Three new Richmond MLAs were sworn in on Tuesday – the first NDP MLAs to represent Richmond since Harold Steves held a seat in the mid-seventies.
Kelly Greene (Richmond-Steveston), Henry Yao (Richmond South Centre) and Aman Singh (Richmond-Queensborough) – all entering their first term in office – were among the 57 NDP MLAs to take the oath of office during the largely virtual ceremony Tuesday afternoon.
Premier John Horgan was the only MLA who attended the ceremony in-person in the legislature. The remaining 56 NDP MLAs participated virtually due to COVID-19.
The ceremony was presided over by Kate Ryan-Lloyd, Clerk of the Legislature.
The last time Richmond elected an NDP MLA was nearly 50 years ago, when Steves, now a city councillor, served one term in Victoria. Since then, the city has been a Social Credit/BC Liberal stronghold.
Premier John Horgan is expected to name his cabinet later this week.
Greene won Richmond-Steveston with a total of 10,733 votes (52.1 per cent), against BC Liberal Matt Pitcairn’s 9,398 votes (45.6 per cent).
Singh, in Richmond-Queensborough, won with 9,406 votes (47.7 per cent), against incumbent BC Liberal MLA Jas Johal’s 7,728 votes (39.15 per cent).
Yao won Richmond South Centre by a slim margin, beating BC Liberal candidate Alexa Loo by just 179 votes. Yao received 6,743 votes (50.7) and Loo, 6,564 votes (49.3 per cent).
Teresa Wat, BC Liberal MLA for Richmond North Centre, will be sworn in Wednesday along with her BC Liberal colleagues.
