NDP politicians and their supporters in Nanaimo all understood what was at stake when they elected Sheila Malcolmson Wednesday, giving her 49 per cent of the vote, said the NDP representative in Maple Ridge.
“I think the people of Nanaimo really understood the gravity of the choice,” Bob D’Eith, MLA for Maple Ridge-Mission, said Thursday.
He saw the byelection as a vote of confidence for the party as it tries to govern with only a two-seat majority over the Liberals.
D’Eith said that people are starting to realize over 16 years that the Liberals need to take responsibility for ICBC’s finances, money laundering in B.C. casinos and the expenses scandal at the legislature.
But he’d rather think the vote was in favour of what the NDP is doing, and that people are telling the party it’s doing the right things.
“I like to think that, hey, people like the fact that we’re bringing in child care and that we’re trying to tackle housing and working with teachers, getting more teachers into schools.”
Locally, he still wants to focus on housing issues in Maple Ridge and hopes that can be addressed.
“So, for sure, that’s something I’m looking forward to. I’m hopeful that the housing issue can be addressed.”
D’Eith added, though, it doesn’t matter what side of the political fence you’re on, there’s no appetite, I think, for elections right now,” he added.
“People just want us to get to work.”
For former Liberal MLA Doug Bing said the big losers were the Green party.
“We saw them abandon the Greens in huge numbers because there’s no differentiation between the Greens and the NDP. Why would you go for the B team when you’ve got the A team there. I think that showed that people wanted to stay with the NDP, rather than the Greens.
Malcolmson got 10,538 votes (49.2 per cent) and Tony Harris of the B.C. Liberals had 8,665 votes (40.5 per cent). Michele Ney of the B.C. Green Party had 1,579 votes (7.4), Justin Greenwood of the B.C. Conservatives had 442 (2.1), Robin Richardson of the Vancouver Island Party had 100 (0.5) and Bill Walker of the B.C. Libertarians had 86 (0.4).
“I think that’s the story of the night. I think we’re back to a polarized electorate out there.”
Bing predicted that the next election will be Liberals versus the NDP and the Greens will fade.
He agreed that people voted to keep from having another election.
“The electorate in Nanaimo wanted to keep the status quo.”
But there is discontent among voters over new taxes the NDP is bringing in, Bing added.
“I think this is all going to play in the next election when it comes.”
He noted there’s only a two-member majority for the NDP.
“So it could happen sooner than we expect.”
He also said both Liberals and the NDP should share the blame for the alleged spending violations at the legislature.
Malcolmson resigned her seat as a federal MP last year to run in the provincial byelection, saying she wants to ensure the policies of the former B.C. Liberal government do not return because they increased homelessness and the cost of housing in the city.