Conservative Kenny Chiu defeats Liberal incumbent Joe Peschisolido in Steveston-Richmond East
Credit to Author: Cheryl Chan| Date: Tue, 22 Oct 2019 13:04:07 +0000
Challenger Kenny Chiu defeated Liberal incumbent Joe Peschisolido in Steveston-Richmond East on Monday night, turning the second of Richmond’s two federal ridings a Tory blue.
It was a stunning reversal of fortune from 2015, when Peschisolido won the newly-drawn riding by more than six percentage points over Chiu.
This time, Chiu came in strong with an early lead and maintained it through the evening, earning 42 per cent of the vote.
Peschisolido trailed in second with 35 per cent.
Joe Peschisolido, Liberal candidate for Steveston–Richmond East.
Jubilant supporters broke out into chants of “Kenny! Kenny! Kenny!” after election results on the big-screen TV declared Chiu the victor.
Chiu entered Ember Indian Kitchen, where the post-election celebration was held, to loud cheers and applause, shaking hands and high-fiving people along the way.
“It’s a new day in Steveston-Richmond East,” he told the crowd. “The voters have made their choices and their voices very clear.”
Describing the campaign as a “very long 40 days,” Chiu, an immigrant from Hong Kong, said he was happy and grateful to be able to run for office in a democracy and be elected in an open, fair and transparent election.
He believes voters in the riding swung Conservative again because of concerns over affordability and disappointment over the Liberal government’s track record, including failing to deliver on a balanced budget and electoral reform.
“All these are coming to haunt them, finally,” he said.
Sanjay Jeram, senior lecturer at Simon Fraser University, said he’s not surprised the riding — a “natural Conservative riding” — went back to the Conservative column.
“It’s a riding mostly defined by pocket book issues and values issues, which the Conservatives have used to win in the past,” said Jeram.
It is also a highly diverse riding. About 47 per cent of residents identified as ethnic Chinese in the 2016 census, followed by Europeans (27 per cent), South Asian (10 per cent), and Filipino (eight per cent).
The large number of ethnic Chinese in the riding is notable, said Jeram, as it is a group “that has demographically shifted to the Conservatives over the years.”
Peschisolido’s victory in this riding in 2015 was an “exceptional win,” added Jeram, buoyed by the Trudeau-mania 2.0 wave that swept across B.C.
In August, the federal ethics commissioner launched an investigation into Peschisolido after allegations he failed to disclose the Law Society of B.C. had taken control of his law firm, as required by federal ethics rules.
It was largely a two-way race between the Liberal and Tory candidates.
New Democrat Jaeden Dela Torre, a 18-year-old political science student at Kwantlen Polytechnic University placed a distant third with about 15 per cent of the vote.
Lawyer Nicole Iaci of the Green Party was fourth, with 6.7 per cent, while independent candidate Ping Chan received less than two per cent.
Chiu moved to Canada in 1982 and has worked in and served Richmond for more than 25 years.
A software engineer, he was recently a co-host of NewsTalk on Fairchild morning radio and previously served as a Richmond school trustee from 2011 to 2014.
During a debate organized by the Richmond Chamber of Commerce, he criticized the Liberal government’s financial record and its handling of the Huawei senior executive Meng Wenzhou case.
He is married to his wife of 25 years and has two daughters.
The 2016 census showed Steveston Richmond East is home to about 99,913 people — slightly more than the population of Richmond Centre, but spread out over a larger area that covers most of eastern Richmond and south of Steveston Highway, including Steveston.
The riding was redrawn for the 2015 elections, and includes portions that used to be part of Richmond Centre and Delta-Richmond East.