LAST TRY TO GET VOTES
With a day to go, Liberal and NDP supporters dig deep for dirt on political foes.
Everyone had expected a long night waiting for the result in the closely contested Delta South riding in the 2009 provincial election.
Instead, it turned into a long fortnight.
The May 12 result, which originally gave the decision to Wally Oppal, the high- profile Liberal candidate, by just three votes, was later overturned by a judicial recount two weeks later. Independent candidate Vicki Huntington was declared the winner by a margin of 32 votes, and she became the new political star for all those wanting reform in the workings of the provincial legislature.
“There were only two reasons I won last time,” explained Huntington, who faces her stoutest challenge in the upcoming election from Liberal Bruce McDonald who, like Huntington, is a longtime Delta councillor. “First, the issues were extremely upsetting and the voters were angry. Second, I was a very well- known municipal politician ( five- term Delta councillor) who had been around a long time. People were looking for an alternative.”
Indeed, she became the first independent candidate elected by British Columbia voters in 60 years. And because of her, other independents, long dismissed as unelectable, are pinning their hopes in 2013 on the belief that other non- aligned candidates can break through to win seats from a disenchanted electorate that has fallen out of love with the two main parties.
“Not to say that I’ve made it easier for others, but people can see that it’s possible to get elected as an independent and to do the job right,” Huntington said. “I’m not opposed to the party system. But, increasingly, the party system is failing. MLAs can speak in caucus, but they have very little say in government policy and legislation. People are tired of hearing about what the government is doing for them. They want the government to listen to what they want them to do. It’s really a fundamental shift in how individuals are represented by their politicians.”
Still, it can be argued that Huntington’s close victory last time was a one- off; one that rewarded a politician who understood the frustrations of voters in a unique set of circumstances and issues applicable to Delta.
Hydro transmission lines, which the government promised pre- election would not go in, were given the go- ahead after the Liberals secured a majority government. A perimeter road that threatened agricultural land and migratory flyways in an eco- conscious community, expansion of the Deltaport container facility and the threatened closure of Delta
We don’t allow bullying in the classroom. Why the hell are we allowing it in the legislative assembly?
ARTHUR HADLAND
PEACE RIVER NORTH CANDIDATE
hospital all played a role in her election, Huntington believes.
“These weren’t petty issues. They were quality of life issues,” she said. “I kept hearing, over and over again, that nobody cared. Government was just interested in listening to big business. I’ve never underestimated the uniqueness of my win, however. I’ve worked hard to follow through on my commitment to the riding. People know I worked hard for Delta. Whether they continue to support me — I hope they do. But you never know.”
While voters often identify themselves as independent thinkers in pre- election polls, the reality is not many of them vote for independent candidates. Not only do independents have to fight for coverage from media obsessed with which mainstream party will form government, but it’s never a fair fight when a party- funded candidate is matched against a self- financed one.
“The real issue is money,” explained Arthur Hadland, the independent candidate in Peace River North who finished second in the 2009 election to Liberal Pat Pimm. “The money machine at the disposal of the Liberals or the NDP is pretty amazing. It’s hardscrabble for us. Sure, we get a lot of well- meaning people, friends and private individuals, donating $ 100. I’ve spent $ 18,000 so far. I think the Liberals have spent $ 65,000. It’s astronomically more.”
In the last provincial election, independents such as Huntington and Hadland picked up only 1.05 per cent of votes cast — a total of 17,253 spread among 14 candidates. The representative from Delta South alone garnered 9,977 of those votes. Hadland received 2,899 more, gaining the support of 31.3 per cent of the voter turnout in Peace River North to finish a very creditable second.
As the independent voice in a largely rural area, Hadland is expected to pose an even greater threat to Pimm this time around. Hadland is running on the strength of his agricultural background, his opposition to BC Hydro’s Site C dam, which he maintains threatens livelihoods and lifestyles, and the fact he could siphon off Green party votes. B. C. Green leader Jane Sherk has made it policy not to contest ridings in which independent candidates go up against the mainstream parties.
