While pundits may have predicted a horse race in New Westminster, NDP candidate Judy Darcy cruised to victory on election night.
Elections B.C.’s preliminary results showed that Darcy won with 12,923 votes (51.55 per cent) – slightly more than double the votes of her nearest challenger, Green candidate Jonina Campbell (6,358) and Liberal Lorraine Brett (5,333). Trailing behind were Social Credit candidate James Crosty with 280 votes and Libertarian Rex Brocki with 174 votes.
“This is a victory for everybody who worked on this campaign and it’s a victory for the people we are fighting for,” Darcy told a jubilant crowd at her victory party. “It’s about the seniors in the care homes we visited who said, ‘I am being treated like dirt by this Christy Clark government, and I need a government that is going to stand up for me.’ It’s about those parents whose children who have been robbed for 16 years of quality public education and said, ‘We need a champion for public education. It’s about the renters and the people whose doors we would knock on and said, ‘I am going to be evicted, and I don’t know what is going to happen to me.’ With this victory, we are going to keep fighting for them.”
Darcy credited her win to her record of working on issues that matter to the community, such as better health care, a rent bank and affordability issues.
“I work hard every single day. I have never taken the seat for granted. Never. Not for one moment,” she said. “I work hard when I am in the legislature. I work hard when I am in the community. I work hard on the campaign. That’s who I am. It’s my responsibility to the community.”
Darcy’s win continues New Westminster’s longstanding tradition of voting NDP representatives to Victoria. While the Liberals garnered 8,997 votes and the Greens had 2,252 votes in 2013, the Greens claimed second place in the riding in Tuesday’s election.
While Campbell had hoped for a different outcome, she is proud that her campaign inspired people to get involved. She said some people voted NDP in an attempt to oust the Liberals.
“I think what we are seeing is a real reaction locally to the Clark government and people really wanting, in the end, to vote Christy Clark out,” she said. “There was a lot of that sentiment about wanting to vote Clark out. I am proud we are the only party, provincially and locally, that ran a positive campaign. I am proud of that. We will stick to that. Positive politics did inspire people to get involved – that is why they wanted to get involved. It’s working. We are going to have to grow and build.”
Campbell said the election results will motivate her to continuing working hard for change in B.C. in the next election.
“It was difficult to go up against the fear that the NDP put out about split votes,” she said. “You couldn’t get away from it on Twitter and Facebook. If you look at their campaign material, everything was about split the vote. We will continue with our positive message about vote for the government you want. We are going to work hard for that.”
Campbell noted her campaign started in a living room with no volunteers and led to a full-out campaign that propelled her to a second-place finish.
“There isn’t even a provincial riding association. I didn’t even know who any of the Greens were when I started. I didn’t know a single B.C. Green living in New Westminster,” she said. “We have gone from that to over 200 volunteers. We attracted people from the left and the right, and people who have never been involved before. We raised over $40,000. We ran a competitive campaign. We had well over 500 signs put up. I had people coming up to me saying they voted Green for the first time ever and they were really glad to be voting Green.”
As of the Record’s deadline, the Liberals had won 43 seats, the NDP had 41 and the Greens had three seats. If the Liberals’ minority government holds after absentee ballots are counted and recounts are done in close races, the Greens could play a pivotal role in Victoria.
“We have two deal breakers: proportional representation/electoral reform and campaign financing reform,” Campbell said. “Those things must be met. Andrew Weaver has made a public statement tht we have two deal breakers. The NDP has made commitments on both. It’s up to them now to follow through. The other one is public education. We put 22 per cent additional funds into public education – the NDP had one per cent additional funds. That is something we are going to go to bat for.”
While Brett placed third in the local race, she was pleased to be able to represent the Liberals.
“They are historic results. I do feel quite good. In the context of New Westminster, I feel I really did provide a really strong B.C. Liberal choice for our voters. That makes me feel good. I did get a lot of positive feedback at the doorstep. That was also a great energizer and a great reality,” she told the Record. “I have lived here for 23 years. I do know that New Westminster is an NDP stronghold, but I feel my voice and that voice which representatives the B.C. Liberal voice is a valid voice. I was very proud to be stepping forward as the candidate for the B.C. Liberals.”
Provincially, she said B.C. in unique in electing a premier for a second term. (Elections B.C. has yet to finalize the official election results.)
“I do think it’s unique that we have a premier who has been re-elected for a second term here. That’s a historic first in Canada for a female so that is inspiring,” she said. “British Columbians are speaking through this vote. It’s going to create more dialogue and I am looking forward to that. It will be a great opportunity for all parties to embrace.”
James Crosty, one of two Social Credit candidates in B.C., wasn’t surprised by the local election results.
“I was surprised by the amount that Darcy did pull in. I was happy to see the Greens finish second. It just shows that there is potential for change in New Westminster. I think it’s great that Jonina is going to continue to work with them,” he said. “For me, it was a great introduction to the new SoCred party.”
Crosty said he will continue to work with the SoCreds and believes the party has a future in B.C. in the years ahead.
“I think there’s an opportunity for another party,” he said. “If we are going to proportional representation, it’s an exciting time for the new SoCreds.”
The Record could not reach Brett for comment before deadline.
