THUNDER BAY -- Richard Harvey wants to listen.
The Nipigon mayor took the Thunder Bay Superior North Conservative nomination Thursday night. He told the room of about 50 at the Prince Arthur Hotel that there's a lot of work to be done to convince the people of Northwestern Ontario that their values align with the party. But he also wants to take Northern values to Ottawa and collect them on the campaign trail.
"I'm not here right now to say 'here's what I want to bring'. I want to hear from the people of our riding. I want to hear what message they belive and what direction they believe we need to be going and what that is," he said moments after winning the nomination over Florence Bailey.
"I'm not running for the Conservatives. I'm running for the people of Thunder Bay-Superior North as a Conservative," he said.
Harvey said he thinks the party best represents his and his family's values. He also thinks many people are like him, appreciating a reduction in taxes and more benefits during tax season.
"Look at what you actually have left in your pocket at the end of the day," he said.
"Those are things that benefit us."
Government doesn't need to hold a person's hand. It should respect the right for people to make their own decisions, something he thinks the Conservatives have been doing during their nearly decade at the helm in Ottawa.
"We don't need big brother telling us and trying to control every aspect of our lives. We have that provincially. We have that right now. Every time we turn around they're trying to bring in and legislate a new area of our life," he said.
"We need a government that intervenes to create an environment in which we as individuals can prosper and make the decisions."
Harvey takes on NDP candidate Andrew Foulds, Liberal Patty Hajdu and incumbent Green Bruce Hyer. He said he's looking forward to some good debates on during the campaign.
"I think we're going to have a really good discussion about what's important," Harvey said.
This is Harvey's second time running for the federal Conservative party. He placed second to Hyer, then a New Democrat, in 2011.
