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Steve Kent (politician)

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Steve Kent
MHA
Member of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly
for Mount Pearl North
In office
1 November 2007 – 11 October 2017
Preceded byHarvey Hodder
Succeeded byJim Lester
Deputy Premier of
Newfoundland and Labrador
In office
30 September 2014 – 13 December 2015
Preceded byKathy Dunderdale
Succeeded bySiobhán Coady
Minister of Health and Community Services
In office
30 September 2014 – 13 December 2015
Preceded byClyde Jackman
Succeeded byJohn Haggie
Minister of Municipal and Intergovernmental Affairs, Minister Responsible for Fire and Emergency Services – Newfoundland and Labrador, and Registrar General
In office
9 October 2013 – 3 July 2014
Preceded byKevin O'Brien
Succeeded byDan Crummell
Minister Responsible for the Office of Public Engagement
In office
29 January 2014 – 13 December 2015
Preceded byCharlene Johnson
Succeeded bySiobhan Coady
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister Responsible for the Office of Public Engagement
In office
24 October 2012 – 9 October 2013
Preceded byPosition Established
Succeeded byPaul Lane
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister Responsible for the Forestry and Agrifoods Agency
In office
13 October 2010 – September 2011
Preceded byHarry Harding
Succeeded byVaughn Granter
8th Mayor of Mount Pearl
In office
October 2003 – 30 October 2007
Preceded byDave Denine
Succeeded byRandy Simms
Councillor/Deputy Mayor of Mount Pearl
In office
October 1997 – October 2003
Succeeded byRandy Simms
Personal details
Born (1978-05-07) 7 May 1978 (age 46)
Stephenville, Newfoundland
NationalityCanadian
Political partyProgressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador
SpouseJanet Kent
Children3 (Benjamin, Ciaran, Samuel)
Residence(s)Mount Pearl, Newfoundland and Labrador
Alma materMemorial University of Newfoundland, McGill University
Signature
Websitestevekent.ca

Stephen Kent, MHA, (born 7 May 1978) is a former Canadian politician in Newfoundland and Labrador. Kent served as the deputy premier, Minister of Health and Community Services, Minister Responsible for the Office of Public Engagement in the cabinet of Paul Davis. Previously he served as the Minister of Municipal and Intergovernmental Affairs, the Minister Responsible for Fire and Emergency Services – Newfoundland and Labrador, and Registrar General in the cabinets of Kathy Dunderdale and Tom Marshall. He served as the Member of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly for the District of Mount Pearl North from 2007 until 2017.

Prior to entering provincial politics, Kent served as Mayor and deputy mayor of the City of Mount Pearl, and he has worked as the chief executive officer for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Newfoundland, as the executive director at United Way of Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador, and as the manager of corporate development at Stirling Communications. He has also served as the chief commissioner and chair of the board of governors for Scouts Canada. Kent became CAO of Mount Pearl in October 2017; he resigned in 2020.

Background

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Kent was born in Stephenville in 1978 and lived in Paradise before moving to Mount Pearl in 1980. Kent graduated from O'Donel High School in Mount Pearl in 1996, where he had held the position of student council president. In 2001, he completed a bachelor's degree in business aAdministration and a Certificate in public administration, at Memorial University of Newfoundland. In May 2003, he received his master's degree in management from McGill University in Montreal.[1]

From April 1999 to September 2004, Kent held the position of chief executive officer at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Newfoundland, where he served as president of the organization's Atlantic Staff Association, and in 2003 was appointed to the Organizational Development Committee.

In 2004, Kent became manager of corporate development with OZ FM, and served as the acting station manager. He went on to become the executive director at United Way, Newfoundland and Labrador. In 2006, he launched The FOCUS Group Consulting to provide management and marketing services to private and volunteer sector organizations. He and his wife Janet, own Focus Driver Training, which operates four Young Drivers of Canada offices in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Municipal politics

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Kent began his political career as a teenager, first serving on school councils, in Youth Parliament and on the Youth Council for the City of Mount Pearl. In 1997, at age 19, he ran a successful campaign for city council and was elected deputy mayor of Mount Pearl (a position assigned to the councillor with the most votes), the youngest elected official in the city's history. He became the eighth mayor of Mount Pearl in 2003 when Dave Denine moved on to provincial politics, and he was elected mayor by acclamation in 2005.

