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According to Epp supporters, there nev- er was any question about the outcome of the contest. A campaign worker, join- ing the party at the Knights of Colum- bus Hall in Waterloo about 8:0,5, quipped: "Davis has conceded - it's all over! " The large hall which attracted Epp sup- porters, campaign workers, family, and friends, was decorated with streamers, artificial flowers. white-covered tables and of course, the ever-present red and white posters. At8:t6,supporters were barely conceal- ing a buoyant excitement. By ' p.m., thefewas nodoubt about it. The rookie candidate literally swept the riding with 13,605 votes to closest run- ner, and now two-time loser, PC Bob Gramlow’s 7,”. New Democrat Mary Jane Mewhinney came in third with 5,833 votes. The small, tidy and now - former may- or, in a white ‘and blue striped suit, and white shoes, was on his way to Queen's Park. Three of the four Were, in fact, taken tw the Liberals. Incumbents Jim Breit- haupt, took Kitchener, and John Sweeney, Kitchener-Wilmot. Claudette - Millar came in third in her Cambridge riding. By Pond We“. Herb Epp proved Thursday night that Waterloo North is anything but a “politi- cal wasteland" - at least when the Lite erals are concerned. Another supporter said Mr. Epp's chances were “excellent” and added, “If we don't take all these, (meaning four traditionally Liberal ridings in Kitchener- Waterloo) the Liberals are in trouble." Few people were in the hall when the results started to dribble in at 8 p.m., but the numbers grew as steadily as the ex- citement. When the party finally broke up around midnight, the hall was filled. Two color televisions brought the news as it happened from clear across the prov- ince. Phones rang and voices rose as runners brought more slips indicating who the winner would be. The evening was barely begun when CBC television de- clared Mr. Epp one of the first elected in the province. ‘ Do the wealthy win elec- tions? Does it come right down to how much cold, hard cash the party has available during the cam- paign to get their point across to determine who's going to win the race? Mr. Epp walked quietly to the wall-long poster where men in sock-feet walked on tables to record the polls as they came in. He smiled absent-mindedly as well- wishers called out their congratulations. He was, to the end, cautious. Asked how he felt, Mr. Epp didn't take his eyes from the television screen and muttered: “I hope we take 50 more like this one. " Before that. though, cries of : "We might just as well declare him elected " rang from supporters, and "There's Herb now," indicated the new winner had unobtrusively' entered the hall. A comparison of the NDP and Liberal Party cam- paign headquarters on election night, June 9. left little doubt as to where the money and consequent vic- torylay. Even the climb up the dull, creaking. wooden staircase to the NDP station was depressing. The room reeked of staleness. The floors sag- ged, the officers were high- strung and irritable and kids running back and forth with sub-totals were yelled at for tripping over wires and disconnecting adding machines. And the coffee in - the large urn tasted as though Riding still Liberal Page 6 - Waterloo Chronicle, Wednesday, Jun. 16, 1977 By Marg Russell Voters uphold family tradition Supporters never doubted Epp's victory it had been made at the start of the campaign and left sitting idle until final night. No signs of optimism were present. One search- ed for colored TV's alive with the latest results, flowers of victory decorat- ing the tables and maybe even a curtain on the win- dow, But where was the mon- ey to spend on such luxury items? Results poured in - al- most one-third by 8:30 p.m. Bob Needham. NDP cam- paign manager and a teach- er of economics at Uni- versity of Waterloo was ' 'surprised the results weren't better, .. Liberal Herb Epp was totalling 4.056 vs. 2.126 for the NDP But Needham said it had all been " lot of fun, a lot of work but a lot of fun. I don't know what we would have done different- ly." The supporters were still on the Epp- trail, though, and the excitement didn't dissipate much, even after the outcome was obvious. "We won his home poll!" was shouted, inreferrncetothegainingotthreevutes over' Bob Gramlow's total in the village of Wellesley. Another shout of approval went up when another Wellesley poll was " the end became even more evident, Mr. Epp relaxed a bit. He tempted con- gratulatory handshakes, than and has. He.stayedcutsetotherv,thoqh,his maincuetcemnowaeemmttabetttengtter, al party MOettario. . The popular Waterloo alderhnan re- ceived a standing ovation from Herb Epp supporters. Mrs. Mewhinney wished Mr. Epp the "best of luck in Queen's Park", and congratulated him on having run a "good" and "positive" fight. "It won't change, it'll only get better," showed the confidence that had become Jirn Erb, campaign manager, was be- ginning his introduction of Mr. Epp's vic- tory, when NDP candidate Mary Jane Mewhinney entered the hall. best man won. tt Mr. Gramlow had conceded the election in coming to the hall from his party at the Wellesley Community Centre, earlier in the evening. The former Wellesley mayor congratulated Mr. Epp, and left as quietly as he had come. Mrs. Mewhinney, too, left quickly and Mr. Erb