People were expecting a tight race in the riding of Kootenay East in the 2009 provincial election. In the end, however, the result was quite clear with BC Liberal candidate Bill Bennett being re-elected to represent the region as the MLA at the B.C. legislature. Preliminary election results show Bennett received 7,996 out of the 15,587 votes cast with NDP candidate Troy Sebastian coming in second with 5,518 votes. 1,567 voters made their mark for BC Conservative candidate Wilf Hanni while 506 had Green Party candidate Jennifer Tsuida as their choice.
This will be Bennett's third term in office. At a gathering after the election results were announced, Bennett took the opportunity to thank his wife, his family and his campaign team for the hard work and support they put into his successful run for office. Bennett picked up some unexpected wins in the individual communities. "We won Fernie tonight - the last check was by over 200 votes," he pointed out. "The last time, we lost it last time by close to 300 votes."
"This is democracy, this is politics," said Troy Sebastian. "I certainly wish the outcome was different, but I am very proud of the campaign that we ran." Sebastian congratulated Bill Bennett, his family and his supporters on their success. He added there was still a lot of fight left in him and hinted there would be a possibility he could be running again in the next provincial election in 2013.
