INSIDE: Veteran John van Dongen loses seat T H U R S D A Y
Page 3
May 16, 2013
Butt will be in Mission 14 Brent N E W S ,
SPORTS,
WEATHER
&
E N T E R T A I N M E N T abbotsfordtimes.com
Liberals sweep to majority
Plecas wins South Abbotsford CHRISTINA TOTH CToth@abbotsfordtimes.com
“D
oes it ever feel good to win,” Abbotsford South Liberal candidate Darryl Plecas told a joyous gathering of about 200 people at his South Fraser Way campaign office Tuesday night. An academic in the University of the Fraser Valley’s criminology department for three decades but a political rookie, Plecas knocked veteran independent MLA John van Dongen out of the seat early in the evening for the Liberals, who retained their majority status in the province. Plecas earned a healthy 48.19 per cent of the vote compared to van Dongen’s 28 per cent. In 2009, thenLiberal van Dongen earned 58.5 per cent of the vote. New Democrat Lakhvinder Jhaj finished with 20.48 per cent, Steve Finlay of the B.C. Marijuana Party had 2.02 per cent, and the B.C. Excalibur Party’s Patricia Smith took 1.2 per cent. “I’m going to kill myself to work for the people of Abbotsford South. I’m going to continue to work hard as I
Mike de Jong’s emotional win ROCHELLE BAKER RBaker@abbotsfordtimes.com
H SCAN FOR PHOTOS – J.KONDA-WITTE (ABOVE, BELOW LEFT); C.TOTH (BELOW RIGHT)/TIMES
A Liberal trifecta: Abbotsford West incumbent Mike de Jong hugs a supporter at his victory gathering at Moxie’s late Tuesday, above. Criminologist Darryl Plecas, below left, won in Abbotsford South, beating incumbent John van Dongen. Below right, Simon Gibson, with grandson Lars Tuesday night, will represent Abbotsford-Mission in Victoria.
see SOUTH, page A4
is entrance preceded by the national anthem and a bhangra drummer, Abbotsford West BC Liberal candidate Mike de Jong was greeted by hundreds of cheering supporters Tuesday night. De Jong, who won his long-time riding with a wide margin in the provincial election, will return to Victoria for a sixth time as an MLA with the Liberal party, which garnered a surprise return to power despite dire predictions to the contrary by pollsters. “You made history ladies and gentlemen,” he told the crowd. “Look, I’m surprised!” he said, to a roar of laughter. De Jong took his long-time riding with 50 per cent of the vote, according to preliminary results posted by Elections BC. His closest rival, NDP candidate Sukhi Dhami hovered around 29 per cent, while B.C. Conservative Paul Redekopp garnered close to see WEST, page A11
Gibson takes A Abby – Mission
CHRISTINA TOTH ctoth@abbotsfordtimes.com
lthough things still felt surreal Wednesday morning after his victory in Abbotsford-Mission, new B.C. Liberal MLA Simon Gibson already had a couple of substantial projects in mind for his constituency. “I hope to work to secure more funding for the University of the Fraser Valley. There is a pent-up need for more student spaces – that’s an
area I’d like to pursue within the constraints of the budget,” said Gibson, who teaches business communications at UFV. “And in the case of Mission, the council is interested in rerouting the Lougheed Highway to take traffic off First Avenue. I’ve agreed with the mayor I’d take on that project,” he added. The City of Abbotsford councillor finished with a strong lead of 51.95 per cent of the vote, well ahead of
New Democrat rival and two-term Abbotsford school trustee Preet Rai, who finished with 25.19 per cent. Gibson’s win continues the Liberal legacy in the riding, maintained for three terms by predecessor Randy Hawes, who won the seat with 58.4 per cent of votes in 2009. Hawes retired from politics this month. “I’m feeling overwhelmed by the public response, and I’m looking forward to serving the people of Abbotsford-Mission,” an emotional
Gibson said after he was declared the winner in Tuesday night’s general election. “I’m also particularly pleased to be part of Liberal majority government.” Gibson has served on the Matsqui district council and then on the City of Abbotsford council for more than 30 years. He will move into Hawes’ former constituency office on First Avenue see GIBSON, page A7
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