continued. his introductory speech saying that although the campaign was 10 days late, the pressure exerted was all worth it. Herb Epp was cheered to the stage. His wife Jane, also dressed in blue, accom- panied him. - ' Mr. Epp called the election "gratify- ing" and said it was a pleasure to have shared the platform with Mrs. Mewhinney and Mr. Gramlow. He said he had mixed feelings about giving up his position as mayor, but felt his municipal experience will be helpful provincially. He said he was confident Dr. Stuart Smith wouhriead a responsible official opposition to a minority government and added, "If Mr. Davis is premier, I only hope he doesn't trigger an election in an- other 18 months." “It's nice to be elected in this political wasteland," he said and was greeted with cheers and roars of laughter. It was also nice, he added, that: “thousands of irrele- vant people out there supported the Lib- erals." Mr. Epp's barbs were in reference to a pre-election rally in Kitchener-Waterloo when Bill Davis called this area a political wasteland. She added/tOng-in-Geek, that "the He admitted he was sur- prised PC candidate Bob Gramlow was "such a close second" and felt perhaps the answer lay in the fact "they had done a lot of advertising in the past week." "I thought it would be very close between Herb and Mary Jane but I knew Herb would win", he said. "People around here vote Liberal because their grandparents did. " Needham wasn't too dis- appointed about the NDP loss. "We're always the bottom of the pile "_., we barely made ends meet this year." It's a long, tough grind being campaign manager. This past week, he's been on the go steadily since 6 am. until 10:30 pm. and there's no holiday in sight. At 8:55 pm Mary Jane Mewhinney decided to pack it in and head for the Legion Hall looking very disappointed. Needham hung on saying, "I think there's a chance of us ending up second place." __ A _ AN ELATED JANE EPP addresses a crowd at a victory party as husband Herb stands alongside following his election sweep last Thursday night. He will be Waterloo North's Liberal representative when the legislature resumes June 27. He outpolled Tory Bob Gramlow by an almost two-to-one margin to maintain a 10-year Liberal tradition in the riding. ‘ Mr. and Mrs. Epp left for local televi- sion stations sometime before 10 p.m., and invited everyone to stay awhile to enjoy a buffet of cold meats, bread and relishes. The cash bar also remained open. The expected re-hash of the election took place over sandwiches and coffee. The whole group seemed concerned about Stuart Smith, but as it became more likely that he would form the offi- cial opposition, they relaxed. As they said, losing may have meant his leadership. At this time, Epp had racked up 6,003; Mewhin- ney had 3,194 and Gramlow scraped the bottom with 3.184. . Onis supporter called him a “capable, bright and honest“ leader. Excitement was every- where. Women were decked out in their fancy robes, smelling of perfume and recent trips to the hair- dresser. The truth was. finally faced and at 9:10 everyone headed for the door. The Liberals knew all along a victory was in sight and had rented the Knights of Columbus Hall for celebrations. At 9:30 they had it in the bag. Epp totalled 12.831;'"Gramlow 7.438 and Mewhinney 5,549. Three color TV's blasted results from corners of the room and the smiling faces were everywhere. The bar was open. sand- Erb Just found out last week he's going to become a father and is now "just going to let that sink in and enjoy it." wiches available and come on folks and help Mr- selves. This is the night of victory. Jim Erb, Liberal cam- paign manager and a pat- ron of the Ed Good funeral home, called it a "good, clean election.“ He wasn't too surprised with the outcome and was pleased with the results. "We picked up a lot of votes through Ed Good and people knowing EPP," he said, "but we hoped to win by 4,000 votes." Latest results at 9:45 showed PC 57 seats, Lib- eral 35 and NDP M. Mary Jane Mewhinney was asked to come up on stage amidst resounding ap- plause. The audience rose to its feet. “A traditional procedure." one man com- mented. More than an hour later, the Epps re- turned and former Waterloo North MPP Ed Good came with them. The man who had won for 10 years before this, was welcomed warmly when he spoke. He told the grtiup that politics is a lot halter to at out of may: it is to get Into. He said he had, had every Eonfidence in the outcome of the"campaign after in- troducing MF Epp around the rural areas. . "Once we got him out of those white shoes and into some rubber boots - we knew he'd do alright! ., "It was a good fight, a positive fight and the best Anan won," she said, "and good luck to you. " Erb commented it was a "pleasure working with Herb and the results prov- ed it was all worth while", presenting an orchid to Mrs. Epp. Herb spoke briefly, say- ing it was "an honor to be elected to Waterloo North" and extended thanks to all who had worked hard during the campaign. "l will do my best to serve all the people all the time in my term of of- fice," he said. “It was a good, hard-fought cam- paign and it's nice to be elected in this 'political wasteland' _ B' "Almost 50 per cent of the voters in Waterloo North turned out," he said, regretting the Liberals did not do so well across the province.