Clarke set to seek PC leadership after ‘personal and difficult’ announcement

A prominent Nova Scotia mayor is expected to enter the Progressive Conservative leadership race Saturday, two days after announcing he was gay and someone had been threatening to reveal it.

A spokesperson says Cecil Clarke will “make an announcement” on the provincial run at the North Sydney Firefighters Club Saturday afternoon.

She said the Cape Breton Regional Municipality mayor wasn’t giving interviews on Friday.

“As I hope you can understand, Cecil’s decision to come out yesterday involved some very personal and difficult details. At this point, he would like to move forward and focus on his future plans,” Leah Batstone wrote in an email.

The 49-year-old politician spoke out about his private life in an interview with CBC Radio on Thursday, saying he didn’t want anyone thinking they could shame him or hold something over him.

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“I’m not afraid of tough issues or taking a stand as people well know, and I’m not afraid of criticism and constructive criticism about the work I do, because that is part of the parliamentary process. But who I am and how I go about my personal life is no longer up as a punching bag for me politically,” Clarke told CBC Sydney’s Mainstreet.

He said someone threatened to expose his personal life, so he decided to announce it himself.

“I am in a very serious relationship and I’m not going to sacrifice that relationship. I’m not going to be ashamed of that relationship,” Clarke said.

The Sydney Mines native served in the provincial legislature as a PC MLA for a decade before returning to Cape Breton to become mayor in 2012.

He spent much of his time in the legislature as a cabinet minister in the Progressive Conservative governments of former premiers John Hamm and Rodney MacDonald.

Clarke says he’s on the progressive side of the Progressive Conservatives.

He would be the third candidate in the leadership race, joining Tim Houston, the MLA for Pictou East, and John Lohr, the member for Kings North.

Jamie Baillie announced late last year that he planned to step down as leader and leave politics, but that departure came sooner than expected last month when he resigned following an allegation of inappropriate behaviour.

Details of the leadership convention are expected to be announced Feb. 11 during the party’s annual general meeting in Halifax.

Christina Lamey, a spokeswoman for the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, said the mayor decided to speak out after an incident earlier this week. At issue was “hateful speech” directed at Clarke’s sexuality, she said.

Clarke received an outpouring of support of social media, with many applauding his courage to come forward and tell his story and condemning the homophobia and threats he endured.

Kevin Bissett, The Canadian Press