Kelowna Lake Country MLA Norm Letnick is focusing on the positive. Some polls predicted the Liberals would take the Nanaimo by-election, so you might expect disappointment, but in an interview here at KelownaNow he points out how his party got a higher percentage of the vote than you would normally expect in a riding that almost always goes to the NDP.
"We're disappointed that Tony Harris didn't get elected," said Letnick. "But the good news is we were able to increase the voter turnout by 25 percent."
A Liberal win in Nanaimo would have made for a 43-43 deadlock in the legislature and may have ultimately forced a general election, but for now Letnick and his party will have to concentrate on their role in opposition. The by-election was forced by the departure of five-term NDP MLA Leonard Krog, who left the post after being elected Mayor. A Mainstreet Research Poll released as recently as Monday showed the Liberals with a 13 percent edge over the NDP in Nanaimo. But the riding has gone NDP in 13 of the last 15 elections going back decades, so the result can't come as a huge surprise.
