Comments on: Update: 19-year-old Kevin Craig celebrates by-election victory

By: Deb Guthrie

Deb Guthrie — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 16:44:56 +0000

Congratulations, Kevin. You are an impresive person and I know you worked very hard for this. Your enthusiasm will be a welcome addition to council.

By: John Zeger

John Zeger — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:41:55 +0000

And I forgot to add that I wouldn’t boast too much about Kevin’s victory. As he only got 28% of the vote, that means that 72% of voters in this election voted for someone other than Kevin. I can’t remember a recent election where someone got elected to city council with only 28% of the vote. If a single transferrable vote system were in place in this election, I doubt that Kevin would have prevailed as I think that he got in because of a vote split between Todd Sanderson and Vern Nielsen, not that I supported either one of them. So, your saying that Kevin is the face of the new, emerging Kelowna is just wishful thinking on your part. But it is important to keep a positive attitude in a city that is definitely on the skids, and with an 11% voter turnout probably doesn’t have the right to call itself a community anymore as there hardly is any sense of community left here.

By: John Zeger

John Zeger — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:12:31 +0000

In response to Tammy, you assume that Kelowna voters are always right so therefore I must be wrong. I don’t see it that way. I agree with you that most residents don’t see eye to eye with me on policy, but only time will tell which one of us is right. So far, I think I’m winning on that score as I predicted a long time ago that Kelowna’s rapid growth would result in a decline in sense of community, a symptom of which is low voter turnout. Well, we all know what the trend has been in recent years.

I’m happy to be “out of touch” with the Kelowna electorate. If I thought like most of them do at present, I would wonder what I was doing wrong.

By: Tammy

Tammy — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 22:47:07 +0000

John,
If more people in Kelowna thought like you, wouldn’t you have a seat there? I mean, you’ve tried how many times?

Let’s face it . . . you are SOOO out of touch with what most Kelowna residents want and think.

Slowly but surely, this town is changing. Kevin Craig is the face of the new, emerging Kelowna. Young, hard-working, passionate.

And Nicholas,
With 15 candidates on the slaight, 3% is actually not that bad.

Congrats Kevin!

By: Nicholas Swart

Nicholas Swart — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 16:07:33 +0000

The big news is the poor turnout, I agree.

People are not bothering to vote because they feel their vote no longer makes a difference.

I’m sure Kevin is happy, and I suppose congratulations are in order. But being able to get elected to council with just 3% of votes from eligible voters is not exactly a strong endorsement for any candidate.

By: John Zeger

John Zeger — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 15:55:28 +0000

In response to Krista’s comment, I don’t think it worked that way but rasther that the high turnout at the advance polls were just a fluke that really didn’t signify anything. It works that way sometimes and not all the tea leaves are meaningful. If anything, I thought the reported high turnout at the advance polls would get others off their butts with the feeling that something significant was happening that they should become part of. All in all, 11% is pretty disgraceful and I think that the blame goes to the current and past city council’s who have had a pretty cyncial attitude towards public particpation in decision making in this city.

By: Krista

Krista — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 06:56:33 +0000

I’m wondering if part of the poor turnout is that there was notice in the news regarding good advanced poll turnouts. It seems odd but if people hear that the turn out is going well they may adopt the attitude that “enough” people are voting already, so their one vote isn’t worth their time or effort. Is anyone in Kelowna doing any sort of research into public attitudes regarding the electoral process, the city council and such? I would be interested to see any possible differences in attitudes based on demographics as well.

By: David

David — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 06:22:59 +0000

Congratulations Kevin. I think you’ll be an excellent councillor for all of Kelowna. Your campaign team did a great job too!!

By: Cherie Hanson

Cherie Hanson — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 05:43:30 +0000

Love the flashing botox ad above Kevin’s smiling face.

By: Cherie Hanson

Cherie Hanson — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 05:41:25 +0000

When did the voters in our city become so disengaged from participating in the democratic process that the apathy is now an established pattern? It would be interesting to see at what point in our history people just plain stopped caring enough to venture out in the rain. Perhaps having a lively debate and multi-aged council will revive our interest. Checking out the results of the polling station is a good way to see how people vote and what areas are most willing to participate in a democracy. Do we always need a backhoe to show up for us to become aware of what the decision in Council mean to our neighbourhoods?