Tories take Liberal stronghold

When Tilly O'Neill-Gordon's supporters got the first poll results on election day there were no celebrations.

She lost the poll.

Ken Clark, one of her campaign managers, said her supporters had a lot of nervous energy and from what they heard from voters it sounded good for O'Neill- Gordon.

"We've got our fingers crossed."

By 9:30 p.m. the nervous energy was gone, when the supporters heard CTV declare their candidate the winner an hour after the polls closed.

The problem was O'Neill-Gordon wasn't there yet to celebrate with them, because she was still on her way back from one of the polls.

Earlier in the night, there was a sense things were turning her way as poll results came in and some were the reverse of the last election won by Charles Hubbard.

Every time a phone rang supporters gathered around and the room was quiet as they waited for the latest poll results.

If it was a bad poll for O'Neill-Gordon, her supporters walked away to talk amongst themselves.

Result sheets for each poll covered the walls and every phone call with a winner sent people running to write down the results.

More polls came in and the excitement grew as people tried to count the votes on the walls.

At times the phone rang so often there weren't enough lines to answer every call.

Supporters ran back and forth to the phone, scrambling to find the right poll on the wall to jot down the results.

When word spread CTV had declared her the winner, the group of about 35 people gathered around the television and waited.

As soon as the checkmark went up next to her name the crowd cheered.

Once the result was almost certain, Clark said O'Neill- Gordon will make a great representative and he hoped she gets a position of authority in the new government.

"Tilly's got her finger on the button around here."

The Miramichi election results might not have been tied to the federal campaign as much as they were local, he said, because Charles Hubbard was the incumbent for a long time.

"In some cases the incumbent does bring a lot of baggage with them."

When O'Neill-Gordon arrived around 10 p.m. the crowd cheered, chanted her name and threw coloured streamers as she walked through the door.

She had to squeeze her way through the crowd to thank her supporters, a string of streamers still around her neck.

O'Neill-Gordon said it felt good to win and she never stopped campaigning until the end.

"It's very rewarding."

People in the riding wanted to be on the side of government this time around, and she said she stressed that during her campaign.

"If you're on the government side you're gonna get more."

O'Neill-Gordon said she hoped to see more jobs and senior buildings come to the Miramichi and wanted more progress on Route 108. "There will be lots for sure once I get there."

Bill Tozer, the original Conservative candidate who had to withdraw because of business commitments, said he was excited about O'Neill-Gordon's win.

"I supported her all the way through the campaign."

The people of the Miramichi have faith in Stephen Harper's plans and policies, he said.

"The people spoke."

Mayor Gerry Cormier said he thought the chances of getting something for the city and for the region are much better with an MP on the government side.

"I think it's a great choice."

People wanted a better working relationship with the federal government, which was one of the factors in her victory, he said.

"I think people were looking for a change."

Once there were enough poll results in to make it impossible for Liberal Charles Hubbard to win, he went to O'Neill-Gordon's headquarters to congratulate her and concede.

Hubbard addressed the crowd of supporters and said he was sure she would do a good job, but he told her to expect the work ahead to be challenging.

"The people of the Miramichi have spoken."

It's a big riding and he offered his help if she needed it.

"We have a constituency that needs a lot of attention," he said.

O'Neill-Gordon thanked him for his offer of help.

"I'm sure I'll probably be calling on you."

After his concession speech, Hubbard said it was a relief to have the responsibility off his shoulders and he was ready to move on to other interests. "If we can help we'll be there."

O'Neill-Gordon said she was sure her mother, who passed away a few years ago and was a lifelong Tory, was smiling down on her on election night. "I always said I was born a blue baby."