“I think you have a real issue with governance in the province,” Hadland said. “The party system is not representing our communities, especially in the north. In our system, if you run for the Liberals, or the NDP or the Greens, whatever party, you have to sign a document which makes you subject to the dictates of the leader or the party. It comes before commitments to your constituents. It absolutely creates a dictatorship. The party bully, they call him ‘ the whip,’ whips people into line, for whatever government edict is coming down. We don’t allow bullying in the classroom. Why the hell are we allowing it in the legislative assembly?”
The war on independent thought — machine politics — is a cause that John van Dongen, the independent MLA for Abbotsford South, hopes will rally support for him and others with a common determination.
Independent candidates are often looked on as noble, well- meaning curiosities with a strong backbone who are rendered inconsequential by the system. But B. C.’ s polarized political culture seems set for an upheaval, suggests van Dongen, whose independent stance is much strengthened by his profile. The former solicitor- general won five previous elections as a Liberal, before bolting from the party in March, 2012. He briefly sat as a Conservative before going independent.
“We’re in a fairly unique situation, and a fairly unique election,” van Dongen said. “There is a significant part of the population that is frustrated with both political parties ( Liberal and New Democratic). But none of us running as independents are under any illusions. Running as an independent is a tough way to get elected. Vicki came very close to not making it last time. You have to be a bit lucky, in a three- way race, with the right dynamics and circumstances in your riding.”
Van Dongen quit the Liberals over the BC Rail scandal in which two ex- staffers, convicted of corruption for leaking confidential information to lobbyists working for a private bidder, had their $ 6 million loan for legal fees waived by the government.
He cited it as a contemptuous disregard of legal propriety, and the way government can solve problems for its friends with the simple stroke of a pen.
“What has often been misinterpreted is that my fundamental disagreement was all about BC Rail, but it was not all about BC Rail,” van Dongen said. “Fundamentally, it’s about ethics and honesty and frank disclosure of the facts. To me, it’s all about leadership and a leader ( Christy Clark) who made a number of statements in the leadership race which proved, fundamentally, not to be true. She hasn’t been open and upfront about her involvement ( in forgiving a debt owed to taxpayers). I no longer had confidence in her leadership. I believe voters in the next provincial election are entitled to a free enterprise option.”
A fourth independent with the possibility of being elected is Bob Simpson, the MLA for Cariboo North. He won the riding in 2009 for the NDP but got turfed from the party after publicly expressing concerns about the leadership of Carole James and the direction of the party.
Like Huntington and van Dongen, Simpson has been a strong voice for legislative reform and the power of the individual MLA. The loose coalition of the independent from Delta South and the lapsed Liberal and NDP members shows that the leanings of economic conservatives and social progressives are by no means predictable.
“We are a force, as a team,” Simpson said. “We refer to it as having the luxury of collaborative ideas. We have the freedom to disagree and act independently. But where it makes sense for us, on certain issues, we find commonality and work together in concerted fashion. I can guarantee you that well over half of the Liberal caucus is envious of our ability to raise cost issues with the government when they’re forced to vote for pet initiatives of the premier. Folks on the NDP side feel the same way. We’re able to use our freedom to bring a counter voice into the legislature.”
If the provincial election failed to yield a clear verdict with a strong majority government, independents and Greens would be the power brokers, with the government relying on them to assert authority. The consensus required would create a more democratic assembly, not a purely political one based on partisanship and the control of power.
All of B. C.’ s high- profile independents want to shake up the legislature so that the government becomes more accountable. The aftermath of the 2013 election would be a chance to do things differently. But a hung legislature, where romancing of the house is a necessity, appears not to be in the cards.
“Will independents be heard in this election?” Simpson said. “That’s the ultimate question. Electing independents will magnify the voice of every MLA. We’re trying to get the legislature back to what it was originally intended to do. My sense is there are lot of voters out there who are sick and tired of the pettiness of political parties and want it to end.”
Simpson said it’s “not unreasonable” to have four independents elected to the B. C. legislature on Tuesday.
If we are to judge by history, that outcome would be nothing short of unprecedented.