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Can you remember when you were 19? I can, but just barely. It was part of my lost weekend, except it lasted about five years.
I certainly wouldn’t have been able to present myself to the public as a political candidate, let alone mount a winning civic election campaign.
So whatever Kevin Craig is, he isn’t some slacker, lounging away his life in his parent’s basement.
Kelowna’s newest and youngest ever-city councillor deserves some congratulations, even if he never votes the way I want during his entire term.
To hear the dark mutterings by some in the media of Craig’s hijacking the by-election is simply ludicrous. He won fair and square, using both traditional means like pounding the pavement and knocking on doors, but also engaging new-fangled social media like Facebook and Twitter.
Granted, this was a by-election, where already low voter turnout can easily slip into the single digits. Mobilize your vote and you’re a contender, no matter how you did it, as long as it was done legally.
I’ve already heard a few laments from some people who think Craig is too young to do the job.
Well, even if he tried tomorrow to vote free Red Bull and Miss Vickys chips for all students, he still has to get at least one of his fellow councillors to second the motion and then a few more to go along with it.
That’s the beauty of our system; although it certainly has its flaws, it also has built in checks and balances to stop the excesses of the few. Which is too bad, because I could use a Red Bull right now.
One of my first major writing assignments was a piece on a fellow, Ian Hunter, who was pushing youth suffrage.
Hunter advocated giving the vote to kids as young as six, and it wouldn’t have been hard to get him to go younger than that.
Hunter had many critics, but he also had some solid rebuttals, that left his detractors sputtering.
Kids would make the wrong choice; there is no wrong choice in a democratic election, Hunter would say, only a choice you don’t agree with.
Kids would be easily influenced by things like candy and toys; adults are easily influenced by other equally inane things.
Kids wouldn’t understand the issues; most adults don’t understand them either, Hunter would say, and a bit of education could easily prepare them for the intricacies of democratic participation. Most adults would benefit greatly from some political education, too, he would add.
It’s no wonder the young have largely abdicated from political participation; the adults have got it all sewn up and they make sure it swings their way. By time teens get to the point of being able to vote, they can’t see the point of voting.
Craig should be congratulated, not only for becoming Kelowna’s youngest ever city councillor, but for finding a way to engage young voters.
john@kelowna.com
250-575-0521
4 Responses to “Young councillor brings some life back to civic election”
Tags: Facebook, kevin craig, suffrage, Twitter, youth
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John
I think youre coming around,Kevin obviously isn’t a person hooked on video games.He seems to see a road of political aspirations in his future!.It’s going to be interesting to see if city councilers vote with him or tie his hands,basicaly silencecing his seat!.If that does transpire it wont take long for the face of city council to change,Im sure Kevins victory has spurred others too get involved and this is a clear message for the young people that maybe with hard work and due dilligance they too can have a say.It is really simple more young people have to get involved,more and more so it’s their time to start making the decissions for themselves and their future families.Kevins win was textbook how to defeat old dogs with new tricks,the movement has started lets see if the young people can keep it going!!! Good luck Kevin a well deserved win!!!
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Undoubtedly, Kevin Craig has engaged many young voters but has he engaged anyone else? I don’t think so, otherwise the voter turnout wouldn’t have been a miserly 11%.
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One can look at the meger voter turn out,due to the disconnection between the voters and the incumbants albeit civic,provincial,or federal.Time and time again people vote on the elections pressuming that there choice will make a differance,and more often than not they feel that they were lied too,due to false promisses during the campaign.The disconnect between the people and candidates more federal and provincial,trickles down to the civic level.All of us have either said it or knows someone that has said,who cares it’s not going to change anything!.Too that end I saw Kevin Craig out in the public drumming up support through young voters,giving them a say in what goes on civicaly.Why would Kevin target the older population when its so apparent that they have become so apathetic towards voting?.Maybe it’s time we gave the young people a chance instead of dismissing their concerns as petty or frivalous.It’s pretty clear the older generation hasn’t picked the right people or parties to due the job in recent years,give the young voters a chance they can’t do any worse than what we have done!.
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Well John if Kevin didn’t enagage anyone else then the same can also be said of the other candidates.
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