• by Gord Hotchkiss , Featured Contributor, 4 hours ago

Here in my city of Kelowna, British Columbia, something interesting is happening. We’re having a civic election, and one of the candidates for city council, Brady Rogers, is taking a refreshing approach: self-deprecation and unvarnished honesty.

And it seems to be working.

His campaign yard signs have slogans like “I Barely Want to Do This,” “Just Paying My Rent,” “How Hard Can it Be?,” “Fine, I’ll Do It.” and “Don’t Worry, I’ll Fix Everything (terms and conditions apply.)” I’ve only seen a few scattered in among the thicket of signs posted for his competitors (it’s a crowded field – 37 candidates for eight available positions). But the scarcity of his signs kind of rings true with his campaign approach of “Really, how serious do you want me to take this?”

Even his website keeps tongue firmly embedded in his very self-aware cheek. His CV section reads as follows:

“Hi, I’m Brady
Do I Enjoy Politics? No.
Do I Know What I’m Doing? No.
But Am I Qualified? Also No.”

If Roger’s campaign signs are few and far between, his profile is anything but. His campaign has gained national and international attention. His social media following has mushroomed, but it’s also been amplified hundredfold through other people picking up on his distinctive campaign.  He’s had an estimated 2 million views of some of his content. And Instagram influencer “MandifromtheInternet” received over 150,000 likes on her post about Brady.

Now, this could be just another story of something going viral on social media. But I think it’s more than that. I believe Brady Rogers has managed to put his finger on something very timely: an ironic and self-deprecating yet sincere kick in the shins of democracy.

Democracy hasn’t had a great run lately. We can’t be blamed for talking an election -- any election -- with a grain of salt. In Kelowna, the city where I live, this is especially true for civic elections. Typically, the same old incumbents run again and again, leaving little room for newcomers and fresh ideas. We are a conservative city that does not embrace change willingly.

But maybe that’s changing. And maybe Brady’s approach is the right thing at the right time. In his own self-awareness, he seems to be able to pick up the broader vibe of an electorate that could be ready for a shakeup. As one of his posters notes in a bright yellow bullet in the corner, he’s “Under 60.”  As you might guess, Kelowna’s City Council tends to be a little on the “gray” side.

Brady, who is 33, is of a different generation. As Mandi, the aforementioned internet influencer, said in her post about Rogers, his campaign might be “the most millennial thing I have ever seen, in my entire life.” 

And that, in a nutshell, seems to sum up Brady Roger’s approach to municipal politics. It is looking for authenticity by using irony, caring -- but doing so in a way that acknowledges the system could well be fundamentally broken and the things we used to take for granted can no longer be counted on.

If you scroll through Roger’s Instagram posts, you’ll find irony and a sort of “WTF” eyes-wide-open realism as he walks, Ubers and e-scoots through his city. But you’ll also find something else: a genuine sense of concern.

One of our biggest issues this election is the homeless issue, and one post, in particular, has Rogers wrestling from a very personal and vulnerable perspective with an issue that is incredibly complex, seeping into multiple cracks between overlapping levels of government, multiple programs and opposing political perspectives. Unlike many of the other candidates, Rogers freely admits he doesn’t have the right answer for homelessness, but maybe it starts by asking the right questions, “I realize saying ‘I don’t know’ isn’t a great political platform, but I don’t know. And I think more politicians should be able to say I don’t know. “

It’s here, at the nexus of irony, authenticity, vulnerability and a certain amount of self-professed naivete, that Brady Rogers seems to have struck a nerve in my city, my province and my country. It’s undeniably refreshing. We’ll see if it’s electable.

P.S. I started this column a week or two ago. Last Saturday, Brady Rogers received the fourth highest vote tally in our municipal election, securing one of eight council seats. That night, he posted again, in typical Brady fashion: “Thanks everyone for voting for me – and stuff. That’s cool. I guess I’m on council now.”