Delta South is independent no more.
After eight years with Vicki Huntington as MLA, hopes were high that Nicholas Wong would be able to keep the independent run going, but reality set in early Tuesday night at the Sundance Pub in East Ladner.
Ian Paton held an early lead and was never really challenged as he took back the riding for the Liberals.
"I think that everyone on the team did everything that they could. We had a short amount of time from the moment that Vicki announced that she was not going to be running and we did the most we could with every single hour. I'm very proud of everyone who helped make this possible," said Wong.
Minutes before the polls closed, Wong proposed to girlfriend Lindsey Gorman, making for a unique election night subplot.
"I just thought, why not, you have to let it ride all on one night," he said.
When several media outlets declared Paton the winner just before 9 p.m., Wong made his way around the room personally thanking every supporter.
"The only thing disappointing is the results. Everything else has been amazing and I can't thank the community and everyone who has been supportive and helped out on the campaign enough," Wong said. "They have made this a fantastic experience and I wouldn't trade it for anything."
Of the 87 provincial ridings, 23 of them fielded a total of 31 independent candidates and, with 6,050 votes, Wong garnered far and away the most support among them.
When asked if how he fared among independent candidates made the final result easier to take, Wong said it made it more disappointing.
"Had I managed to have one more month or a little bit more money, I would been able to pull out something even greater because that's a rising tide of independent representation across our province. I think people are now fully aware of the dangers and the detriment to our society that the two-party system really poses."
Huntington said she was hopeful the legacy of independence would have been enough to pull Wong through, but it just wasn't meant to be.
"I think Nicholas had a fantastic showing. He has about 50 per cent of the vote (she received) and I think that is wonderful for someone who has been in the game for six weeks," she said. "It was a great campaign."
Given the tight race provincially, Huntington admitted she thought of what could have been.
"It was like, wow, I would have had the balance of power had I stayed in, but you never know and it's too late to look back," she said. "Personally, I think a minority government will be healthy for this province. I feel very strongly about that."