During his time on city council, Kent was chair of various committees including the Parks and Recreation Committee, the human resources and finance committee and the Planning and Use Committee. He also sat on the Economic Development Committee, the Technical Services Committee and the Regional Fire Services Committee. He was also co-chair of the Mount Pearl Drug Strategy Committee. Kent was also the Avalon Director on the board of directors for Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador, and an active member of the Atlantic Mayors Congress.

In 2002, Kent was appointed to a three-year term on the Minister's Advisory Committee to review the province's new Child, Youth and Family Services Act. From January 2003 to October 2004, Kent was part of the Premier's Council on Social Development.[citation needed]

Federal politics

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In March 2000, Kent announced he was seeking the Liberal Party of Canada nomination for a by-election to be held in the riding of St. John's West.[2] After his announcement, The Telegram revealed that a string of emails obtained by their paper showed that Kent had been considering seeking the Canadian Alliance nomination in the riding. Kent told The Telegram he thought the Canadian Alliance were too right-wing, but the emails showed that Kent thought it would be useful if the party conducted a poll to find out people's thoughts on him running. When announcing his candidacy for the Liberal nomination he said; "I support the work that the Liberal governments are doing. And it only made sense for me to seek the Liberal nomination at this time."[3] Kent was supported in his nomination campaign by fellow Mount Pearl City Councillor Lucy Stoyles.[4] Anthony Sparrow went on to win the Liberal Party nomination for the by-election. Kent, who reportedly came a close second in the nomination, said; "I'll be working for Mr. Sparrow first thing in the morning".[5]

Kent was a delegate from St. John's South—Mount Pearl at the 2006 federal Liberal leadership convention in Montreal.[6] On 5 December 2006, Kent donated $425 to the Liberal Party of Canada.[7]

Provincial politics

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Progressive Conservative member of the House of Assembly (MHA) Harvey Hodder opted to not to run for re-election in the 2007 Newfoundland and Labrador general election. Kent announced his intentions to seek the PC nomination in the new district of Mount Pearl North.[8] On 19 June 2007, he was elected as the Progressive Conservative candidate for the provincial election, taking 1,151 of 1,352 votes, over the only other contestant, Keith Cassell.[9] In the subsequent general election, he was elected MHA for the electoral district of Mount Pearl North with 85% of the popular vote in the 9 October 2007, provincial election.[10] On 30 October 2007, he resigned as Mayor of Mount Pearl in order to be sworn in as MHA.[citation needed]

On 13 October 2010, Kent was named Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister Responsible for the Forestry and Agrifoods Agency.[11]

Kent was re-elected as the MHA for Mount Pearl North on 11 October 2011.

In October 2013, Kent was named Minister of Municipal and Intergovernmental Affairs, Minister Responsible for Fire and Emergency Services and Registrar General. In January 2014, in addition to those portfolios he was also named Minister Responsible for the Office of Public Engagement.[12][13] Kent resigned from his Cabinet positions on 3 July 2014, in order to run for the leadership of the provincial Progressive Conservative Party.[14]

Kent was a candidate in the 2014 PC leadership election to succeed Kathy Dunderdale.[15][16] He placed third with 20.7% of the vote and was eliminated on the first ballot.[17]

On 30 September 2014, Kent was named deputy premier, Minister of Health and Community Services, and Minister Responsible for the Office of Public Engagement.[18] His cabinet responsibilities ended upon the swearing in of the new Liberal cabinet after change in government on 13 December 2015.

In the 2015 election, Kent was re-elected, defeating Liberal candidate Mount Pearl Mayor Randy Simms.[19][20]

In September 2017, Kent announced that he would resign his seat in October to become chief administrative officer of the City of Mount Pearl. He officially resigned on 11 October.[21]

Post-politics

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Kent resigned his seat on 11 October 2017, to become chief administrative officer of the City of Mount Pearl. In October 2019, an out-of-province labour lawyer was brought in to investigate Kent's workplace interactions with city staff following complaints by several municipal workers.[22] Kent was placed on administrative leave in October 2019.[23] He resigned as CAO on 25 June 2020, days after the City Council of Mount Pearl tabled a motion to dismiss him from the position.[24] Allegations made in the case included that Kent had mocked subordinates in front of other staff and berated workers verbally.[25] In 2019, it was alleged Kent used a city-hired consultant for personal work related to his volunteer work with outside organizations; Kent stated it did not cost the City.[26] However, in 2023 the city shared they had spent over $325,000 on professional fees and further undisclosed legal fees related to the investigation into the former CAO.[27]
In August 2024, Kent was elected a voting member of the World Scout Committee by the World Scout Conference for a three-year term.

