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BC Liberals triumph in South Surrey ridings

Surrey's three south-end ridings have returned BC Liberals in decisive victories.
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Semiahmoo Peninsula BC Liberals (from left) Stephanie Cadieux

BC Liberal candidates on the Semiahmoo Peninsula had plenty to celebrate Tuesday night, after soundly winning seats in all three ridings as well as a majority government provincewide.

Surrey-White Rock incumbent Gordon Hogg arrived at his campaign office just before 9 p.m. to raucous applause from supporters who had spent the previous hour glued to TV news reports once the polls closed.

“It’s looking good – we did it,” constituency assistant Verna Logan told Hogg, during a congratulatory hug.

In the tally as of Wednesday afternoon, Hogg had 58.58 per cent of the vote, while NDP candidate Susan Keeping came in second with 27.31 per cent.

Tuesday night, Hogg said he was “heartened” by the results, admitting there had been some concern as to how to reach out to a growing community during a “good campaign” by the NDP.

Watching the results at her White Rock campaign office, Keeping told supporters, “at least we had fun.”

“I respect it, what can you do?” she said, noting the voter turnout seemed unusually low.

In Surrey-Panorama, BC Liberal and current Surrey Coun. Marvin Hunt won with 54.28 per cent of the vote, followed by BC NDP’s Amrik Mahil with 35.90 per cent.

Hunt told Black Press he was confident in the win because voters understood the economy was of critical importance.

He said businesses in Surrey were holding off investment because they wanted to see the outcome of the election.

“For those who have travelled around the world and seen what the economy is like elsewhere – in the United States and Europe – it’s one of those situations where you know we’re extremely delicate in our economy and we’re so dependent on our natural resources,” Hunt said.

Hunt said Wednesday he aims to continue in his role as a city councillor through Jan. 1, to save the City of Surrey from having to hold a byelection, which is estimated would cost upwards of $600,000.

“I have fought long and hard to save the taxpayers of Surrey as much money as I can,” Hunt said. “For me to be responsible for a (costly byelection), I just say ‘hang on a second, I need to find a way to not put that burden on the taxpayers of Surrey’.”

Should the two posts become too much, he will leave his municipal seat, he said.

Mahil, who gathered at India Banquet Hall with several other Surrey NDP candidates, said he was “very disappointed” with the results and that he expected to win. When asked if he would have done anything differently in his campaign, Mahil responded, “No, you can’t have any regrets.”

The Surrey-Cloverdale seat was won by Stephanie Cadieux with 60.05 per cent of the popular vote, followed by BC NDP’s Harry Kooner with 29.75 per cent.

Shortly after Cadieux was projected to win, cheers were heard from the handful of supporters gathered at her 176 Street office.

While celebrating with hundreds of fellow jubilant BC Liberals at Coyote Creek, Cadieux told Black Press she was surprised by her party’s “tremendous” results, and that their hard work over the past month had paid off.

“We knew we had the right platform,” she said. “The economy matters and it matters to British Columbians. And we had the best candidates and a leader that wouldn’t quit.”

The mood at Kooner’s Cloverdale campaign office was subdued, where close to three dozen supporters watched incoming results on a big-screen TV.

“I knew I was getting into something that was going to be really hard,” Kooner said of his decision to run in a Liberal-dominated riding. “It was a good life experience.”

Preliminary figures from Elections BC Wednesday indicate 52.25 per cent of eligible voters across the province cast a ballot.

– Tracy Holmes, Melissa Smalley, Jeff Nagel, Sarah Massah & Kevin Diakiw

VOTE WATCH in Surrey-Cloverdale, Surrey-Panorama and Surrey-White Rock

9:58 p.m.

Surrey-Cloverdale BC Liberal Stephanie Cadieux admits she’s surprised by the “tremendous and exciting” win, saying she expected a skin-of-the-teeth Liberal win with perhaps 44 seats. “We had a leader that wouldn’t quit.”

 

9:45 p.m.

Surrey-Panorama New Democrat Amrik Mahil arrived in defeat. He said he was "very disappointed" and that he expected to win. He believed the BC Liberals played on a "fear factor" to shy people away from the New Democrats. He said there's nothing he would do anything differently in his campaign. "No, you can't have any regrets."

He said he expected the BC Conservatives to have a better showing in order to split the right-wing vote.

 

9:45 p.m.

All three BC Liberal candidates on the Semiahmoo Peninsula are being declared victors by various news outlets, each getting 56-59 per cent of the ballot boxes counted so far.

 

9:40 p.m.

Businesses in Surrey were holding off investment because they wanted to see the outcome of the election, says BC Liberal candidate Marvin Hunt (Surrey-Panorama). He said he was confident in the win because voters understood the economy was of critical importance.

"For those who have traveled around the world and seen what the economy is like elsewhere – in the United States and Europe – it's one of those situations where you know we're extremely delicate in our economy and we're so dependent on our natural resources."

 

9:11 p.m.

Surrey-Whalley incumbent Bruce Ralston says it's too early to say with certainty there will be an upset, but called the early numbers "a little worrisome."

 

9:03 p.m.

NDP supporters tell Surrey-White Rock candidate Susan Keeping "it's still early."

 

9:00 p.m.

