Long campaigning hours fall short
NDP candidate Steve Ryan stands next to his sign on election day. Photo by Kim Jay.
by Kim Jay
Coffee at the Ryan household might be a touch melancholy over the next few days. NDP candidate Steve Ryan lost in his Regina Qu’Appelle riding and now his future in politics is up in the air.
“I haven’t thought about what I would do if I lost. That is a conversation my wife and I will have to have. I was focused on winning,” said Ryan.
Focused means knocking on 12,000 doors over the last few weeks.
“A lot of people say we have an MLA who’s not overly active in the community. (Laura Ross) doesn’t live in the riding, and has no real ties to the community,” Ryan said.
The results from the polls show that residents aren’t holding Ross’s south end address against her. She was re-elected for another term with 63.54 per cent of the vote. Ryan received 34.13 per cent of the vote. Followed by the Green Party’s Bill Patterson with less than two per cent and independent candidate, Hafeez Chaudhuri, with less than one per cent.
Ryan will continue to seek out “positive change,” but for the time being, not in a campaign office. He manages a group home for troubled youth at the Ranch Ehrlo Society.
“Working with youth from incredibly challenging backgrounds gave me a clearer picture of some of the challenges we face in this province today,” said Ryan.
This was the first time that Ryan ran in a provincial election. He decided to run when his wife lost her job.
“My wife Haley was an educational assistant in a kindergarten class, and the Sask. Party made cuts to 350 positions, Haley’s being one of them.”
Not only were there cuts to the number of teacher assistants, class sizes in many of the schools, including Haley’s, increased.
“If we are in a boom, and we have all this opportunity, education is something that we should be investing in and looking to improve, not make cuts to.”
Despite the loss, Ryan felt engaged with those he met on the campaign trail, especially young people.
“The issues that most (young voters) are facing are the same issues that my wife and I are facing. It’s too expensive to live here right now. Tuition rates are too high for students.”
Now Ryan will have to watch from the sidelines as a Sask. Party majority is elected for another four years.
The Sask. Party finished the election with 49 seats, followed by the NDP with nine seats.
“The perception that is being portrayed now by our current government is that everyone is wealthy now. We all have new cars, houses and boats. But from going out there and talking with people, that is not the reality. Even people in these new subdivisions are house poor. They have a $2,000 a month mortgage and only a one per cent wage increase. It’s just not sustainable,” Ryan said.