106 replies to this topic

[Joseph]

Victoria now has its second mayoral candidate - and he's 19. I heard this on Check today, but I didn't catch his name. Anyone know more about him?

[martini]

Victoria now has its second mayoral candidate - and he's 19. I heard this on Check today, but I didn't catch his name. Anyone know more about him?

CFAX website:


VICTORIA TEENAGER TO RUN FOR MAYOR

Jun 6, 2008

JUST ONE DAY AFTER VICTORIA COUNCIL MEMBER DEAN FORTIN ANNOUNCED HE'S RUNNING FOR MAYOR THIS FALL, A SECOND CANDIDATE HAS STEPPED FORWARD.

19-YEAR-OLD SIMON NATTRESS WORKS AT A LOCAL REAL ESTATE PUBLICATION AS A PRODUCTION ASSISTANT.

NATTRESS IS INEXPERIENCED BY HIS OWN ADMISSION -- HE SAYS HE'S UNDERGONE A SELF-TAUGHT POLITICAL EDUCATION OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS.

NATTRESS SAYS HE'S GROWN TIRED OF COMPLAINING ABOUT GOVERNMENT, SO HE'S DECIDED TO RUN HIMSELF.

"MY FIRST PRIORITY IS TO ASSESS THE WANTS AND THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY OF VICTORIA. THIS WILL BE DONE MAINLY THROUGH INTERNET VOTING CAMPAIGNS ON LOCAL ISSUES -- HOPEFULLY THE ESTABLISHMENT OF NEIGHBOURHOOD COUNCILS, AND THAT KIND OF THING."

NATTRESS SAYS HE BELIEVES IN DEMOCRACY, AND TECHNOLOGY, ENOUGH TO HOLD INTERNET VOTES ON COMMUNITY ISSUES -- TO GUIDE LAWMAKERS AT CITY HALL.

NATTRESS KNOWS HIS AGE WORKS AGAINST HIM, SO HE SAYS HE'S LOOKING FOR SOME KEY SUPPORT.

"I'M GOING TO BE CONTACTING SOME FORMER COUNCILORS AND SOME FORMER CANDIDATES FOR MAYOR, ATTEMPTING TO GARNER SOME SUPPORT FROM THEM. JUST BECAUSE OF MY RELATIVE INEXPERIENCE, I'D LIKE TO HAVE SOME MORE -- WELL, I SUPPOSE A GOOD WORD WOULD BE 'CREDIBLE' PEOPLE BEHIND ME, JUST TO GIVE MY WORD A LITTLE BIT MORE WEIGHT."

NATTRESS HAS RELEASED A CAMPAIGN PLATFORM WHICH ADVOCATES USING CITY LAND TO DEVELOP AFFORDABLE RENTAL HOUSING.

HE SAYS MUNICIPAL AMALGAMATION SHOULD HAPPEN EVENTUALLY, BUT NOT UNTIL THE CITY'S INFRASTRUCTURE IS READY -- HE SUPPORTS THE CRD SEWAGE TREATMENT PROJECT -- AND WANTS TO SEE LIGHT RAIL ADDED TO THE LOCAL TRANSIT NETWORK.

NATTRESS IS ALSO CALLING FOR A SUPERVISED DRUG CONSUMPTION SITE FOR THE CITY'S DRUG ADDICTS.

- IRELAND

[Joseph]

Aha, thanks for that.

[gumgum]

Call me ageist, but that guy couldn't drive over 3 years ago.
I mean, it's a legitimate concern. Espescially if he's still living at home. (I don't know if he is or not). But if is living at home still, how can we be expected to put Victoria in the palm of his hands when he hasn't yet proven he can take care of himself?
Besides, I'd prefer my Mayor to at least have a university degree before I can trust him.
A combination of an education and experience in the professional world are two basic essentials in my book. This guy has neither.
He's wasting his time.

[G-Man]

^ A university degree? I think that is a bit extreme.

[VicHockeyFan]

Jim Pattison doesn't have a university degree.

EDIT: I believe he went to UBC but never earned a degree.

[Holden West]

Yeah, I'm kind of on the fence on this issue. Sure an advanced degree can give someone some valuable life skills, including the ability to detect nuances, see both sides of complex issues, but on the other hand...


...Ben Isitt.

[Joseph]

Call me ageist, but that guy couldn't drive over 3 years ago.
I mean, it's a legitimate concern. Espescially if he's still living at home. (I don't know if he is or not). But if is living at home still, how can we be expected to put Victoria in the palm of his hands when he hasn't yet proven he can take care of himself?
Besides, I'd prefer my Mayor to at least have a university degree before I can trust him.
A combination of an education and experience in the professional world are two basic essentials in my book. This guy has neither.
He's wasting his time.

