Independent MLA shuns mindset of 'lemmings'

It's almost a year now since Vicki Huntington shocked everyone -- including herself -- by becoming the first independent MLA in almost 60 years to be elected to the legislature.

The Delta South representative won on a recount several weeks after the May 12, 2009, election by toppling government heavyweight Wally Oppal, who was parachuted in from his Vancouver-Fraserview seat after Huntington declined to run for the B.C. Liberals.

So here we are, 12 months later, in Huntington's MLA office in Ladner's quaint a village for a first anniversary glance in the rear-view mirror of the lady's provincial political road trip.

Huntington left longtime service as a Delta councillor to run provincially because of the plethora of controversial issues Delta faced -- and where the Gordon Campbell government stood on the other side.

These included the Tsawwassen power line debacle, South Fraser Perimeter Road, expansion of Deltaport, the Tsawwassen First Nations treaty, significant losses of Delta farmland and diminishing service at Delta Hospital.

So how does a lone, rookie, independent backbench MLA deal with such a deluge?

"It's frustrating because many of these big, horrendous issues are basically over and done with now, and I quickly realized that tilting at windmills won't get me anywhere," she says. "So as the projects move forward I try to make sure that at least they're being done properly."

Regardless, Huntington is convinced she's serving her constituents more effectively as an independent rather than as a government or official opposition backbencher.

The distinction, she explains, is important.

"I'm in this office today because the B.C. government failed to listen to the people," Huntington notes.

"Many government backbenchers may be well-meaning, but they're unwilling to step outside the party structure. What they're told is what they believe. They're lemmings."

She acknowledges that the real power is in cabinet and especially in the premier's office. And as the Campbell government dismantles traditional regulatory controls, as it did recently with the B.C. Utilities Commission, that power increases.

"I'm more effective in representing my riding, even though I don't have the power to move mountains, because I can ask the tough questions and raise issues on behalf of my constituents -- but still keep to my principles," she adds.

Huntington is also convinced that after a year of watching the Campbell government in action, seldom allowing sufficient public input and often expediting environmental reviews that are mere "rubber stamp" exercises, his agenda is driven by development at any and all costs.

She says putting high-voltage power lines though Tsawwassen was "fundamentally unfair and vindictive," while projects such as the South Fraser Perimeter Road and Deltaport's expansion are Campbell's way of giving developers what they want at the expense of viable farmland and the environment.

Looking ahead, Huntington says she's more comfortable as an independent MLA and will raise more constituent concerns. "I'm convinced there are no ethical approaches to issues anymore in Victoria, it's all about development -- so ordinary people have lost faith," she says.

And that's why Huntington expects more independent candidates to run in B.C.'s next election.