Everybody Wins When You Vote Brandon Ferguson, News Editor hat may blow most about BC politics is the voters’ necessary indecisiveness. Ultimately, we all end up voting for our third choice. I hate the Liberals, due to their Alberta-esque cuts to all things pub- lic-sector; I loathe the NDP, for forever taking money from the rich and giving it to the unionized poor; I despise the Greens, for never ever doing a damn thing except get in the fucking way. Do I vote Liberal for the sake of an economy I’ve been excluded from? Or maybe NDP, for the sake of a post-secondary education that just ended? Or how about a throw away vote to support the budding Greens—not because they can lead, mind you, but because they’ve earned the right to lose with dignity? In one of the most heavily sedated election campaigns ever, every party man- aged to get what they wanted out of British Columbians. The Liberals hoped to hold on to power: they did. The NDP hoped to make a strong showing: they did. The Greens hoped to do fuck all and cre- ate a litany of what-ifs and if-onlys: they did. For the first time in my life, I voted Green. What’d it do? It gave me a reason to be mad that up to 12 ridings—and the outcome of the election—went Liberal and not NDP. The Greens screwed it up for the NDP just like the Liberals used to when the Social Credit party was the dom- inant party. Since 1933, New Democrats have held the premier’s office three times. the bridesmaid but Frankenstein’s bride. In 2001, the NDP were rightfully left with only two seats out of a possible 79. The Greens got over ten percent of votes in that election. In this most recent orgy Always never of democracy, the NDP gained over 30 seats (up to 33), while the Greens dropped a percentage of support (down to nine). Of the 31 lost seats for the Liberals, two defeats came at the hands of Douglas College’s two main outposts, New Westminster and Port Coquitlam-Burke Mountain, where NDPers Chuck Puchmayr and Mike Farnworth won respectively. Of course, the Coquitlam campus may actually be just over the line that extends—pinkies out—into the hoity-toity riding of Port Moody- Westwood, where the bourgeoisie refused to bounce Iain Black, their BC Liberal benefactor. In which case: you’ve all dis- appointed me terribly, David Lam. In his victory speech, Gordon Campbell believed that the BC voters delivered a clear mandate to keep the course because “the plan is working,” as well as a message that he’s a douche bag, as evidenced by the party’s heavy losses. Campbell, who is the first premier to be reelected in fickle BC since 1983, lost 8 cabinet members. “Some who served with us in the last legislature have not been successful tonight,” he told the last of his countless pre-organized pro-Liberal crowds of the campaign, from his Point Grey headquar- ters. “They were the women and men who decided they were going to restore British Columbia’s sense of hope.” Yes, Gordo. Somewhere an angel cries. For her part, NDP leader Carole James couldn’t have been more ecstatic with the second-place finish, treasuring defeat like a Canadian in international sports. “There will be a lot more New Democrats standing strong, speaking up for their communities and holding the government accountable,” she told a crowd in her jubilant concession speech from the Victoria-Beacon Hill riding she won handily. “Things are going to be very different in the legislature.” Then there were the Greens. Oh Lordy, the Greens. Despite proving her worth in the televised debate, and running a full slate of candidates in all 79 ridings, Adrianne Carr couldn’t conjure up even ten percent of the vote. Still, the crushing taste of defeat couldn’t wipe the shit-eat- ing grin off Carr's face as_ she congratulated Campbell and James for good, hard-fought campaigns. The Liberals—whose business-first approach has made a mess of fish stocks, mountain- sides, and coastlines—and the NDP— whose constant upstaging and minimizing insured that the Greens would be looked upon as spoilers—were heard to utter a collective “huh?” The Single Transferable Vote (STV) also went down to feet, narrowly missing the 60-percent mark required for adop- tion by three points. What does that mean to the future of BC politics? Who cares? The sun has given me a mandate to get outside and play. Election? Whuh? Exam-weary Students in BC Express Different Takes on Politics Jonathan Woodward, CUP British Columbia Bureau Chief VANCOUVER (CUP)—Students in British Columbia who kept their heads down writing exams for the past month were shocked to look up and see political turmoil. The explosive testimony from an inquiry into the sponsorship scandal in Montréal is tarnishing the Liberal party’s brand name as far out as BC, at the same time the BC Liberals were losing 31 seats in the provincial election. Some students should have been pay- ing closer attention. “Sponsorship scandal?” said a bewil- dered University of BC evolutionary biology student, Momoko Price. “I thought Jump Rope for Heart was doing a good job.” Others believe there is a connection between the embattled federal Liberals and BC’s Liberal party, which sits to the 4 | www.theotherpress.ca right of the political spectrum compared to the province’s other main political party, the New Democrats. “T don’t want to vote Liberal after this,” said Rob Wallet, an engineering stu- dent. “Pm looking at voting Conservative—does BC have a Conservative patty?” Learning the ins and outs of a political system that has different layers of govern- ment is too much for people who don’t have time to distinguish the provincial- election hype from the federal-election hype, he said. Camille Johnson, a UBC philosophy graduate, disagrees. “The provincial Liberals’ record will speak for itself. Whether that’s a good or a bad thing, I’ll let you decide,’ Johnson said. “IT don’t really care either way. Stop quoting me,” she added. “And you can quote me on that.” After she had been apprised of the sponsorship scandal’s details, Price had a different opinion, one supporting the fed- eral NDP leader for making deals with the sponsorship-plagued Liberals. “T admire Jack Layton for pushing pol- icy above the everything else,” evolutionary biology student said. “I’m glad he’s sticking to his guns and actually making a difference—even if he has to be manipulative to do it. “Even if there is a scandal, I’m still scared of the Conservative party’s designs for Canada on gay marriage and rights,” she said. June 8/2005