Election night speeches (audio and photos)

As I write this report of the election night celebrations and regrets in Miramichi, Elections NB is still trying to figure out if all the votes have been counted in what could be the worst election debacle in the history of the country. That's a story for tomorrow.

But the story for tonight was how three Miramichi candidates handled victory and defeat. Miramichi Online brings you the speeches and the photos from a night of joy and dejection. Keep reading and you'll hear Robert Trevors delivering a touching speech to his volunteers. Lisa Harris remembered her mother in her address to her supporters. And Bill Fraser got one more dig in at David Alward.

Trevors Concedes

At about 8:45pm, the second update to the votes in Miramichi hit the screen in the campaign office on Duke Street. The first numbers showed Trevors trailing Fraser by almost 500 votes. The second tally showed that the lead had grown by over 100. Prior to leaving to congratulate Fraser on his pending win, he praised his team and told them because they got beat didn't mean his government hadn't done a good job for the Miramichi in the past four years. Trevors said he still believed in the future of the city and that regardless of who forms the government, Alward was still an ally of the region. He said and didn't take the defeat personally.


Robert's Speech link

Lisa Harris: My Mother Told Me I Could Be Anything

When Lisa Harris entered the Nordin Rec Centre to cheers, one the first people to hug her was her father. Lisa lost her mother to cancer a few years ago, and she told her supporters in her acceptance address, that it was her mother her urged her to reach for any goal, and expect to achieve it. Harris thanked her team, including one of her sons who managed to get a voter to the poll at 2 minutes to 8. She said he her husband was to thank for his support, as he was the only one who ever saw her emotions dip. Harris said she plans to become bilingual so she can serve all the constituents in her riding. Oh, and she said she plans to change the world. Don't bet against her.

Serge Robichaud also showed up during Lisa's speech to congratulate her, but he left before she finished. Lisa paid Serge a very nice compliment during her speech.





Lisa's Speech link

Fraser Not Going Down

Bill Fraser beat Robert Trevors by about 1000 votes. It's safe to say that somebody overestimated their support in Newcastle for the Conservatives. David Alward might have been one of those people. Bill Fraser told a story at the beginning of his acceptance speech that a few months ago, Alward told him, "I am going to take you down."

"I'm not sure what he was talking about, but I didn't go down tonight," Fraser said to thunderous applause.

Fraser thanked Robert Trevors for representing the Miramichi in cabinet, and for the work he had done. Moments before Fraser's speech, Trevors showed up outside the Kin Centre to congratulate Fraser.

Fraser thanked his team, including a handicapped woman wearing a T-Shirt saying "Bill's Number One Fan". Bill gave the woman a job years ago when he ran a convenience store, and continued to visit her in the nursing home after he became MLA.

Fraser said the work for the Liberal MLAs would begin first thing in the morning with a conference call with their leader Brian Gallant. It might be too early to confirm Gallant as premier, as the vote counting debacle still has to be sorted out.