Defining the role of an independent member.

• Author: Huntington, Vicki
• Position: Essay

Independents are those elected members who are not recognized as having official party affiliation. They may have run under the independent label at election time, or have defected from a recognized political party during the life of a parliament, or belong to a political party that does not have at least four elected members. This article looks at the challenges of serving as an independent member in a system where the vast majority of people belong to political parties and the rules and conventions have been designed for parties.

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Let me begin with some personal history. For most of the 1970s, I worked with the RCMP Security Service, beginning as a civilian member and later as a Special Constable in the force. I served as Band Manager for the Gitanmaax Indian Reserve in Hazelton, BC and then with the Nisga'a Task Group.

My father became an MP in 1974 and for a number of years I lived in Ottawa. I worked for the Solicitor General, the Department of National Revenue and the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development.

I returned to British Columbia in 1988 as Director of the Federal Ministers' Regional Office in Vancouver. In 1993 I was elected to the Delta Municipal Council. I was returned to Council at or near the top of the polls in four subsequent municipal elections. I did not run in 2008 but in May 2009, in a very close election, I defeated a high-profile Liberal cabinet minister, Wally Oppal and became MLA for Delta South.

The government had alienated South Delta by forcing a number of projects and policy decisions on our region without first consulting and listening to those who would be affected. Despite having an MLA who belonged to the government caucus, it seemed our representative's purpose was to bring the government's views to our community, instead of the other way around. I wanted to offer an alternative that could truly represent the people and I chose not to participate in party politics. I chose to run as an independent accountable to South Delta voters.

I am the first elected independent in British Columbia since 1949. The fellow who preceded me sixty years ago, James Mowat, had been a sitting member of the Legislature and was a member of the Liberal Party. He lost the nomination, ran as an independent, won and before he even got into the Legislature, rejoined the Liberal Party. He was more an independent of convenience.

A more famous independent predecessor was Mary Ellen Smith. She won a Vancouver by-election in January 1918, the very first election in which women could vote. She was also the first woman in the British Empire to be appointed to Cabinet. She ran as a Liberal in subsequent elections but she retained her independent soul and later resigned from Cabinet over a disagreement with the government. There have been other independent MLAs in British Columbia--at least eight in the last two decades before my election. But usually independent status followed a resignation or expulsion from caucus.

Initial Impressions

One of the first persons I met after being sworn in was...