Tuesday, May 3, 2011 A few TIMES readers rank their mothers as heroes.
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Ruth and Randy Kamp were beaming Monday night, when the Conservative representative accepted his fourth term as MP for Pitt Meadows-Maple RidgeMission riding.
Maria Rantanen/TIMES
Federal election 2011
Kamp revels in Tory majority The Conservative MP for Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge-Mission was reelected Monday for his fourth term. by Maria Rantanen mrantanen@mrtimes.com
The crowd at Randy Kamp’s campaign office was jubilant as the results came in showing their candidate leading in the Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge-Mission riding and a majority government for the federal Conservative Party. As the incumbent MP for Pitt MeadowsMaple Ridge-Mission, Kamp told the TIMES he was “excited” about being part of a majority government. If the Conservatives hadn’t won a majority, the alternative would have been something “pretty chaotic,” – “either an unstable minority or a coalition,” he said. “People just wanted some stability,” Kamp added.
With a majority of the polls counted late Monday night, it appeared Kamp had a larger majority than he received in 2008. With 245 out of 258 polls in at press deadline, Kamp had 27,549 votes, NDP candidate Craig Speirs had 17,964 votes, Liberal candidate Mandeep Bhuller had 2,616 votes, and Green candidate Peter Tam had 2,503 votes. On doorsteps while campaigning, Kamp said he heard from many people. While some weren’t necessarily Conservatives, they gave the Tories credit for managing the economy well. Serving his riding and his constituents is a high priority for him, Kamp said. “We really take seriously our responsibility to provide services,” Kamp said. “We put a lot of effort into the constituency end of it...we don’t just do it to get elected.” Kamp wouldn’t speculate on what role he might have in the new Conservative majority government, and he said he’ll do whatever he’s asked to do.
Stay tuned to the online and future print editions of The TIMES for more about the local election results, and the people involved. But having a majority government will make it easier “to move things through,” Kamp said. He cited abolishing the longgun registry within a hundred days and getting the proposed crime bills through the house as two of the priorities the Conservative government will have. While Kamp said there were positive signs during the election for the Conservative Party, “campaigns are always stressful.” Kamp said he expected the Liberals and Bloc Quebecois to retain more seats, and he said the NDP opposition will contain a lot of “rookies,”
“When you get to election day...you create all these scenarios how you could lose,” Kamp told his party faithful. Randy Kamp ran first in 2004, and was re-elected in 2006 and 2008. As an MP, Kamp served as official opposition critic for Fisheries and Oceans on the Pacific Coast, and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans. In the last election, he got just over 50 per cent of the votes from electors in Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge, and Mission. Kamp grew up in Maple Ridge, graduating from Maple Ridge Secondary in 1971. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in theology but later studied linguistics. He worked as a department store manager, an assistant pastor at Maple Ridge Baptist Church, and as the constituency assistant to Grant McNally. Kamp has been married to his wife Ruth for 35 years, and they have three adult children and seven grandchildren.
• More election night coverage, page A4
Don’t miss important information from School District #42 on Page A10
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