Could May 14th mark Independents’ Day?
Posted May 1, 2013 2:37 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – You could say they’re alone, together!
There are a number of independent candidates who could be a factor in the BC election.
John van Dongen is the longtime incumbent in Abbotsford South, but this will be the first election in which the former Liberal and one-time BC Conservative will be campaigning under his own banner.
He feels independent candidates like himself, Vicki Huntington in Delta South, and Bob Simpson in Cariboo North have a lot to offer.
“We are also presenting, I think, a very good, doable, and realistic reform package for the Legislature that some of the parties have already bought into and we can be a catalyst for that, if elected.”
They’re calling for changes such as moving the fixed election date to the fall, banning corporate and union campaign donations, and having free votes in the legislature.
Huntington, who was first elected in 2009 after beating then Attorney General Wally Oppal by just 32 votes, feels the current system is broken.
“You have to remember that only cabinet is government and government backbenchers are told what is going to happen and what the platforms are and what the decisions are and they are expected to support those,” she explains.
“We can, and do, effect some very good change and are able to represent our ridings fully, if not better than, backbenchers who are very restrained.
Huntington feels until the parties stop being afraid of independent voices speaking to reporters and to issues, debates, and bills the system will continue to be ineffective.
