by Vikki Hopes and Kevin Mills
Chants of "Dar-ryl! Dar-ryl! Dar-ryl!" rang out as Darryl Plecas greeted his supporters at his campaign office after being declared winner of the Abbotsford South riding on Tuesday night.
Plecas, among Abbotsford's three successful Liberal candidates, defeated long-time MLA John van Dongen, running as an independent for the first time in his 18-year political career, by a margin of 42 per cent to 28 per cent (results as of 10:30 p.m.) – 8,811 votes to 5,138.
In his victory speech, Plecas acknowledged that his victory was hard-fought.
"Wow! This was a tough battle! We weren't an underdog; we were way past a long shot when we started," he said.
The new MLA said he will be "open and transparent" in his new role and will serve with the "utmost integrity."
Plecas' win was declared at about 9:30 p.m., and van Dongen arrived several minutes later to congratulate Plecas at his campaign office on South Fraser Way.
When van Dongen found out that his Liberal challenger had not yet arrived, he left the building and then phoned him to wish him well.
Plecas, 61, is a criminologist who is the director of the Centre for Public Safety and Criminal Justice Research at the University of the Fraser Valley.
Meanwhile, as his supporters cheered at Phoenix Lounge, a calm van Dongen came to the podium and said good-bye to provincial politics.
After 18 years as an MLA, the former Liberal, former Conservative and now independent candidate's run came to an end.
"We gave the people a choice, we gave the people an option. We did our very best and we did our best to give people an independent MLA and a new way of doing things. But we came up short tonight on the votes. And that's the way it goes in politics," he said.
Van Dongen said he respects the voters' decision.
"For more than 18 years, I've had the privilege of serving the constituents of Abbotsford and it has been the most rewarding job that I have ever had. It definitely hasn't always been easy, but I know that I have helped many people in Abbotsford and British Columbia."
He thanked his supporters, his staff and his partner, Sherri Wacker, for their support.
"The election is over and it's time to look forward to the future," he said, adding that he has no regrets.
Dongen said he is really surprised by the overall results of the election, saying "these things happen in politics."
But he did theorize that the fear of the NDP's reputation from the 1990s gained a lot of traction provincially.
NDP candidate Lakhvinder Jhaj could not be reached for comment on election night. She placed third with 3,745 votes (20.5 per cent).
Also running in Abbotsford South were Steve Finlay of the Marijuana Party and Patricia Smith of the Excalibur Party.