In these increasingly partisan times, there are precious few opportunities to set politics aside when discussing political figures.
But for all of the debate around Clarence Pettersen’s job performance, let us all join together in wishing our MLA a rapid victory in his second battle with cancer.
As The Reminder reported last week, Pettersen will undergo surgery, or begin a drug regimen, after testing revealed the kidney cancer he thought he defeated in 2013 has returned.
In what must be an exceptionally difficult time for him and his family, Pettersen is showing fierce, albeit realistic, optimism.
“I think I will defeat this cancer,” he told me, adding that his doctors share his sanguinity.
The slow-growing cancer presents “no immediate concern,” Pettersen said, pointing out that he doesn’t require abrupt surgery.
Pettersen’s health would be of widespread concern even if he hadn’t been elected MLA in 2011. After all, he has long been one of Flin Flon’s most recognizable faces.
Jovial demeanour
With a jovial demeanour, light sense of humour and genuine sense of compassion, Pettersen is a hard man to dislike, even if you abhor his politics.
And make no mistake: on the political front, Pettersen has had his ups and downs.
True, in less than three years in office he has helped garner an impressive $150-million-plus in new infrastructure investments for his constituency.
That’s huge, and while it does not eliminate questions over whether Flin Flon is the NDP’s red-headed stepchild of the North, it certainly is reassuring.
But Pettersen has also been part of an administration that withdrew Greyhound subsidies, stripping hundreds, perhaps thousands, of northerners of their only viable mode of intercity travel.
For reasons of party harmony, he has also been forced to defend policies he probably loathes, such as rapid hydro hikes that hit the poor the hardest, and a reliance on private fundraising to pay for public health care projects.
Sometimes Pettersen’s efforts to be diplomatic have landed him in hot water with factions of his base.
Such was the case in 2012 when he chose not to take sides in a contractual dispute between union machinists and Hudbay – a decision that cost him the support of the company’s unions.
Other times, Pettersen has been so remarkably proactive that you’d swear he must work 23-hour days.
Helping to get area cottagers and the City of Flin Flon back to the negotiating table, following two years of acrimony, is a testament to that.
In my dealings with Pettersen, he has been a complete gentleman. He not only understands that my job requires I be critical of him and his government, he genuinely appreciates the public interest served by such work.
I have even heard stories – unconfirmed, I must note – of people around Pettersen getting upset over something I had written about the NDP’s treatment of Flin Flon. I am told his response came as this: “Jonathon has a job to do.”
Throughout it all, Pettersen has worn his passion for Flin Flon on his sleeve. In fact, I don’t think I’ve met anyone else who cares about this community so much.
It’s not up to me to endorse Pettersen or anyone else for MLA.
But I will say that on a personal level, Flin Flon needs more people like Pettersen – people who genuinely cherish what we have as a community and believe in our future.
May he once again show cancer who’s boss.
Local Angle runs Fridays.