To be precise, he couldn't drive independently any more than two years ago. He may well live at home. Does that mean that he's any less aware of local issues or capable of greater management? And living alone as a qualification for election is problematic in a city where it's so expensive to rent, let alone own. If caring for oneself (in terms of living independently) was a requirement to take on major leadership in Victoria we might never see housing become more affordable.

Again, I'm not defending Nattress as an individual since I know very little of his campaign, but I find the inevitable concerns based soley on his age very discouraging.

[gumgum]

^One on level, I agree with you. 19 yr olds can achieve the same level of maturity and sense of responsibiltiy as anyone. There are some that are simply wise beyond their years. But all I have to go on is what I see in black and white. I just can't give someone who hasn't accumulated a resume and education level that would make me feel comfortable enough to consider voting for them. I prefix this, of course, that I know nothing about him yet. I open the idea, but sorry his age does matter, simply because it means that hasn't achieved enough to prove to me he is worthy. And yes, it very much does make a huge difference if he's still living with his parents. You haven't proven you can feed yourself and put a roof over your head, you are not ready to take care of an entire city.

You want to be a member of coucil? You want to be mayor? Show me what you've done that makes me confortable with the idea. I mean come on this is a contract to manage an entire city for four years!
It belongs to someone whose grafted and is deserved of it for what they have acheived already. To me, this is just common sense.

And yes. To me an education matters. It's not everything to say the least, but it doesn't hurt. And certainly it isn't a detriment.

[Joseph]

Okay, but to me you're still talking about experience and not age. If this was a 40-yr-old candidate with the same credentials/non-credentials, his age would never have been brought up. Likewise, there are some adults that have never really lived independently, although it will only ever be youth that are questioned on this.

Last, I would argue that this is not a contract to manage a city for four years. It is a contract to represent a city's citizens for three years.

[gumgum]

My mistake. 3 years. But so what if I bring up his age? The press is, others are. And you're right,this is about experience. And a nineteen yr old simply doesn't have enough. As do some forty yr olds.

[Ms. B. Havin]

Carolyn Heimann focused on Nattrass in an article published in 2007, Grassroots democracy takes wing (April 5/07), which was about the Wisdom Council project. Click through on the link to read the whole article.

From that piece, a backgrounder to Nattrass, who served on that council:

Simon Nattrass was among the 12 who didn't toss out his invitation to the council along with pizza brochures coming through his mailbox.

He was initially pessimistic, but his interest in politics led the articulate 17-year-old to agree to join. He was the youngest by far; and his piercings, army boots and high school dropout status made him stand out among the group mostly in the 45-plus demographic.

Saying little at the start, by the end he joined with 71-year old Gillian Sanderson to read the council's final statement to the public.

"I'd like the councils to be more frequent," said Nattrass, adding that if enough people talk about the issues "government has to listen."

The article includes a photo of Nattrass and the woman mentioned in that paragraph, above. Let's see if I can copy it here:


.

Wasn't able to find much else about him, though, except that he's also a member of Fernwood's Village Vibe forum and a member of its food security group.

[LJ]

Well he should look good at the ribbon cuttings and ceremonial duties.

[Pyroteknik]

More Info:

Sandra Mcculloch
Times Colonist

Monday, June 09, 2008

He's finally old enough to cast a ballot and now Simon Nattrass wants to do more than just vote -- he wants his name listed on the ballot to become Victoria's next mayor.

Nattrass filed papers and paid the $100 fee Friday afternoon to run for the top municipal post in Victoria.

Nattrass is the second person to throw his hat in the ring. On Thursday, veteran councillor Dean Fortin was the first to announce he would be running for mayor.

At 19, Nattrass admits his name is unfamiliar to many voters, but he feels his fresh ideas put him in good stead for those wanting the city to move in a new direction.

He's been on his own for three years, working as a labourer on farms and in shipping. Currently, he's working as a production assistant for Real Estate Victoria.

He's "entirely self-taught" in politics.

"I've been studying politics and economics for three years, independently," he said Saturday.

Nattrass was motivated to run for election "because I've grown tired of complaining about the government and about what I feel are inadequate decisions."

The issue of sewage treatment has been mishandled locally, said Nattrass.

"We've blatantly ignored the provincial mandate [for secondary sewage treatment] for 10 or 12 years. That's just ridiculous. They're acting on it now, but it's mostly the CRD who put their foot in on that."

Previous Victoria mayors have promised to revitalize the downtown core and address the homeless problem.

A major portion of Nattrass's campaign will push for "cultural development" of the downtown core. "I would love to see more festivals. I'd like to see the bylaws around performing and the selling of crafts slacken up a lot.

