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Coleman coasts to victory Longtime MLA credits strong campaign that focused relentlessly on the economy Frank Bucholtz Times Reporter
Miranda GATHERCOLE/Langley Times
Rich Coleman and his wife Michele address supporters gathered at his campagin office after his victory was announced.
The BC Liberals not only easily won their two Langley seats on Tuesday night, but they handily won a majority government that virtually all pollsters and pundits said wasn’t possible. Deputy premier Rich Coleman, who chaired the BC Liberal campaign, was cautious as early returns came in at his campaign headquarters in
Walnut Grove, but as it became clear that the Liberals were winning seats that had been held by the NDP, he was elated. “This was the rest of B.C. telling the Lower Mainland, ‘we matter,’” he said. “The interior of B.C. stepped up for us tonight.” Coleman easily won his seat of Fort Langley-Aldergrove. He had 14,533 votes to NDP candidate Shane Dyson’s 6,700. continued, PAGE 7
Mary Polak fends off NDP, Conservative challengers Langley MLA says she had a hunch the polls were off Dan Ferguson Times Reporter
Mary Polak couldn’t restrain her glee at the television image of an obviously uncomfortable pundit who had predicted the demise of the Liberal government. She made a joke about his eyes going dead, then stepped outside for an interview. By then, it was clear the party, and Polak, were the winners of an election
that was supposed to belong to the opposition New Democrats. The pub that was hosting her election night get-together had turned into a noisy and sometimes emotional victory party. A few minutes earlier, one of her campaign workers could be seen in the parking lot talking on his cell phone, obviously in tears. Polak won Langley with more than half the votes cast, 51.89 per cent. She collected 12,694 votes, well ahead of second-place Andrew Mercier of the NDP, who had 6,573 votes. BC Conservative Party leader John Cummins was a distant third with 2,897 votes. Wally Martin of the Green Party had 2,298 votes.
Polak, a former pollster, said she never bought into the prevailing notion that the Liberals were doomed to defeat. “I had a gut instinct that there was more to the polls,” Polak said. “One of the things we’re seeing is that voters are making up their mind much closer to election day. That makes it very difficult for pollsters to predict what’s going to happen.” She said she did consider the possibility of defeat. “You always think about the worst case scenario,” Polak said, “at least I do. I think it’s healthy. “You have to go into an election fighting hard and believing that you have to work for it and you can’t take it for granted.” continued, PAGE 6
Dan FERGUSON/Langley Times
Langley MLA Mary Polak watches at a local pub as the returns come in on election night.
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