106 replies to this topic

[VicHockeyFan]

Oh, I don't see him bringing out any kind of "youth vote". I've worked in polls at maybe 4 elections in the last 10 years (provincial and federal)... I can assure you there is very little "youth vote".

[mat]

Oh, I don't see him bringing out any kind of "youth vote". I've worked in polls at maybe 4 elections in the last 10 years (provincial and federal)... I can assure you there is very little "youth vote".

The 'youth' vote is never an issue in municipal elections anywhere in North America. (Europe is a separate issue as larger municipalities do run hospitals and colleges). In Victoria, students who can vote are concerned with UVIC/Camosun (which is Federal/Provincial), not the local high school. Politically active youth are concerned with issues that affect civic politics (environment, transit, civil rights, dare I say Afghanistan), but feel they get more response (read media) from taking on the PM and Premier.

When a civic politician can generate a well organized team, and the expertise, to engage the voting youth in Victoria we might see something - but that takes a wad of cash, and frankly a political direction. I do not see the Obama factor even being repeated in Federal politics.

[Caramia]

Well, if there is no way you would vote for him, then instead of considering if you will vote for him or not, just listen to where he stands on the issues as they come out. There's three reasons I say that.

First, obviously, I liked him as a kid, and know enough of his background to have a lot of respect for him.

Second, it may be that you wouldn't vote for him now, but in four years, or eight, or even 16 years he'll still be around, and will have more experience. Being a recognizable name is a good part of getting the vote and running for Mayor today will certainly move him forward in that regard. If he's someone whose stance on issues you respect, then down the road, you might want to know that about him. If he is someone whose stance you don't respect, well, you might want to know that too.

Third, the issues he's raised are ones that are important to this city. For instance NParker remember this?

I will vote for the first person who mentions amalgamation without saying how it will usher in the apocalypse.

Even if you would never vote for Simon Nattrass, it is worthwhile to have these issues on the table and see how other candidates for council respond to them. Maybe it will take a teenager to break a few old taboos.

Vote for the candidate you trust, but try to refrain from the generalizations and judgements - things like Bernard's shallow assumption that this was a bid for attention says more about Bernard than about Simon. (Sorry Bernard but that wasn't your most astute moment)

[Holden West]

A voter is faced with a bewilderingly endless list of candidates come election time. Some are serious, a few are jokes and some are in-between. I don't think long-shot candidates should clutter the ballot simply to build up their profile for the next election.

[martini]

A voter is faced with a bewilderingly endless list of candidates come election time. Some are serious, a few are jokes and some are in-between. I don't think long-shot candidates should clutter the ballot simply to build up their profile for the next election.

We have a bewildering Fortin and Nattrass. So ergo the clutter.

[Holden West]

In 1999, there were 14 candidates for Mayor. Except for the top three (Lowe, Friedland and Young), the 11 other candidates received less than half of one percent of the vote.

[Caramia]

Did he say somewhere that was why he was doing it? Or are we speculating again?

[gumgum]

re: Caramia. I make my judgment as to whom I vote for with what I see in black and white. And as a voter, if I don't a 19 yr old high school drop out isn't right for this very important and difficult job, then that's my right. I'm sure he's a great guy. But it's HIS responsibility as a candidate to prove to me he's worthy. It's not my responsibility to give hom the benefit of the doubt. The same rules apply to all the candidates.
And yes, if down the road, he runs again, and has actually accumulated a resume, of course I would consider him.
You put yourself in the public eye like this, you deserve the same level of scrutiny as everyone else. No acceptions.

[Caramia]

And I am not saying differently gum gum. I think you've misunderstood me.

Of course people are going to vote based on their own criteria. As I said - vote for who you trust. I don't know that I will even be voting for Simon, despite having known him as a kid. I've also known Dean for a long time, and I am waiting to see who else declares as well. I'll be making my decision based on who I think will make a better mayor - and I acknowledge that a big part of that role is representing us to the outside - to our sister cities around the world, and to the other municipalities in BC. A Mayor is a figure head, and Victoria needs to choose wisely there.

What I am reacting to is the dismissive and derisive assumptions some people seem to be jumping to. "He must be doing this for attention" etc etc. I know something of his background, he is a lot more than "a high school drop out." And because of that, hearing some of the knee jerk labelling makes me think that perhaps people are more interested in projecting their own assumptions and spreading those assumptions, than in judging who he is based on how he handles himself over the next few months.