India Banquet Hall where NDP is watching results has all but hushed as broadcasts are showing BC Liberals ahead in 49 seats and heading for a possible win. If so, it would be an upset of huge proportions. Most NDP at this site said before the polls closed, the only thing they were sure of was a win.

 

8:58 p.m.

Surrey-White Rock BC Liberal Gordon Hogg arrives at campaign headquarters, to raucous applause.

 

8:56 p.m.

Surrey-Panorama BC Liberal candidate Marvin Hunt holding strong lead with 56 per cent to Mahil’s 31 per cent, with 28/151 reporting.

 

8:51 p.m.

Surrey-Cloverdale candidate Stephanie Cadieux shows clear lead over New Democrat Harry Kooner in first of returns.

 

8:50 p.m.

Crowd groans at Surrey-White Rock NDP office as numbers roll in. Candidate Susan Keeping says she will shake BC Liberal Gordon Hogg's hand.

 

8:50 p.m.

Excitement builds at Surrey-White Rock BC Liberal office. Numbers show Gordon Hogg in lead.

 

8:46

Surrey-White Rock BC Liberal Gordon Hogg declared winner at Surrey BC Liberal gathering at Coyote Creek.

 

8:45 p.m.

About three dozen supporters are gathered at Surrey-Cloverdale NDP candidate Harry Kooner's office.

"I knew I was getting into something that was going to be really hard," he said.

8:45 p.m.

About two dozen BC Liberal supporters at Surrey-White Rock Gordon Hogg's campaign office.

"It's looking good," says one. No sign of Hogg.

 

8:40 p.m.

Surrey-White Rock candidate Susan Keeping says the main concerns locally include hospitals, overcrowding in schools and coal trains. First order of business if she wins: "find an office." Lots of laughter and discussion at the office.

 

8:36 p.m.

Surrey-Whalley incumbent Bruce Ralston expects the NDP to "do very well" in Surrey. He says the party has a "very good chance" in Tynehead, Panorama and Cloverdale. "Those would be pickups for us."

 

8:31 p.m.

NDP candidates are gathered at the India Banquet Hall in Newton.

 

Susan Keeping

8:20 p.m.

Surrey-White Rock New Democrat candidate Susan Keeping watches initial results moments after polls close.

 

8:20 p.m.

Longtime NDPer Jim Karpoff said he's extremely excited about this contest, saying the New Democrats are way better organized than the competition. He even said Liberals were calling NDP supporters if they needed a ride to the polls.

 

8:15 p.m.

Surrey-Fleetwood candidate Peter Fassbender says he expects a 'nail-biter' finish tonight, but thinks BC Liberal majority still possible.

 

8:10

Surrey-Whalley incumbent Bruce Ralston is the first to arrive at the NDP Surrey party headquarters. He describes the campaign as a tough one, but nothing he didn't expect.

 

8:01

As polls close, media outnumber guests at Surrey's NDP headquarters. Public seating for 330.

 

8 p.m.

Polls have closed.

 

8 p.m.

Student Vote BC releases the results of a parallel election campaign, running alongside the provincial election.

Thousands of soon-to-be voters cast their ballots at Students Vote BC this week, with a majority – 36,295 – throwing their support behind the BC NDP.

Results tabulated at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday were embargoed until provincial polls closed. They indicate elementary and high school students from about 800 schools selected the NDP with 53 seats (38.6 per cent of votes cast), while the BC Liberal party came in second with 20 seats (28.1 per cent), followed by the BC Green party with eight seats (17.3 per cent). The BC Conservatives won no seats, receiving 8,001 votes (8.5 per cent).

Locally, student voters selected two BC Liberal MLAs, Stephanie Cadieux (Surrey-Cloverdale) and Gordon Hogg (Surrey-White Rock), and one New Democrat, Amrik Mahil (Surrey-Panorama).

It won't be known for some time whether the students and the provincial electorate see eye to eye.

 

2:25 p.m.

Returning officer in Cloverdale says advance poll turnout doubled to 5,700 compared to 2,800 in 2009.

 

• • •

 

Time is running out for voters to have a say in who will represent them in the provincial legislature.

Polls in ridings across B.C. close at 8 p.m. tonight, and those casting ballots may do so at any of the general voting locations.

On the Semiahmoo Peninsula, there are 17 polling stations in each of the three ridings residents call home: Surrey-Cloverdale, Surrey-Panorama and Surrey-White Rock.

On the ballot in Surrey-White Rock are incumbent Gordon Hogg (BC Liberal), Susan Keeping (BC NDP), Jim Laurence (British Columbia Party), Elizabeth Pagtakhan (BC Conservative) and Don Pitcairn (BC Green Party).

Surrey-Cloverdale voters will choose between independent Matt Begley, Stephanie Cadieux (BC Liberal), Harry Kooner (BC NDP) and Howard Wu (BC Conservative) for the seat vacated by retired BC Liberal Kevin Falcon.

In Surrey-Panorama, formerly represented by Cadieux, voters have five options: Marvin Hunt (BC Liberal), Amrik Mahil (BC NDP), Kevin Rakhra (BC Conservative), Sara Sharma (BC Green Party) and Ali Zaidi (BC Vision).

 

For the latest on local and provincial election results, return here after polls close, and follow us on Twitter (@whiterocknews) and connect with us using hashtag #semivote2013