You could readily understand if Teresa Wat thought about casting her gaze heavenwards the night of the recent B.C. election.
But it wouldnt have been in response to the astonishing come-from-behind win by her fellow B.C. Liberals a result many pollsters and media types predicted had a slim to zero chance of happening.
No, an upturned look would have been an appreciative gesture recognizing the driving force behind her decision to enter the fray of provincial politics her late husband, Stephen Lee.
You know, I was thinking about my husband, said Wat, the 63-year-old rookie candidate who topped the polls in the riding of Richmond Centre in convincing fashion. I thought, thank God, you chose a path for me.
Wat says she was inspired to put her name on the ballot paper when Lee, who passed away from lung cancer in 2011, told her she needed to re-align her life to include giving back to the community.
It was a philosophy he carried with him all his life as the second oldest in a family of nine. Lee had to forsake a university education to become an elementary school teacher in Hong Kong and help support his parents and siblings.
He was very involved in the community, very involved in the student movement, said Wat, who met her husband in journalism school in Hong Kong. I am just the opposite type of person very hard working, a very diligent student getting straight As. He thought people should be more rounded, more balanced.
He told me dont just concentrate on your own work. You are a good employee, you do your best. But spend some time getting involved in the community.
But being me, I am always trying to do one job at a time. I am a perfectionist. I always want to get the best result I can.
But just how giving her husband was to others wasnt apparent to Wat until she happened upon an example by accident while in California for a family wedding in the mid-1990s.
We were walking in a shopping mall and a middle-aged lady came over and said, Sir.They called their teachers sir in Hong Kong, Wat said. Sir, I am so grateful to you, Mr. Lee, for my school fees and textbooks. It turned out she was one of his former elementary students. And he paid their school fees if they were poor. Then I knew just how great a guy he was.
Wat carried that with her over the years as she steadily built her career in media currently, she is president and COO of AM 1320 Mainstream Broadcasting Corporation, a multi-cultural radio station. But finding the hours to get involved in the community proved hard after leaving Hong Kong for Canada in 1989.
Once you come to a new country, things can be quite challenging, Wat said, adding it wasnt until her husband was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2003 and given a year to live that she slowed down the pace of her life.
The diagnosis was understandably hard to accept. And the situation was made worse by the fact that the same day doctors broke the news to her and her husband, Wats only sister died.
After the diagnosis, we had a lot of time to talk together, Wat said. And my husband kept saying that once he was in heaven, I had to serve the community. He told me to, Please change your style. Dont just work for your employer. You have to do more than that. And while volunteering in the community is not the tradition in Asia, we were now Canadians and it was time to help others.
Thanks to his strong will, the one-year prognosis stretched to seven.
Through it all, I never showed my emotion. I kept on doing my work, Wat said, adding losing him was a transition point in her life.
Shortly afterwards the BC NDP came calling to see if shed represent them in the 2013 election.
Her track record in the Glen Clark government as a communications manager in the multiculturalism ministry and role as a communications advisor in the premiers office made her a known quantity to them.
Eventually, I said no, because I didnt share their ideology, Wat said.
Plus, she wasnt completely sold on the idea of entering the hurly burly of political life. It took a word of encouragement from her now adult daughter, Tin, to tip the balance when the B.C. Liberal Party sought her out late last year.
My daughter said, Mum, I think you should go into politics. I know what dad told you. This is right for you, Wat said. So, I thought about it for a couple of weeks and realized this type of opportunity doesnt come around very often.
She was in the race. Then started a campaign to try and fit into a riding that was firmly liberal territory, but somewhat cynical to the fact she was an outsider from Burnaby a non resident, parachuted in to play to the large Chinese-Canadian constituency.
The strategy was to mount a grassroots, old school effort complete with plenty of door-knocking to meet voters face to face.
It dropped 12 pounds from her already slender frame.
But it was worthwhile as Wat said she found an audience willing to listen, although the riding was labelled with the dubious distinction of having the lowest turn out of registered voters in B.C. on election night.
Preliminary figures showed 38.9 per cent cast ballots compared to a province-wide 52.3 per cent.
Wat said she believes a large percentage of new immigrants in the riding who are ineligible to vote is the reason for the low turnout. Registration to vote in B.C. requires Canadian citizenship, being at least 18-years-old, and a resident in B.C. for the past six months.
Wat said some Chinese immigrants who can qualify also rule themselves out of voting because they are reluctant to relinquish their Chinese citizenship for a Canadian one.
The Chinese government doesnt recognize dual citizenship, Wat said. And if they (immigrants) have family and business connections still in China, its not easy to travel back using a Canadian passport. Each time you have to apply for a travel visa.
Still, there is hope things will improve in time for the next election cycle four years from now, and it comes from some encouraging volunteer numbers in Wats campaign, she had close to 150, an increase from former MLA Rob Howards 60.
Oddly, many of them were from mainland China.
Even though they were not citizens, they wanted to get involved because they saw a Chinese-Canadian (candidate) and also wanted to get to know about Canadian politics, Wat said. And some were international students who intend to stay here after finishing their studies.
Initiating that type of engagement is the biggest lesson Wat said she learned from the campaign. Its also a part of who she is.
I love to talk to people. As a journalist I am a naturally inquisitive person, she said.
And if we have discussions, there is the opportunity to have a better understanding of each other so all the misunderstandings can be put aside.
Its a long way from the career-driven, family-first direction Wat was used to taking. Her schedule is now built around embracing her constituents at every opportunity to define local issues and map out a plan of action.
Not everybody wants to become a politician its a tough job, she said. But when I think about what Im contributing to the community, Im sure my husband would be proud of me.
