Cecil O'Donnell | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly for Shelburne | |
| In office 1999–2006 | |
| Preceded by | Clifford Huskilson |
| Succeeded by | Sterling Belliveau |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 10,1944 East Jeddore,Nova Scotia,Canada |
| Party | Progressive Conservative |
| Residence | Shelburne,NS |
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]
O'Donnell was born in 1944 at East Jeddore,Nova Scotia. [2]
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]
He married Christina Marie O'Donnell,and was the owner of a local grocery store. [2]