Call it the Vicki Effect.
Up until the most recent provincial election, whenever a candidate was referred to as an independent, it was more than likely the term "fringe" could have been used as a synonym.
It wasn't necessarily a knock on the individual, but more a recognition that in B.C.'s party-dominated politics, those running without any affiliation were little more than an afterthought in the eyes of most voters.
Vicki Huntington, who could never be considered a fringe candidate, changed that perception here in a big way by becoming the first independent elected to the legislature in more than half a century when she edged Liberal cabinet minister Wally Oppal in 2009.
Huntington's historic victory not only put Delta South on the map in a unique kind of way, but it appears it has emboldened others to give the independent thing a try this spring.
Bob Simpson, the MLA for Cariboo North who parted ways with the New Democrats a couple of years back, is going it alone this May. Ditto for Abbotsford South MLA John van Dongen and Boundary-Similkameen MLA John Slater, both of whom have left the Liberals since the last election.
Rather than trying to reconcile with their parties or seek out new landing spots, these three have opted to embrace the long, often lonely road travelled by independents. I suspect none of them would have seriously considered such an option if it weren't for Huntington's groundbreaking victory four years ago.
She has made independence a viable option.
I thought Huntington took the ultimate gamble last time given the opportunities before her. She would have been a lock to win as a Liberal and might have even captured the seat as a New Democrat, but the veteran civic politician rebuffed overtures from both parties to go it alone.
It worked, but it also left her as a lone wolf, able to articulate her constituents' concerns but unable to do a lot about them (not that any individual MLA has much power). And therein lies the rub with this whole independent thing.
Huntington joined Simpson and van Dongen last week to introduce several legislative reforms, including moving the fixed election date to the fall and allowing more free votes in the legislature.
They make perfect sense, but nothing gets done without a majority and three hardly qualifies in that regard.
There's little doubt Huntington has made independence more attractive, but the concept still has a long way to go.
