Op-Ed: New politics? Up to you, Nova Scotia
This editorial was written by Mark Coffin, and originally featured in The Chronicle Herald, Opinions section. See the original here.
“A new politics” was the first...
The reality of road fixing — and fixation — for MLAs in nova scotia
By LOUISE COCKRAM
"In the views of your constituents, that road is the most important thing in their lives. They don't care about what you're...
Stephen McNeil, Jamie Baillie and Darrell Dexter on Democratic Renewal
Written by Mark Coffin
Tomorrow, thousands of Nova Scotians will head to the polls. Despite popular belief, we will not be electing a government. Instead,...
What we’ve learned since starting Make Democracy Better.
We launched the Make Democracy Better project to build a space – on the ground, and online - where people could contribute to a discussion...
Mining the exit interview for political gold
It's not often citizens get a candid look at the political process. In fact, modern politics is so tightly scripted that we rarely ever...
The MLA who paved the way for Christmas trees
By MARK COFFIN
Pam Birdsall’s story wasn’t the typical ‘vote for my party and I’ll pave your road’ kind of tale. It falls in the category...
Maverick MLAs walk tightrope between party loyalty, conscience
By MARK COFFIN
Howard Epstein has never been known as someone who keeps his cards close to his chest. The former MLA served the district...
The nature of systems is to resist change
Written by Michael Chender
Changing something as embedded as our voting system is a big undertaking. In fact, as any of us who have worked...
The call to public office in Nova Scotia — ‘If not me, who?’
A lawyer, a nurse, and a farmer walk into Province House.
Some people might think that what happens inside the Nova Scotia legislature is a...
Why politicians attack one another
Pictured above: A screenshot from an NDP television ad targeting Liberal leader Stephen McNeil from the 2013 provincial election campaign.
Written by Mark Coffin.
After last night’s provincial...