Party united, strong, says losing candidate

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/10/2009 (5863 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

IT was an uphill and sometimes bitter battle for Steve Ashton, but the leadership loser said he’ll be a team player in the new Selinger administration.

"I almost felt like I went 15 rounds in a heavyweight boxing match, but we didn’t lose this in a knockout punch," said Ashton. "That’s over. I’m going to go have a few beers, maybe more than a few beers, and Monday morning I’ll be back at work."

The former intergovernmental affairs minister said he doesn’t have his eye on any one cabinet job, but he’s almost sure to make the cut. Premier-designate Greg Selinger made that clear following his convincing victory Saturday afternoon.

Ashton said Selinger ran a good campaign with a broad base of support.

The race was a frustrating one for Ashton, who signed up thousands of new members and hustled them into delegate spots to make a credible, come-from-behind challenge. But he felt stymied by what he called unfair and ever-changing rules and a delegate-selection process that was anything but smooth. He said Saturday he’d push for a return to the one-member-one-vote method of electing future NDP leaders.

Ashton won about a third of the delegates up for grabs, many of them in northern ridings. It was clear early on, though, that most on the convention floor were Selinger supporters. Those same people offered Ashton a standing ovation following his concession speech.

Ashton has traditionally represented the party’s left wing, one that’s often been frustrated by Premier Gary Doer’s go-slow, centrist approach. But Ashton rejected the suggestion that he could chafe under Selinger’s centrist style or that the left has been overlooked. Ashton said there is no split in the party, and old left-right divisions don’t really apply any more.

"This is a political party that’s united," said Ashton. "We’ve doubled our membership, which is just tremendous."

maryagnes.welch@freepress.mb.ca