No regrets for independents

Winning as an independent candidate is a tall order and one that nobody was able to pull off Saturday night during B.C.'s provincial election.

There was a record-breaking 40 independents on B.C. ballots this year, some of which had an impact on individual races.

“Well a lot of them got 10 per cent or maybe even some up to 20 per cent of the votes. I think they did have an impact,” said Dr. Michael Humer, who was running in Kelowna Centre at an independent candidate after being orphaned by the collapse of BC United.

“I think one of the impacts was to say, perhaps we really need to look at things in B.C. where we have ideologies on the far left or far right. We need to figure out a way to make sure that we are allowing everyone’s voice to be represented.

Dr. Humer says a massive amount of work goes into an independent campaign.

"You have your finances taken away, you have your data taken away, you have your infrastructure, but there was something very freeing and we had more than 100 people working on the team and 25 working diligently on our team — that was really fulfilling and gratifying."

Ashley Ramsay, independent candidate in Kelowna Mission, watched the results come in Saturday night at Kelowna's Curious Cafe.

“I think us independents represent democracy and a choice for British Columbians. A lot of British Columbians showed tonight that they landed where we created a soft landing for them and that’s democracy. And so I think we do see an opportunity and a changing tide," said Ramsay.

"I do think there are people who don’t want to land on these other two extremes. And I also think that British Columbians decided tonight potentially that they sort of went down a path to get rid of another path, so you could see the clear vote was against the NDP."

While none of the independent candidates got the result they were looking for, Dr. Humer is excited to see how the rest of the election unfolds over the coming days.

“The votes have come in quickly. It seems like the electronic voting has worked very well. And it’s too close to call... so we will have to see,” said Humer.

“I think it’s still going to be several days and probably weeks to sort this out, until the final results are known and how the final relationships all work, so it’ll be interesting watching.”

While Ramsay tells Castanet she’s looking forward to some rest and reflection, Humer says he’s excited to stay committed to health care reform and serving the community.