Incumbent Ashton in a Dan-slide
MLA breezes to victory in South Okanagan riding
Dan Ashton is heading back to Victoria with an enhanced mandate – even if his party isn’t.
The BC Liberal had collected a decisive 54 per cent of the popular vote in Tuesday’s provincial election as of 10:30 p.m. to earn a second term as MLA for the Penticton riding.
New Democrat Tarik Sayeed finished a distant second with 28 per cent support, followed by the Green Party candidate Connie Sahlmark, who earned just 18 per cent of the popular vote. That marked a solid gain for Ashton from 2013, when he snagged 46 per cent of the popular vote – just five points up on the NDP. He believes that improvement is a signal from constituents that they’re happy with the job he’s done.
“I think it shows I made some promises here and I’ve delivered on those promises: affordable housing, especially the hospital,” Ashton said late Tuesday at Boston Pizza in Penticton, where he and supporters met to cheer the results. “My dad always told me that the best pillow is a clean conscience, and I sleep pretty good at night – and hopefully I’ll sleep better tonight.”
Ashton, who led wire-to-wire Tuesday, had collected 12,257 votes with 103 of 119 polls reporting to put him well ahead of Sayeed who had 6,507 and Sahlmark with 4,172.
Sayeed, who took an unpaid leave of absence from Penticton city council to run, was disappointed with his result, but buoyed by his party’s strong showing provincially.
“It was a very hard fought battle, we gave it our best, and I have to thank the volunteers for what they have done,” he said after delivering a concession speech at the Penticton Lakeside Resort.
That crowd was still jubilant, however, as the Liberals and NDP were in a dead heat to form government.
“I’m very proud for the BC NDP – extremely proud,” said Sayeed, who found the campaign “humbling.”
Sahlmark, a true political neophyte, finished studying sustainable construction management technology at Okanagan College just before entering the race, and was ecstatic with her result.
“It’s awesome” said Sahlmark, who celebrated with supporters at La Casa Ouzeria in Penticton. Her showing marked an improvement on the 16 per cent of the popular vote won here by Julius Bloomfield in 2009, the last time the Greens ran a candidate in Penticton.
“I jumped in and didn’t expect anything, so this is amazing,” said Sahlmark. “I achieved what I set out to do, which was bring up some issues that needed to be talked about.”
Ashton, meanwhile, kept the campaign conversation squarely on his track record, trumpeting the $312.5-million expansion of Penticton Regional Hospital and millions of dollars in grants for community groups and local governments in his riding.
He also stood on his party’s economic record of five consecutive balanced budgets and warned frequently that electing the New Democrats would plunge the province into economic uncertainty not seen since that party was last in power in the 2001.
Ashton’s goals seem less clear for his second term, as he explained his new priority will simply be “to carry on representing” Penticton, Naramata, Summerland and Peachland.
“It’s a wonderful riding, we’ve brought a lot here and hopefully the government will carry on in the direction it’s going as a majority,” he said, alluding to his party’s seemingly tenuous grip on power as the final results rolled in.
“I can assure you... the South Okanagan has always had the eye of the province. It’s one of the fastest growing areas of the province and there’s going to be a lot of demands, and I know that the province will be there to help out.”
Ashton first punched his ticket to Victoria in 2013 after 14 years on Penticton city council, including two terms as mayor, along with 10 oneyear terms as chairman of the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen.