Raj Chouhan takes Edmonds

By Dan Hilborn
Published May 21, 2005


Patty Sahota spent most of Tuesday night waiting for a miracle that never came.

Raj Chouhan, her NDP rival in Burnaby-Edmonds, had long ago declared himself the winner, but the newly appointed Liberal minister of state for resort development refused to concede.

And so, as the official numbers showed a widening gap, and as her team of volunteers packed up their belongings and headed for home, Sahota quietly shuffled between a secluded back room and the busy lobby of her election office.

At 10:30 p.m., when NDP leader Carole James took to the airwaves to celebrate the resurgence of her party, Sahota watched in silence.

When premier Gordon Campbell gave his formal victory speech at about 11 p.m., Sahota again stood silently amid a throng of her supporters as a stream of tears trickled down her face.

"You know what? It's not over yet," she told the various reporters who had gathered at her office. "We still have six more polls and three more advanced polls to count."

Finally, around midnight, when many of Sahota's volunteers had gone home and her longtime friend, Forest Minister Mike de Jong arrived to lend his support, the diminutive first-time MLA finally steeled up the courage to acknowledge what every television station, radio commentator and her rival had already declared. Sahota was the lone Liberal MLA from Burnaby not to win re-election on Tuesday night.

"The good news is the B.C. Liberals have been re-elected and Premier Campbell is back," said Sahota. "But it appears in Burnaby- Edmonds that we have fallen a little short. There's a margin of about 400 votes right now, and the NDP candidate, Raj Chouhan, ... I wish him well."

In fact, the final tally from Elections B.C. shows that Chouhan won by a margin of 586 votes - the biggest vote spread in any of the four Burnaby ridings and the only positive result for the NDP in a city that was once considered a socialist stronghold.

When asked why she was the only Liberal in the city to lose her seat, Sahota said the NDP "put a lot of resources in here" to support their candidate, the director of organizing for the Hospital Employees' Union.

"The demographics have changed a lot in the last four years. It could have gone either way tonight," she said.

After conceding, Sahota expressed confidence in what the future might hold for her. "You know, a lot of doors will open. That's the neat thing in life," she said. "But this has been great. It's been great to serve the people of Burnaby for the past four years. But I've got to take a big breath right now."

Across town, at the NDP victory party at the Operating Engineers hall, Chouhan was feted as the man of the hour by a throng of well- wishers and volunteers from throughout the city.

"The people I met on the doorsteps, they knew it: They'd had enough of Gordon Campbell," he said to cheers from the crowd.

Chouhan thanked his wife, children and sister, along with the "loyal, sincere" team of volunteers that helped put him in office. "My team, I'm so proud of it, it's unbelievable the kind of work they do," he said.

Chouhan's team had been working since 6:30 a.m., with about 200 volunteers out on the streets and in the polling stations. "I only won because of you, thank you," a beaming Chouhan said.

But he warned their work has only just begun. "Even though we have won the election tonight, we have a big fight ahead of us," he said. "We will keep Gordon Campbell and his cronies accountable for the next four years."

Then, with a grin, he gave all his supporters an invitation they were clearly happy to take up: "Let's party!"

To the accompaniment of an enthusiastic drummer, supporters broke into dancing, hoisting Chouhan on their shoulders and circling the floor as others watched and cheered.

But, while the mood was festive, Chouhan acknowledged that he was personally disappointed by the fact the NDP was only able to regain one seat in Burnaby.

"I was hoping for a clean sweep," Chouhan said.

Chouhan was also unable to explain why the NDP was unable to make gains in the three other Burnaby ridings, when many other traditional NDP seats around the province returned to the fold.

"I have no idea," he said.

"I would say with the kind of team we had, I knew we would win. We also knew it would be a tight race," Chouhan said. "The people of Burnaby-Edmonds felt very neglected for the past four years. They want to be heard in Victoria, and I heard that message. The NDP is now back. We've got 33 seats and that's a big leap, and the Liberal government now has to be accountable.

"I look forward to having a strong voice to stop the privatization of health care and to stop the erosion of our education system," he said.

In one of his first duties as an MLA, Chouhan vowed to oppose the "child labour legislation" enacted by the B.C. Liberals during their first term in office.

"The Liberals now allow children under the age of 15 to work without proper regulations," he said. "Before, you used to need the approval of two parents, a principal and the director of employment standards.

"Now, just one parent can approve a child working. I think it's a shameful act," Chouhan said.

- with files from Julie MacLellan