Bruce Reid is feeling a little sad for Delta South after so many voters switched back to the Liberals.
"I was hoping there would be a better response in our riding to the needs of people that the Liberals were neglecting, so I'm feeling a little bit down about that," said the Delta South NDP candidate who finished third in Tuesday's provincial election.
"But then on the other hand, provincially, I think we can still see some of those issues addressed. I am a little bit surprised at the overall support for the Liberals and a bit confused as to why so many people don't see what the Liberals are doing."
Reid noted that pundits have said Delta South is a strong Liberal riding, and although the NDP vote total increased by five per cent from 2013, he's disappointed it wasn't a closer race.
"My biggest focus was to get the message out but it was a message people were not receiving in Delta South," he said.
Saying it was still a positive experience to run, the first-term Delta school trustee is concerned about another election possibly having to take place soon.
Reid also said he wonders what the future holds for independents.
"I'm thinking the independents after this election will kind of disappear in our riding. It was obviously something that was driven by Vicki Huntington. On the other hand, they (Nicholas Wong) still had a lot of resources and people supporting them. But the whole concept of independents is really difficult for most people to grasp and provincially it doesn't really look like something that could catch on."
Green candidate Larry Colero is also disappointed his party didn't do better than nine per cent of the popular vote in Delta South. He said he's also surprised Wong didn't have a stronger showing.
Colero considers the new bridge a major issue, saying the current design of the span won't make it possible for rapid transit as promised by Liberal Ian Paton. It means rapid transit won't be coming in these parts "for many decades to come."
As far as what's next for the bridge project, Colero believes there's still time to stop it but that's not likely.
"Certainly the Greens would not support the Liberals pushing through with it but the big unknown is the NDP and where they stand on the bridge. I am not very hopeful an alternative to the bridge will be found and I think they're going to press ahead with the current plans to build this overly expensive and impractical bridge," he said.
Colero noted the interest on the $3.5 billion project has been estimated in the $8 billion range over 50 years.
Saying that running in the election was an exhausting but rewarding experience, the B.C. Action Party's Errol Sherley, who finished last, said turmoil and another election seems likely if the Liberals only have a minority. He added he thinks Wong did well for an independent.
