Two longtime Sackville/Bedford MLAs go down for the election count

ELECTION
By Yvette d'Entremont - The Weekly News
When the Progressive Conservative government was defeated by the NDP Tuesday, two local cabinet ministers were swept up in the orange tide.
Bedford-Birch Cove MLA and Minister of Immigration Len Goucher lost his seat to Liberal Kelly Regan and came in third to NDP candidate Brian Mosher.
"I feel sad, yet I feel that I did the best I could ... I knew going into this election there'd be changes, but I never envisioned what occurred," a somewhat sombre Goucher told The Weekly News shortly after his defeat.
Goucher plans to take a vacation and spend time with his family before deciding what his future plans will be.
Reached shortly after his loss, Hammonds Plains-Upper Sackville MLA and Minister of Energy Barry Barnet said he was feeling surprisingly good. He congratulated his successor and said the NDP ran an excellent campaign.
"I might run for the senate now or something," Barnet joked when asked about his future plans. "I have no Plan B, but I can tell you I still plan on being involved in my community."
Barnet's successor, Mat Whynott, entered the Sackville Kinsmen Centre to whistles, cheers, and hearty applause following his historic win. The 23-year-old believes he is the youngest person ever elected into the Nova Scotia legislature, and he was humbled by the honour.
"From the beginning of this campaign we haven't taken anything for granted, knocking on as many doors as we can, phoning people until, when they saw it was the NDP calling, they didn't want to pick up the phone," Whynott joked.
In Bedford-Birch Cove, Liberal Kelly Regan stands out as one of 11 Liberals elected across the province. Regan's plans for the area include more public meetings and frequent communication with residents.
"The final week kind of felt like the last trimester of pregnancy and tonight I've given birth and it's a girl," Regan joked when asked how she felt being one of a handful of women elected to the provincial legislature.
The NDP stronghold continued in Sackville-Cobequid, where Dave Wilson was re-elected by a margin of more than 3,500 votes over his closest opponent.
Percy Paris handily maintained his seat for the NDP in Waverley-Fall River-Beaver Bank by defeating Conservative Gary Hines for a second time.
Bill Estabrooks kept his NDP seat in Timberlea-Prospect, defeating the Liberal candidate who came in second by a margin of more than 4,500 votes.
ydentremont@hfxnews.ca