“Perceptions,” by Gerry Warner

Op-Ed Commentary

It’s going to be a hell of an election.

And I’m not talking about the demented one south of the border. That’s still to come and almost everyone in the world is holding their breath over the American one which could spell the end of democracy as we have known it the last 200 years.

No, I’m talking about the B.C. election Oct. 19, which is still frantically whirling around in La La Land ever since the Official Opposition Leader gave up and pulled the opposition out of the race less than two months before election day leaving the electoral playing field in total disarray.

This is not an exaggeration. In a shocking announcement less than two weeks ago, former BC United opposition leader Kevin Falcon pulled his team off the field – or at least he tried to – and said his party had gone MIA (Missing in Action) and wouldn’t be participating in the election. Needless-to-say, the reaction to this was explosive by the MLAs left without a party and incredulity by almost everyone else.

Then a day or two ago BC United announced it would run a candidate or two after all. I don’t know, but I suspect there were legal reasons for this. But one never knows, especially when B.C. politics are involved. The history isn’t exactly uplifting.

So, what now brown cow?

Perhaps our Kootenay Rockies constituency is a good example. Former BC United candidate Tom Shypitka won the last two elections here decisively and appeared headed for another decisive victory. Then came Falcon’s stunning announcement and all bets were off and Shypitka was left fighting for his political life.

For the better part of a week, the BC United  Party leadership left Shypitka twisting in the wind about whether he would be asked to join the Conservative Party and Shypitka indicating he likely would if asked.

But the call from what was left of the BC United Party never came. Finally, a very frustrated Shypitka announced he would run as an independent and would no longer be in such a strong position as he was before as he faced surging Conservative candidate Pete Davis, a Cranbrook trucker, NDP candidate Sam Atwal, a District of Sparwood Councillor and Green candidate Kerri Wall, who has run in the past for the Greens. There may be other candidates I’m not aware of.

Needless-to-say, this leaves the Kootenay Rockies riding “in play” as the pundits and political apparatchiks like to say. Will Shypitka be helped or hurt by the shoddy way BC United dealt with him? Will Davis get a spill-over boost from a party led by federal Conservative Opposition leader Pierre Polievre who the polls say will be Canada’s next Prime Minister?

With all his political experience, Atwal would likely get a cabinet post if he won a seat for the NDP in the Kootenays and maybe the time has finally arrived for an environmentally concerned Green candidate like Wall?

In BC politics you just never know.

The presence of several high-profile independent candidates in the race is another important factor. Some may win relying on their extensive legislative experience for support. If even one wins, or several, they could hold the balance of power in a legislature where the NDP and the Conservatives are closely tied in seats. In effect they would hold the “hammer” over whether any piece of legislation passes or fails.

And you thought B.C. politics was odd and unpredictable. Well, you ain’t seen anything yet if the Oct. 19 election results in several so-called “independents” being sent to sit under the dome in Victoria. Your guess is as good as mine as to this actually happening. But if it did happen, it would be the greatest shakeup to B.C. politics in more than a century.

Kind of ironic, don’t you think? But maybe we need one?

– Gerry Warner is a retired journalist, who has covered B.C. politics for almost 50 years.

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