As polls for the 2013 provincial election began to come in on Tuesday night (May 14), NDP candidate Ana Santos took an early lead over Liberal Jordan Sturdy, at times by more than 10 per cent.
But as the evening progressed, the results for the West Vancouver-Sea to Sky riding began to favour Sturdy and by the time all 118 ballot boxes were counted, he had 52.3 per cent of the popular vote, or 10,101 ballots.
At his campaign headquarters in Squamish, he said it had been a very interesting evening as results from the riding and across the province came in with his party forming a majority government.
This is an amazing result, Sturdy said.
He said he is excited for the opportunity to go to Victoria and represent the riding, which he acknowledged as being incredibly diverse and spanning from West Vancouver all the way to D'Arcy.
I am looking forward to and excited about the next four years, he said. Being in government now is really going to give (this riding) much more opportunity.
Province-wide, the Liberals stunned polls and pundits with a 50-seat majority, while the NDP won 33 seats. One Green Party MLA was elected on Vancouver Island and one independent candidate won in Delta South.
Santos was clearly disappointed in the results and the election in general, as polls going into voting day favoured her party to form a government.
However, you know, I think it has been very positive for us, she said from her election night headquarters at the Brackendale Art Gallery. In many ways the message has been loud and clear and people have jumped on board.
Santos, a Squamish-based translator and freelance writer who emigrated from Spain to Canada in 2004, said the experience of running in the election was extremely positive for her and her goals of trying to effect positive change and engage people will continue.
While she had 6,288 ballots cast, or 32.5 per cent of the vote, Santos did better than the 2009 NDP candidate Julianna Buitenhuis. In that election the NDP took 4,214 votes, or 22.9 per cent of the overall vote in the election. Liberal Joan McIntyre won with 10,101 votes or 54.9 per cent of the vote.Santos said the increased support for her party in the riding is significant.
It is obviously very exciting in that sense and it shows people are ready for change more and more, she said. Times are changing and soon enough we may see a different scenario.
Green candidate Richard Warrington was also encouraged by his first experience with politics, and said he is likely to continue his involvement.He said considering he came into the race late, he feels he did well in the riding with 11 per cent or 2,125 votes.
I am very happy with the people who were willing to trust me with their vote and that the Greens have one seat in the legislature, that is huge. It is a toehold and means we can start to be taken seriously and come back much stronger in the next election, Warrington said.
Conservative candidate Ian McLeod said he was also disappointed he didn't receive more votes, but found it challenging to campaign while continuing to work a full-time job.
In the end, however, he said he learned a lot about the riding through campaigning and is even more passionate about this part of B.C. than before.
I thought I was passionate about West Vancouver-Sea to Sky, but I have realized I am even more passionate about the riding after seeing all corners of it, McLeod said.
He added that speaking with people in the constituency and hearing their viewpoints was a great experience and has shown him there is strong community spirit throughout the area. In particular, McLeod said he thinks the number one issue for residents of the corridor is the environment, whether that means concerns about Independent Power Projects, fish farms, fraking or pipelines.
It is a beautiful riding and a lot people are sensitive about the riding, he said.
Independent candidate Jon Johnson said while he only garnered 213 votes, or 1.1 per cent of the ballots, his experience in the election was positive and he succeeded at contributing what he set out to do provide voters with an independent option.
He said he hopes his message that the MLA for West Van-Sea to Sky should represent the riding goes with the winning candidate to Victoria.
I think one of primary messages of my campaign has been I think the person elected as MLA should represent the riding and not the party and that has really resonated with the people I have spoken with, Johnson said. and That was the whole reason I wanted to do this.
I wanted to vote for a person and not a party, I wanted to vote for a person that pledges a commitment to their riding and brings the interests of their constituency to the legislature and not the other way around.
The last time this area was not represented by a Liberal was 1986, when the Social Credit party held the riding previously known as West Vancouver-Garibaldi.
With files from Rebecca Aldous, The Chief
