Thanks again for your great coverage this election!
I read your analysis this morning and I think you make a lot of great points.
I do, however, take exception to one point: That I was somehow the “spoiler” in this riding or in any way “happy” to play that kind of a role.
First of all, 48% for Roly is an absolute landslide in first-past-the-post. With those numbers. the fact is Roly and the NDP would have certainly won this riding—with or without a Conservative candidate. Linda Larson, a popular incumbent, won 42% last election. Petra Veintimilla dropped only 5% from that number, consistent with a BC Liberal drop in support across the province.
There are many reasons people vote and to simply add up the Liberal, Conservative, and Wexit numbers doesn’t make sense. Here are a few reasons why:
1) There were many disgruntled BC Liberal members in the riding who were very upset about how the nomination was handled undemocratically and were not supporting the party this election.
2) There are a good number of voters who are staunchly anti-Liberal right now given Trudeau at the federal level and Wilkinson at the provincial—they certainly would not have voted Liberal.
3) There are many more who are sick of the BC Liberals after 16 years in government and were not ready to vote for them again so soon.
4) There is another category of voters, protest voters, who are against the status quo and opposed to all 3 of the main parties in BC right now.
5) There are also a large number of “true blue” conservatives in this riding who would not vote Liberal under any circumstances.
6) Of these last two categories 4) and 5), many of these voters would rather stay home than vote for either the NDP or the Liberals.
To say that voters in any of these six categories would have simply voted BC Liberal if I was not running as a Conservative in Boundary-Simikameen simply doesn’t reflect what I heard from people on the ground throughout the campaign.
I earned 13% of the vote for these reasons and more so because of the positions and perspectives I was advocating for.
I ran in this election because I believed enough voters wanted a true change and were unhappy with the status quo that the two main parties represent. I was wrong about that this time and I am willing to admit that. But in no way was I in this to act as a “spoiler” and I believe given the facts of this election that the NDP would have certainly won the riding of Boundary-Similkameen whether I was running or not.
Cheers to democracy,
Darryl Seres
Publisher: Great defense, pass the puck will ya ?
I cannot change my view – when I say you the spoiler for the Liberals it is not personal.
You know we bond lol
The truth based on my life, a bit longer than yours, is – YOU were genuine. You were someone people could vote for – vs against. But in the end – you iz as I suggest – a spoiler for the Libs – last time it was Doc P the spoiler for the NDP. It is not what I think or what you think – it is in the NUMBERS.