Quick take: This riding could be in play during the next election — after being nominated for the upcoming election, longtime Liberal MLA Diana Whalen bowed out of the race in March.
READ MORE: All our Nova Scotia Election 2017 coverage
Candidates
Liberal: Rafah DiCostanzo is an interpreter with the Nova Scotia Interpreting Services. DiCostanzo is a longtime Liberal volunteer. She supported Whalen in her bid for party leader in 2007 and has worked on several election campaigns.
Progressive Conservative: Paul Kimball is a TV and film producer, writer, and director. In 2016, Kimball first attempted to run under the NDP banner in the Halifax Needham byelection. After the party disqualified him, he ran for the Tory nomination which he lost. The Liberal’s decision to axe the film and TV tax credit sparked Kimball’s interest in jumping into politics.
NDP: Rana Zaman is a well-known community activist and volunteer, she won a provincial volunteer award for her work in 2017. She helped found the United for One Association — a group focused on helping refugees.
Green: Thomas Trappenberg is a computer science professor at Dalhousie University. He co-organized the founding of the Green Party of Nova Scotia and he ran in the 2006 federal election for the Greens in Halifax West. He also was a candidate for the party in Timberlea-Prospect in the past three elections.
Atlantica Party: Jonathan Dean is the Atlantica Party’s candidate in this riding. According to the party’s website, Dean co-founded the Atlantica Party after becoming frustrated with the existing political parties in the province.
Riding background
History: Whalen won the riding with 67.8 per cent of the vote in 2013. She has held the seat since 2003. Prior to that, the riding flip flopped between the Progressive Conservatives and Liberals dating back to the 1980s.
Boundaries: The riding is bounded by the Bedford Basin to the east and includes the Bayers Lake Business Park and several new subdivisions.
Demographics: Clayton Park West is primarily a residential area but also includes Mount Saint Vincent University and a collection of big-box stores at the Bayers Lake Business Park.
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