"Right now, it's extremely difficult for anyone who essentially isn't a legitimate business person to do business downtown. It's not a fun place for tourists to be anymore."

People on holiday want to see street performances, he said. "They want to see local colour and local art. I don't think that we have that."

He's toying with the idea of pushing for a pedestrian-only zone between Belleville Street and Pandora Avenue and from Douglas Street to the waterfront.

"It would be for certain hours of the day and only for certain seasons," Nattrass said.

"That would open up the entire street for shops and food carts."

He believes Victoria and surrounding municipalities should move toward "a certain degree of amalgamation.

"As far as police go, there's not enough homicides in the area to warrant a homicide team for Saanich, Victoria and Oak Bay. There should just be one.

"But if you amalgamate the police departments in the entire Capital Regional District, it would be an administrative nightmare.

"There needs to be a balance."

He believes that affordable housing needs to be addressed as well. By creating more affordable housing units, rents would drop as a result of lower market demands, he said. "If you increase supply, then the price will go down. No one can get away with charging $850 a month for a one-bedroom apartment when there are 85 one-bedroom apartments available."

If there's one message Nattrass would like to deliver to the community, it is for people to get involved. "The original electric shock in my brain that said I should run for mayor was that 26 per cent of the potential voting population in Victoria actually goes out and votes on a regular basis."

That means the majority of that, 14 per cent of the city's population, is making decisions on who will be elected to run the city.

"That's ridiculous," he said. "The rest are complaining, but they don't know what to do about it."

[Caramia]

I knew this guy from the time he was about three until the time he was maybe 12? I can't speak for who he has become, but he was absolutely a remarkable child - as a small child, the kind who watched and listened, as he grew older, a kid you could have a mature conversation about life with, wise beyond his years. I always wished he'd had a better time than he did, there was a lot of "things a kid shouldn't have to see" in his life. But he handled it well, and never seemed to get "tough" if you know what I mean. I remember him being someone even adults confided their problems to, just a really humble, caring soul.

If he's true to who he was as a kid, he'll make a fine representative of the people. Maybe his age and his looks will defeat him in his bid for mayor - especially against Dean Fortin, but I suspect he will bring out voters who might not have emerged otherwise, and the issues he stands for are certainly sensible. Regardless of if he wins, he's doing the City a favour by putting his thoughts on the table for discussion. I'll enjoy being on the sidelines to watch him present himself and his ideas to the Victoria public.

[Nparker]

I think he would be doing himself more of a favour for running for a councillor's position and getting some more experience before tackling the "big chair". Perhaps he will re-think this as a possibility before November. At 19, he has at least 50 - 60 years to serve the city of Victoria. I am not sure he needs to experience (likely) defeat by aiming too high his first time at bat (sorry for the mixed-metaphor).

[martini]

I knew this guy from the time he was about three until the time he was maybe 12? I can't speak for who he has become, but he was absolutely a remarkable child - as a small child, the kind who watched and listened, as he grew older, a kid you could have a mature conversation about life with, wise beyond his years. I always wished he'd had a better time than he did, there was a lot of "things a kid shouldn't have to see" in his life. But he handled it well, and never seemed to get "tough" if you know what I mean. I remember him being someone even adults confided their problems to, just a really humble, caring soul.

If he's true to who he was as a kid, he'll make a fine representative of the people. Maybe his age and his looks will defeat him in his bid for mayor - especially against Dean Fortin, but I suspect he will bring out voters who might not have emerged otherwise, and the issues he stands for are certainly sensible. Regardless of if he wins, he's doing the City a favour by putting his thoughts on the table for discussion. I'll enjoy being on the sidelines to watch him present himself and his ideas to the Victoria public.

Nice post. Thank you for that.

I think he'll bring out the younger voters which is desperately needed.
I'm also looking at him as a voting alternative.
I would have thought too he should be running for council, but I think he's got a strategy here.

[Nparker]

The strategy being, to be defeated and forgotten?

[martini]

The strategy being, to be defeated and forgotten?

Exposure
Personally, I think this is a breath of fresh air. Certainly isn't going to hurt anyone is it? No one is going to lose an eye.

[gumgum]

I wouldn't vote for a high school dropout for council of my city if my life denpended on it. Nothing against dropouts, but I doubt any of us would trust one to do our taxes either. (I wouldn't even trust myself.) I think he has some interesting ideas, but if that were enough , I'd be king of Vancouver island. Even the most qualified has a tough road ahead as mayor. Having heart is not nearly enough for this position. I can't give a person running for this important position the benefit of the doubt. Not in a million years.