination June 5 on the first ballot – after three days of online and phone casting by riding association members – garnering the needed 50 per cent plus one of the 491 votes.

On the day after his victory, in conversation with The Journal, the Monastery native – on a couple occasions – used the words “humbling and overwhelming” to describe his victory in the four-way race.

“It’s pretty exciting,” Morrow – a first-time political candidate – offered.

In a party press release announcing the victory, PC leader Tim Houston said Morrow “cares deeply about his community and he has a real understanding of the needs of the people of Guysborough-Tracadie.

“I welcome Greg to our PC team and look forward to working with him as we deliver dignity for seniors, universal mental health care, and better access to primary care for Nova Scotians,” he added.

In that same announcement, Morrow said he was “proud” to be joining Houston’s PC team, one that is “putting forward real solutions to our healthcare crisis.”

“Tim is a leader who does more than criticize the government. He has offered common sense ideas about what should be done every step of the way, and I’m excited to help bring those plans forward,” he added.

The long-time news director at Port-Hawkesbury-based 101.5 the Hawk said the campaign for the Tory nod was a “whole lot of fun,” describing it as a “whirlwind month.”

He noted he had many conversations with people where he “learned a lot about the issues that matter to them.”

Morrow credited his opponents – Darren Parsons, John Garth MacDonald and Marcus Wilmott – for their campaigns, while praising riding association members for their “level of engagement.”

“I was so impressed,” he said of the record-setting party membership numbers for Guysborough-Tracadie.

Morrow offered that the strong turnout is a “great sign of things to come,” as his party prepares for the next provincial election.

“Even long-time Liberals,” he noted, in describing the cross-section of people who supported him.

There were also new members – not to mention former ones, who believed it was “time to come back” to the party.

Morrow said there were others who couldn’t take out memberships – due to employment and other situations – but they pledged their support, which will continue in any upcoming election campaign.

“It has been amazing and I really appreciate it,” he added.

Morrow said there was a common theme when he speaks with people: there is concern with the “state of affairs” in not only the riding, but also the province.

The graduate of Dalhousie University and the University of King’s College, who lives in Tracadie with his wife, Suzanne; two daughters, Kate and Lucy; and dog, Hanna, said he knows winning the nomination is “just the first step of the process.”

“I feel like it is time for a change,” Morrow said, when asked his decision to enter the political arena as a candidate.

Noting he celebrated his 40th birthday last month, the lifelong lover of politics – who has moderated election debates at all three levels of government – thinks he is “ready for the challenge.”

“I think I am at the point where I have a good amount of life experience,” Morrow offered.

Although he has been around politics for a long time – particularly professionally – he stressed he brings a “fresh perspective,” a move away from the “old way” of doing things, which Morrow said he is hearing frequently from people as something that needs to happen.

With the next stop on his political journey – depending on when Premier Iain Rankin decides to drop the writ between now and May 2022 – running in a provincial election, Morrow said his focus will continue to be “listening to people.”

Throughout the nomination process, he remembered learning that “asking” and not “telling” is so important.

“Instead of telling them what I will do for them, I was listening to what they need me to do for them,” Morrow said, “and I am going to continue to do that.”

When voters in Guysborough-Tracadie head to the polls, he will try to unseat veteran provincial Liberal MLA and cabinet minister Lloyd Hines, while the provincial NDP has yet to select its candidate.