Out of Left Field: Election results a mixed bag
By Kyra Hoggan
Well, that was just about the most bizarre election ever.
Not on the local front – that came out exactly as expected, with incumbent NDP MLA Katrine Conroy taking a landslide victory with 10,606 votes (or 62.99 per cent of the popular vote), Liberal candidate Jim Postnikoff getting 3,592 votes (21.33 per cent), independent Joseph Hughes walking away with 2,239 votes (13.3 per cent), and independent Glen Byle taking 400 votes (2.38 per cent).
This was a case of history repeating itself: Conroy took the 2009 election with 66 per cent of the popular vote, neatly defeating Liberal candidate Brenda Binnie.
What was bizarre, to me, was what happened on the provincial level, with the Liberals confounding pundits and pollsters by winning a mandate with 44.41% of the popular vote and the NDP trailing with 39.49%
Meanwhile, NDP Adrian Dix lost his shot at premier, but won his seat handily with 63 per cent of the popular vote, while Premier Christy Clark won a government but lost her seat in Vancouver Point-Grey with 9,377 votes, compared to NDP opponent David Edy, who garnered 10,162 votes.
B.C. voters also elected their first Green MLA,Andrew Weaver in Oak Bay-Gordon Head.
So what does it all mean?
Some are saying that the NDP lost because of the polls, which made NDP supporters think they had it in the bag and thus didn’t bother voting (although voter turn-out was estimated to be about 53%, which is one per cent higher than in the 2009 provincial election).
Others suggest it was Christy Clark’s economic message that netted the Liberals the win, especially when combined with the province’s economic struggles under the last NDP regime.
Mountain FM’s Glen Hicks suggested an interesting theory as to why the pollsters were so far off the mark – that voters feel free to follow their conscience talking to pollsters, but focus on their wallets when casting a ballot.
Whether it’s one of those factors or combination of all of them, or even something entirely different, one thing is certain – after that fuss and energy expended, we’re exactly where we were before, with Katrine Conroy as NDP MLA and Clark’s Liberals forming our provincial government.
So, was it a waste of time and money to land us right back where we started?
Absolutely not.
I hope the narrow margin of the win (not even five per cent) will be a signal to the Liberals that they’re not entirely on the right track, and that they need to reconsider some of their policies. Likewise, I hope the debate process brought municipal issues more to the forefront in Conroy’s mind, and that one result of the election will be more interaction with our municipal representatives and our MLA.
I also think independents Hughes and Byle brought forward some excellent ideas that should provide food for thought for our leaders over the next four years – and I’d bet the farm we haven’t seen the last of Hughes, not by a long shot.
Important ideas were discussed, dialogues begun, views were challenged, changed and/or solidified in the minds of voters and candidates alike. And we all got to participate in a process, meaning we took ownership of a responsibility we often forget we bear, which is self-governance.
Finally, I think it’s important to offer genuine gratitude to Postnikoff, Hughes and Byle – it takes enormous courage to get up on that stage, especially opposite a veteran political operative like Conroy. They believed, as do I, that the West Kootenay district deserved something better than a rubber-stamp acclamation win, and they gave us better.
