View Article Here: http://www.bclocalnews.com/news/election/134405148.html
By Martin van den Hemel – Richmond Review
Published: November 23, 2011 10:00 AM
Updated: November 23, 2011 10:05 AM
Carol Day (centre), with former trustee Sandra Bourque and former trustee and councillor Sue Halsey-Brandt. Day missed a council seat by 302 votes.
Carol Day was all smiles Saturday night despite suffering a narrow loss in her bid for a seat on Richmond council.
The former school trustee finished with 12,681 votes, just 302 votes fewer than Ken Johnston for the eighth and final seat on council.
Day said she wasn’t discouraged by the weekend outcome, and said if anything, the results were uplifting.
“I will always be active in politics, and the reason being is there’s so much going on. And now that we have a majority of Richmond First which is of course development, and Mayor Brodie, we’re going to have to really, really pay attention to what’s going on a city hall because if we don’t, things are going to continue like they have the last 10 years,” she said.
“City hall is being run by staff, of course, and I’d like to definitely see that change.”
Day said she has the utmost respect for Ken Johnston, and has no problem losing to him.
“I would have had more of a problem if I had lost (by) a few hundred votes to someone like Cynthia Chen, who was not an effective councillor, or…Alexa Loo who has really no civic involvement. So I feel it was a respectable loss, if you want to call it a loss.”
Day said little money was spent on her election bid (around $10,000), and said it was a grassroots movement that nearly propelled her to victory, with people she’s never met before coming out to distribute her campaign information at households and condos.
Contrast that with Chen’s pricey campaign, which in 2008 was tabbed at close to $40,000 (Chen says she spent a little less this time.)
“My heart is full of gratitude,” she said. “Clearly I’m nipping at the heals of the existing politicians so I’ll continue to be a very vocal voice for Richmond.”
Day said she was “thrilled to pieces” that fellow RITE (Richmond Independent Team of Electors) candidate and former long-time trustee Chak Au was voted onto council.
He will serve as a major bridge between the Chinese community and the mainstream community, she said.
As to whether she’ll run again in 2014, Day left that door open, and said it will be up to her supporters.