THEY CHEERED each individual rid-
ing win at the NDP victory party here last
night but it wasn’t until 9:55 p.m. that a
sustained chorus rang out when television
predictions gave Glen Clark a majority
government.

- For about an hour before that the NDP
was on the. verge of a majority but the
numbers kept shifting slightly as close rac-
es were reported all over the province.

What started the victory. cheering was
the news the NDP had cracked the 38 seat
barrier — enough to give the party a bare
majority in the 75-seat legislature.

“Totals last night gave the NDP 39 seats,
the Liberals 33, the Reform party two and
the Progressive Democratic Alliance one.

There were more cheers during the
evening when early reports placed NDPer
Jim Green ahead of Liberal leader Gordon
Campbell in the Vancouver- Point Grey
riding,

_ But Campbell went on to win, taking
32 other Liberals with him.

Also winning their seats were Reform
leader Jack Weisgerber in Peace’ River-
South and Progressive Democratic
Alliance (PDA) leader Gordon Wiison in
Powell River-Sunshine Coast.

In terms of popular vote, the Liberals
took 41 per cent followed by the NDP

Socre

SOCIAL CREDIT candidate Dave
Serry knew he was facing a tough battle to
win back votes for a party that all but died
in the 1991 election. But he says he’s
pleased with the outcome.

“T started this thing with as much chance
as an ice cube in hell,” he says. “But I
worked hard,”

According to Serry, he visited with more
than 4,000 people over the course of his
campaign. He even went as far as

C4 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, May 29, 1996

SEAT TOTAL

NDP 39
Liberal 33
Reform 2
PDA 1

with 39, the Reform party with just under
10 per cent, and the PDA with just under 6
per cent with others patties, including the
Social Credit, coming in at under 4 per
cent.

A regional analysis indicates that

- Reform votes in the north were enough to

stave off the’ Liberals and elect NDP
candidates.

That was the case, for i instance, in the
neighbouting riding of Bulkley Valley-
Stikine where Bill Goodacre won the seat
for the NDP.

“Boy, was that close or what;” said
Glen Clark to a happy throng at the NDP
headquarters in Vancouver.

It’s the first time the NDP has won two
election victories in a row in B.C.

looks

Kitwanga.

Serry’s hard work garnered him 239
votes, 1.9 per cent of the popular vote.

Serry says that through “oldfashioned
campaigning” he has accomplished every-
thing he set out to do.

“l achieved ali my objectives,” he says.
“One of them was to see Wozney, poor lit-
le rich boy, crying in his towel.”

Another of Serry’s objectives was to
bring issues like the KCP project to NDP

Clark was quick to acknowledge the
role former premier Mike Harcourt took in
first uniting the NDP and then taking the
party to power by defeating the Social
Credit party in 1991,

“Six months ago they said we didn’t
have a chance and here we are; we did it.
You did it,” he told the crowd.

Clark also said he would listen to and
work on behalf of thase who supported
other parties:

The premier noted that his government
will work ta protect middle class families
in B.C.

Victorious Skeena NDP candidate
Helmut Giesbrecht discounted the popular
vote lead of the Liberal party, saying “you
win elections riding by riding. You don’ t
win on the popular vote.”

“Although land claims took a back seat
to other issues around the province in this
election, it appears to have been-a factor in
Skeena.

Giesbrecht owes his victory to the sub-
stantial native vote he received in the vari-
ous villages around the riding.

The NDP win was not without losses as
the party suffered defeats around the
province.

One of those was Elizabeth Cull who
was first health minister and more recently

P ekes out majority |

finance minister. She lost her Victoria rid-
ing of Oak Bay-Gordon Head to Liberal
Ida Chong,
Reform
leader Jack
Weisgerber
said he and
Richard
Neufeld, the
only other
Reformer to
win last
night, would
keep an eye
on the NDP
in Victoria.
And he
congratulat-
ed those
who worked
for all of the
_ parties in
the election.
Liberal leader Gordon Campbell also
pledged to work on behalf of the province.
“I want to tell you Gordon Campbell is
going to be there year after year after
year,” he said.
“We're living in the best province in
the best country in the world,” he added.

“GLEN CLARK

to city hail

MLA Helmut Giesbrecht’s attention. He
says he wanted to make sure that the voice
of the people of Skeena is heard.

“We are very important to the scheme of
things in B.C.,” he says. “This area is in the
centre of wealth creation,”

According to Serry, he may have lost a

lot of votes when Socred Parly ledder Larry .

Gillanders resigned. But he wasn’t
surprised,
“Gillanders is a wonderful man,” he

says. “But we suspected something with
him two months ago. | think he made a
deal.”

However, Serry isn’t worried about his
party’s future, He says that the new party
leader, Ken Endean, will bring the party
back to the forefront of B.C. politics,

“He’s a go-getter,” says Serry. “He’s
really going to take this party someplace.”

Serry will now concentrate his political
efforts on running for mayor of Kitimat.

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