Johnston has no regrets

Stephen Johnston is walking away from Saturday’s election with no personal regrets, albeit a number of concerns about the future of B.C.

“I feel really good,” the now-former Independent candidate for West Kelowna - Peachland said. "Obviously the results aren’t what we hoped for, but I feel really at peace.”

Elections BC has reported that Johnston got 21 per cent of the vote, BC NDP candidate Krystal Smith 27 per cent and BC Conservative candidate Macklin McCall took more than 50 per cent to win the riding.

McCall, like many of his Conservative counterparts, achieved that win without participating in some traditional staples in electoral process, such as attending an all-candidate meeting hosted by the local chamber of commerce or engaging with the media ahead of voting day.

That apparent widespread aversion to potential-constituent engagement, Johnston said, is concerning.

“The fact we had candidates unwilling to participate in the democratic process and be accountable to the electorate is deeply disturbing,” he said.

He believes the need for a strong conservative entity on the political landscape needs to persist, however.

“A lot of the vote the Conservatives got was an anti-(BCNDP)-vote,” he said. "That shows the party banner is strong even when the party has no track record. A better Conservative party needs to exist in the future."

Johnston expressed some concern about whether Rustad is the person to do that.

"The results we got proved that Rustad ran in the best interest of his party rather than the interest of British Columbians,” he said.

“If he had vetted candidates and brought in a strongest group they would have a stronger party … (Rustad) failed to see what he needed to do. He failed to have the courage to do what was needed.”

Johnston said it will be an “interesting” four years, if the province makes it that far in the current political landscape and that the electoral system could potentially use some change.

Regardless, he has his eye on a future in B.C. politics, and he hopes that there is a place for him in that space going forward.