Of course, that trivialization will happen in the media anyhow - the media is often about creating characterizations of personalities rather than examining ideas - but Vibrant Victoria has the advantage of being able to be, at its best, a place where multiple perspectives can be aired. At its worse it can be a thoughtless and sometimes acidic pundit, perhaps because of the anonymity. I'd like to see us put our most thoughtful foot forward during this election. It would be a shame if issues such as amalgamation and loosening up on vendor and busker licences got lost in this election just because a 19 year old brought them up.

Again, nowhere have I suggested you should vote for someone you aren't comfortable with. I have no interest in trying to dictate who you vote for. My objection was not about who folks choose to support - but about how folks choose to label and characterize. You have very little information so far in black and white... So my suggestion was to listen first over the next few months, then judge who this person is. Is that really out of line?

[gumgum]

No, not outnof line. But you cannot expect ppl to overlook things like age, education and experience. The fact that he is 19 does matter. Some ppl are almost suggestion that it's not PC to agknowledge his age,and that it's unfair. Well being 19 does matter. It implies many things. I was judged based on my age when I was younger and I hated it. I pride myself on having an open mind on matters of maturity versus age. But this man has put himself up for mayor. I will weigh what I see in front of me.
and ppl will label him, as the other candidates will be labelled. It is up to them to shape their own labels. It's up to them to mold their own image. That's what being in the political spotlight is all about.

Sry for the spelling errors. On a handheld.

[Caramia]

I was wondering about that - your spelling is usually pretty much perfect.


And yes, I don't expect people to overlook those things. They are part of the package. If we had a council filled with teenagers, we might expect rash decisions, just as if we have a council filled with seniors we might expect crackdowns on nightlife, extreme noise bylaws, and a resistance to change. That might not be fair to any one individual, but in general, it is what we expect. The experience thing is a valid question, albeit a relative one (I recently heard a person in his late thirties being dismissed by a group of prominent citizens due to youth and inexperience)

But an election isn't just about who runs and who wins. It is equally (and in my opinion, almost more importantly) about the issues that the City chooses to define as critical at this point in our evolution. We should be on the look-out for where each candidate stands on those issues, and we should be making sure that those candidates who don't address the issues that are important to us understand that we are listening to those who will.

[Mike K.]

But an election isn't just about who runs and who wins. It is equally (and in my opinion, almost more importantly) about the issues that the City chooses to define as critical at this point in our evolution.

Well said.

[gumgum]

I too agree with that.

[yodsaker]

Running for mayor at age 19, a bit arrogant IMO seeing as he hasn't served any apprenticeship in getting things done. Its not enough that his mom thinks he is a swell kid.
He should serve a little time in the trenches of his neighbourhood.

[Ms. B. Havin]

I think having Nattrass's voice added to the political conversation is a good thing. Period. Either he's irrelevant, in which case he will be eliminated quickly, or he isn't, in which case he'll contribute to shaping the conversation and voter / candidate participation in it. Screw his age -- we need some fresh ideas.

If he can get a serious debate going with some of the other candidates (whoever, aside from Dean Fortin, they may be), more power to him (or anyone who does do that).

Speaking for myself, I'm so totally NOT interested in brain-dead boiler-plate motherhood statements, and wouldn't mind if there was some bare-knuckle debate over what a candidate's agenda is, and how, specifically, he or she proposes bringing it to any kind of realization, and what sort of models these agendas might be based on, and what their history of success/ failure has been, and how whatever those agendas are relate to municipal funding issues, specifically in Canada, as well as global economic issues, not to mention local economic issues.

Oh, and yeah: how any sort of agenda relates to working with other municipalities in the region, and how it relates to inter-municipal cooperation, and whether there's some larger vision around inter-municipal cooperation.

Right, and while we're at it: I want to know how anyone who proposes to run for mayor or council proposes to work with our Provincial government in a bi-partisan way, vs. always kvetching about the evil bad bad Liberals who never give Victoria any money.

Is that asking too much?

By the way, can someone fix the title of this thread? As far as I have been able to ascertain, Mr. Nattrass's name is spelled Nattrass, not Nattress.

[Mike K.]

So it's Nattrass? CFAX spells is Nattress.

Now that this has been brought up I assume the TC's spelling would be correct, but could someone confirm this for us?

[Ms. B. Havin]

Hmm, I didn't see the CFAX item, but the Fernwood "Village Vibe" pages I've seen also spell it Nattrass.

[Mike K.]

Ok, it looks like several sources use Nattrass so that must be correct.

[gumgum]

Just for the record. I don't have a problem with anyone running, including this guy. My previous posts were speaking directly to the opinion that I shouldn't take his age as a factor. And believe there's nothing wrong with that.

Edit: I was also speaking for why I would not vote for him.

[Caramia]

Nattrass is correct