That nearly full moon beaming down on city Saturday turned into a blue moon as all three Prince George ridings were swept in a wave of Conservatism.
Kiel Giddens was giddy with excitement as he watched the vote unfold at campaign headquarters on Tenth Avenue. He steamrolled his opponents in the Prince George-Mackenzie riding, winning 61 per cent of the vote.
With just one of the 18 ballot boxes still to be counted, Giddens had 10,531 votes, ahead of NDP candidate Shar McCrory (4,828, 28 per cent), James Steidle of the BC Green Party (1,448, 8.4 per cent ) and independent Rachael Weber (420, 2.4 per cent).
Like most of the Conservative who won their seats, Giddens will be going to Victoria as a first-time MLA, and he can’t wait to get started at his new job.
“We have to try to get our resources back on track. We’ve heard from so many in the forestry sector, even mining, that they’re uncertain and we have to bring certainty to our industries,” he said. “Our small businesses here in Prince George, they’re impacted by how our resource economy is doing in the region. We should be leading in the world in sustainable development of our natural resources and we need to be proud that we do it better than anywhere in the world and that’s what we’re going to fight for.”
Giddens was not surprised voters backed the Conservatives across the board in Prince George but did not foresee the overwhelming sea of blue on the election map, which extends pretty much everywhere beyond Vancouver, Victoria and the central Coast.
Sheldon Clare (Prince George-North Cariboo) and Rosalyn Byrd (Prince George-Valemount) also won for the Conservatives by large margins.
“I’m very proud with everything our team accomplished, it’s been a roller coaster because it’s been the most unpredictable election in history,” Giddens said. “We’ve made history with the Conservative Party of BC making this surge and it was team effort to get this done. We knocked on thousands of doors and our hard work paid off.
“I was confident because I was willing to have all those conversations on the doorstep. I was out in the community for months and months, really listening and trying to learn,” he said. “Rosalyn is a feisty advocate for our region and she’s going to do great in Victoria and Sheldon has worked so hard in this campaign and I have a tremendous amount of respect for him.
“Together we’re going to deliver results for the North. We have a mandate across the North and the Interior, not just Prince George, to make sure that those interests are represented in the Legislature well.”
Giddens, who turned 40 last Sunday, had his wife Elyce and their two young sons, Thomas, 7 and Charlie, 4, with him in the election night crowd of about 150.
“This was a family decision (to run for his seat), really I’m doing this for our kids’ generation,” Giddens said. “I worry for the future and we want to provide hope and opportunity here in northern BC for our kids.”
Giddens had originally been named to run in the riding for BC United, but when that party folded he was picked to run for the Conservatives, bumping Weber out of the nomination.
