AS pundits and journalists autopsy the unexpected big win by the B.C. Liberals in the 2013 election, the North Shore's candidates are reflecting on hard-fought campaigns and looking to the future.
North Vancouver-Lonsdale, perhaps one of the closest watched ridings in the Lower Mainland, was taken by incumbent Naomi Yamamoto with 9,987 votes (about 45.8 per cent) to New Democrat Craig Keating's 8,760 (40 per cent).
Tight as it was, Yamamoto was expecting the results to be even closer, given the efforts and the resources that were poured into the riding from unions and the NDP, she said.
"I think that we were up against an opponent that was very prepared, very determined and very capable to take this riding," Yamamoto said "And we matched them. We had a plan and we executed on it very, very well."
As for what separated her from Keating with voters, Yamamoto said it was simply
a matter of which team could best handle the economy. "I think he was handicapped by the party he represented. He clearly didn't have a well-articulated plan and I think when it came down to it, (it was) the economy and jobs and they knew that we could deliver on those," she said.
Priorities for Yamamoto once she is sworn back into office, will be making sure the HOpe Centre, Lions Gate Hospital's new mental health unit, is built on time and on budget and seeing the Spirit Trail completed.
Now taking the helm of the riding as a veteran for the B.C. Liberals, Yamamoto had some kind words for the thousands of people who cast their votes for her competitor. "The people of North Vancouver still have Craig Keating as a councillor and he's obviously very dedicated to the community and we haven't lost him. He'll still be around and that's a good thing," she said.
Keating, who bore heavy expectations from NDPers, meanwhile, is not expressing any regrets. "I'm glad to say the NDP vote here in North Vancouver exceeded the provincial numbers a little bit, which is good and I think on the North Shore, that's a good achievement," he said.
While he never expected it would be easy to break through in a Liberal stronghold, the loss of his party was as unexpected for him as everyone.
"I think people are going to be scratching their heads from pollsters on down about why results were the way they were. I think that's going to be something for postmortems for weeks to come," said Keating.
It's still too soon to say whether there's something his campaign could or should have done differently, he said. He's now focused on getting back to his life before the campaign. "I really appreciate the support that I got. I'm going to continue to work in my council job to help make North Vancouver a great place to be," he said. "Life goes on. As I said to my wife for months, it's something I wanted to do - to become an MLA, but if it didn't pan out, I'd go back to my regular, wonderful life, so I'll just do that," he said.
Big thanks are owed to his team for their work during the election, he added.
North Vancouver-Seymour didn't draw as much attention as a "swing riding," but it was still a formidable campaign for MLA-elect and incumbent Jane Thornthwaite, who tallied 11,830 votes. The NDP's Jim Hanson was about 19 per cent back with 7,530 ballots.
"Obviously we feel great. We worked so hard. I worked so hard. My campaign team worked so hard and we are just elated," Thornthwaite said.
Like Yamamoto, Thornthwaite is now drawing up a list of priorities. Among them: working with all three levels of government, developers and Tsleil-Waututh First Nation to find a way to resolve the traffic chokepoint for Seymour area residents at Fern Street, and opening up her constituency office to start addressing local concerns.
While the polls putting the NDP at a nine-point lead on the election's eve were fantastically wrong, Thornthwaite said she never saw evidence of the supposed NDP domination during months of door knocking.
"When the polls ask the same people the same questions, you get the same answers. The polls don't reflect reality. They don't reflect what I was listening to and seeing at the door," she said. "I felt quite confident that as long as we kept to the course and kept doing what we were supposed to and working together that ultimately, it would work out really well for us."
