It might have been expected, or even considered old hat, but Vicki Huntington's victory in Delta South in Tuesday's provincial election was nothing short of remarkable.
Huntington has been a popular politician in these parts for the last two decades, so to see her victorious again doesn't seem terribly extraordinary, but when we look back at this accomplishment years from now I have a feeling it will take on much greater significance.
Getting elected as an independent is extremely difficult, evidenced by the fact it had been 60 years between Huntington's 2009 win and the one prior to that. Getting re-elected as an independent? Well, there's no precedent for that as her victory Tuesday was the first time in B.C. electoral history it's happened.
The reason for that is candidates - and I'm talking really good ones here - still need the support of a party to get elected in B.C. in the new millennium.
Huntington was one of three high-profile independents in the last legislature, but the only one of the trio to survive.
John van Dongen had won five elections as a Liberal, but that lengthy record of public service and name recognition weren't enough as he finished 20 percentage points behind the new Liberal MLA for Abbotsford South. Bob Simpson also came out on the wrong end of things in Cariboo North, falling 500 votes shy of his Liberal challenger despite having served two terms in Victoria.
While most candidates get a sizable amount of support at the ballot box based on their leader or party platform, Huntington, like all independents, is forced to get every vote on her own.
That's a mountain that's simply too difficult to scale for most.
So why is she successful where other independents fall short? She's intelligent, hard working, well intentioned, genuine and, perhaps most important of all, willing to speak up on behalf of her constituents. She also runs in a riding that leans right but has an environmental conscience, which sounds a lot like our provincial representative.
In the end, I think the key is that Huntington has the ability to be all things to all people. The Greens and the Conservatives, which are at opposite ends of the political spectrum, both decided not to run candidates in Delta South out of respect. Throw in the fact the Liberals and NDP courted her prior to the 2009 election and you've got the rarest of all politicians: one who appeals to just about everyone.
That's a history-making combination.
