Cecil O'Donnell

Cecil Edward O'Donnell (born June 10, 1944) is a Canadian politician. He represented the electoral district of Shelburne in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1999 to 2006. He was a member of the Progressive Conservatives.[1]

Cecil O'Donnell
MLA for Shelburne
In office
1999–2006
Preceded byClifford Huskilson
Succeeded bySterling Belliveau
Personal details
Born (1944-06-10) June 10, 1944
East Jeddore, Nova Scotia
Political partyProgressive Conservative
ResidenceShelburne, NS

Early life

O'Donnell was born in 1944 at East Jeddore, Nova Scotia.[2]

Political career

He served as a municipal councillor and then warden for the Municipality of the District of Barrington.[2] O'Donnell first attempted to enter provincial politics in the 1998 election, but lost to Liberal incumbent Clifford Huskilson by 309 votes.[3] He ran again in 1999,[4] but election night returns had O'Donnell losing to Huskilson by one vote.[5] A judicial recount was held on August 17 resulting in a tie which was broken when the ridings returning officer picked O'Donnell's name from a box.[6][7][8]

A backbench member of John Hamm's government, O'Donnell broke party ranks in June 2001 to vote against Bill 68, the government's anti-strike legislation.[9][10][11] The law ended the right to strike for health-care workers and gave cabinet the power to impose a wage settlement on nurses.[12] O'Donnell voted the way he believed "the majority of people in Shelburne County would want."[13] He was later replaced as head of the Community Services Committee, which the opposition Liberals said was a result of voting against the government.[14][15] On February 17, 2003, O'Donnell announced that he would not reoffer as a Progressive Conservative candidate in the next election, but that he was considering seeking re-election as an independent.[16] On April 8, after re-thinking his decision at the request of Hamm, O'Donnell announced he would re-offer for the Tories after all.[17][18]

In the 2003 election, O'Donnell faced a challenge from former MLA Clifford Huskilson,[19] but was re-elected by almost 600 votes.[20] In the 2006 Progressive Conservative leadership race, O'Donnell was a supporter of Rodney MacDonald, and was named caucus whip shortly after MacDonald took over as premier in February 2006.[21] On May 1, 2006, O'Donnell announced he was leaving politics and would not be running in the 2006 election.[22]

O'Donnell returned to municipal politics in 2008 when he was elected a councillor in the Municipality of Barrington.[23] He was defeated when he ran for re-election in 2012.[24]

Personal life

He married Christina Marie O'Donnell, and was the owner of a local grocery store.[2]

References
  1. "Electoral History for Shelburne" (PDF). Nova Scotia Legislative Library. Retrieved 2015-06-30.
  2. "MLA biography". Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia. Archived from the original on June 26, 2003. Retrieved 2015-06-30.
  3. "Election Returns, 1998 (Shelburne)" (PDF). Elections Nova Scotia. Retrieved 2015-06-30.
  4. "O'Donnell to carry Tory banner". The Chronicle Herald. June 24, 1999. Archived from the original on January 24, 2005. Retrieved 2015-06-30.
  5. "Two recounts in the works". The Chronicle Herald. July 29, 1999. Archived from the original on January 24, 2005. Retrieved 2015-06-30.
  6. "Recounts shuffle mla's". CBC News. August 18, 1999. Retrieved 2015-06-30.
  7. "Tories pull one out". The Chronicle Herald. August 18, 1999. Archived from the original on January 24, 2005. Retrieved 2015-06-30.
  8. "Election Returns, 1999 (Shelburne)" (PDF). Elections Nova Scotia. Retrieved 2015-06-30.
  9. "Bill 68 passes; workers promise defiance". CBC News. June 27, 2001. Retrieved 2015-06-30.
  10. "Lone Tory casts vote against Bill 68". The Chronicle Herald. June 28, 2001.
  11. "Single Tory breaks ranks with no vote". The Daily News. Halifax. June 28, 2001.
  12. "Tories miss renegade MLA O'Donnell". CBC News. July 4, 2001. Retrieved 2015-06-30.
  13. "Defiant workers ignore back-to-work legislation". CBC News. June 28, 2001. Retrieved 2015-06-30.
  14. "Tory MLA "punished" after opposing Bill 68". CBC News. July 18, 2001. Retrieved 2015-06-30.
  15. "O'Donnell loses committee chairmanship". The Daily News. Halifax. July 18, 2001.
  16. "MLA O'Donnell rules out Tory bid: considers independence". Halifax Daily News. February 18, 2003.
  17. "MLA opts to remain Conservative". The Daily News. Halifax. April 9, 2003.
  18. "O'Donnell will re-offer after all". The Chronicle Herald. April 9, 2003.
  19. "Shelburne 'very close, three-way race'". The Chronicle Herald. July 23, 2003. Archived from the original on January 24, 2005. Retrieved 2015-06-30.
  20. "Election Returns, 2003 (Shelburne)" (PDF). Elections Nova Scotia. Retrieved 2015-06-30.
  21. "Fresh faces at the table". The Daily News. Halifax. February 24, 2006.
  22. "Two Nova Scotia Conservatives not running in next provincial election". The Chronicle Herald. May 2, 2006.
  23. "Election sees lots of changes in Shelburne county municipalities". The Coastguard. October 19, 2008. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
  24. "Big surprises in Shelburne County elections". The Coastguard. October 20, 2012. Retrieved 2015-06-30.
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