Electoral history

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2015 Newfoundland and Labrador general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Steve Kent 3120
Liberal Randy Simms 2571
New Democratic Cameron Mercer-Maillet 370
Total valid votes
2011 Newfoundland and Labrador general election[28]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Steve Kent 3,727 73.31% –
  NDP Kurtis Coombs 994 19.55%
Liberal Maurice Budgell 363 7.14%
2007 Newfoundland and Labrador general election[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Steve Kent 4,751 85.05% –
Liberal Elaine Reid 516 9.24%
  NDP Janice Lockyer 319 5.71%
Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador nomination, June 19, 2007[29]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Steve Kent 1,151 85.45% –
Progressive Conservative Keith Cassell 196 14.55%  

References

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  1. ^ "Brief Profile of Stephen P. Kent" (PDF). Scouts Canada. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  2. ^ "Gibbons backing out of St. John's West". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 24 March 2000. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  3. ^ Cleary, Ryan (25 March 2000). "Kent shows his colours: Deputy mayor chooses Liberals after flirting with Alliance". The Telegram. p. 1.
  4. ^ Mount Pearl City Council minutes, 3 April 2000. Retrieved 2014-05-29.
  5. ^ Callahan, Brian (12 April 2000). "Sparrow takes off with Liberal nod". The Telegram. p. 1.
  6. ^ Lono, Simon (18 May 2007). "My Liberal credentials are very limited" Offal News. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  7. ^ Liberal Party of Canada Elections Canada financial returns for 2006. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  8. ^ "Kent makes jump for PC nod in Mount Pearl district". CBC News. 18 May 2007. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  9. ^ "Kent glides in as PC candidate in Mount Pearl North". CBC News. 20 June 2007. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  10. ^ a b "CBC.ca Newfoundland & Labrador Votes 2007". CBC News. 9 October 2007.
  11. ^ "Premier Announces Changes to Cabinet". Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  12. ^ Bailey, Sue (9 October 2003). "Newfoundland Premier refreshes cabinet after rough first half of four-year term". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  13. ^ "Tom Marshall orders review of Bill 29, shuffles cabinet". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 29 January 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  14. ^ "Steve Kent: province wants 'something fresh' in PC leadership". CBC News. 3 July 2014.
  15. ^ "Steve Kent says province wants 'something fresh' in PC leadership". CBC. 3 July 2014. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
  16. ^ "Paul Davis enters PC race with call for 'new beginning'". CBC. 2 July 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  17. ^ "Paul Davis wins PC leadership, becomes premier-designate". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 13 September 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
  18. ^ Premier Paul Davis Unveils New Cabinet, Innovative Approach. GovNL News Releases. Retrieved 2014-10-02.
  19. ^ "Steve Kent beats Randy Simms in battle of Mount Pearl North". CBC News. 30 November 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  20. ^ "4 Tory cabinet ministers fall to defeat in Liberal rout". CBC News. 1 December 2015. Archived from the original on 25 January 2022. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  21. ^ Steve Kent resigns as MHA day later than expected, overlaps with new job
  22. ^ "Investigator interviewing Mount Pearl staff about Steve Kent's alleged workplace conduct". CBC News. 25 October 2019.
  23. ^ Antle, Rob (25 June 2020). "Steve Kent out as top bureaucrat at Mount Pearl city hall". CBC. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  24. ^ "Steve Kent resigns as Mount Pearl's top bureaucrat, plans to sue city | SaltWire".
  25. ^ Antle, Rob (25 March 2021). "Facebook chats reveal clandestine planning between Steve Kent, 2 Mount Pearl councillors". CBC Investigates. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  26. ^ Antle, Rob (9 December 2019). "Steve Kent had city-hired consultant do personal work, says no cost to taxpayers". CBC News. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  27. ^ Careen, Evan (8 March 2023). "Workplace misconduct investigation into Steve Kent cost the City of Mount Pearl more than $325,000, not including legal fees". www.saltwire.com. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  28. ^ Newfoundland & Labrador Votes 2011. CBC News. Retrieved 2012-11-02.
  29. ^ "Steve Kent to represent PC Party in Mount Pearl North", PC Party of Newfoundland and Labrador (press release), June 19, 2007
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