Jim Hodder, MHA who represented Port au Port area for 2 parties, dies at 80
Jim Hodder, whose political career in Newfoundland and Labrador spanned several decades, has died. He was 80.
Hodder represented the district of Port au Port in two different stints, and carried the banner of two parties.
First elected as a Liberal in 1975, he rocked that party's caucus a decade later by crossing the floor to join the Brian Peckford PCs.
A former teacher in Stephenville, Hodder left politics before the 1993 election. He made a comeback, though, in 2003, when he defeated former Liberal cabinet minister Gerald Smith, and helped Danny Williams's Tories regain power.
Hodder, who served in cabinet as tourism minister, retired from politics altogether in January 2007, nine months before the next general election. At the time, Hodder cited health concerns as his motivation for leaving.
"I have some medical problems and I haven't really been paying attention to them, so I thought I'd better get out ahead of the Grim Reaper," he told CBC at the time.
In a statement, PC Leader Ches Crosbie paid tribute to Hodder as someone who was "highly regarded by people on all sides of the House, and loved throughout his district."
