Conception Bay East-Bell Island byelection to be held Jan. 29

The election period has in Conception Bay East-Bell Island has officially begun, with a byelection set to be held on Monday, Jan. 29.

The province's chief electoral officer issued the writ on Saturday, signalling the start of the campaign.

Three candidates have already been named in the race to replace former Progressive Conservative MHA David Brazil, who held the position since 2010. Brazil stepped down in December to focus on his health after suffering a heart attack in 2022.

Tina Neary, a town councillor in Portugal Cove-St. Philip's and mental health advocate, has been named the PC party's candidate, a decision that led to accusations from the party's district association president that leader Tony Wakeham cherry-picked Neary without a fair and open process.

The NDP has put forward Kimberly Churchill, a Portugal Cove-St. Philip's mother who has made national headlines in her fight to a proper education for deaf children in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Churchill and her husband fought a years-long battle to ensure their son Carter could be taught using American Sign Language, and won a human rights case against the Newfoundland and Labrador English School District in March.

After weeks of speculation, the Liberals named advisor to the premier and former journalist Fred Hutton as their candidate earlier this month. Following stints at NTV, VOCM and the CBC, Hutton has served as an advisor to Andrew Furey since he was elected in 2020.

Hutton told reporters he took a leave of absence from the office effective in early December.

Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on election day, Monday, Jan. 29.

An advance poll will be held the week prior, on Monday, Jan. 22.

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