Not all tears and resignations for the NDP
Warren McCall and Dwayne Lingenfelter share a few words post Lingenfelter resignation. Photo by Natasha Tersigni.
by Natasha Tersigni
Amid the tears and resignations there are still a few New Democratic Party members who have kept their jobs in the legislative assembly.
Warren McCall, a ten-year NDP incumbent in the Regina Elphinstone-Centre constituency, has managed to hold on to his seat. According to Monday night's unofficial results, he beat out his competitor, Saskatchewan Party candidate Bill Stevenson, with 2,504 votes to Stevenson's 1,721. Green Party candidate Ingrid Alesich received 195 votes.
The win does not come as a surprise to many of McCall's constituents. "(McCall) is a good advocate for the inner city. The win is only a testament to the work he has been doing for the last decade," said Rob Deglau, executive director for the North Central Community Association. North Central is the constituency's largest neighbourhood.
With Dwayne Lingenfelter stepping down as leader of the NDP, many have eyes on McCall to see if leadership is in his cards. "My immediate plan is that we have 600 signs that we have to take down in Regina Elphinstone-Centre, so that will be my first order of business in the morning. Beyond that we have a lot of talking and thinking to do with the NDP members and the Saskatchewan people," McCall said.
As for election results, McCall knew what to expect. "We knew this was going to be a tough election, the polls have been tough all the way through," he said.
"We have to figure how to put a better vision in front of the Saskatchewan people. Obviously the Saskatchewan party did a great job connecting with the Saskatchewan(people). We have to figure out how to do a better job ourselves."
The NDP went into the 2011 election with 20 seats in the legislature and an unpopular leader. The finished the election with nine seats and no leader.
As Lingenfelter replied in answer to questions about his resignation, "The people of Saskatchewan have spoken."