Jennifer Robinson hopes to carve out political path

[Sylvia]

Robinson announced on Tuesday that she is running for the Ward 8 seat on the Barrie city council: http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/Art...aspx?e=2746466

"I thought it was a nice time in my life to get involved more and to get the community involved," she said, prior to hitting the ice at the Allandale Recreation Centre, where she is a figure skating instructor with the Mariposa School of Skating. "It's important to get more people talking to their neighbours and see what is affecting their lives."

[Garden Kitty]

Good luck to her! She's such a sweet and caring person - I'd love to see more people with her personal qualities in politics.

[withrespect]

wow...good for Jenn. She is a diplomat for sure !

[orientalplane]

Is she standing as an Independent? The article doesn't really say anything about her political views.

[nubka]

I wonder if she willl wear her pearls...

[Kasey]

Good for her. She's always seemed like a bright, even-headed person, and has a lot of positive qualities. I hope she can be a positive influence on her local politics.

[Dragonlady]

Is she standing as an Independent? The article doesn't really say anything about her political views.

Party politics don't filter on down to the municipal level. In Toronto, it's known that certain councillors are left or right leaning, but until Jack Layton ran for Leader of the NDP Party, he wasn't an official NDP Councillor.

[orientalplane]

Party politics don't filter on down to the municipal level. In Toronto, it's known that certain councillors are left or right leaning, but until Jack Layton ran for Leader of the NDP Party, he wasn't an official NDP Councillor.

I'm closely involved in local politics myself. Here in the UK, many candidates who stand for parishes don't align themselves with any party, though some certainly do. However, at city or district level, almost all candidates stand for a political party, though a few are independents.

So I can't speak for Canada, but where I live, the first part of your statement isn't true.

Anyway, all I really want to know is whether Jennifer is left or right-leaning.

[withrespect]

I'm closely involved in local politics myself. Here in the UK, many candidates who stand for parishes don't align themselves with any party, though some certainly do. However, at city or district level, almost all candidates stand for a political party, though a few are independents.

So I can't speak for Canada, but where I live, the first part of your statement isn't true.

Anyway, all I really want to know is whether Jennifer is left or right-leaning.

Municipal politics have NO PARTY. They aren't right nor left just as DL said. They are elected as representatives of thier consituency. It's Canada my friend...the land of the impartial and peace keeping nation. It's not comparible to any other country...well maybe Sweden. IMPARTIAL see?

[victorskid]

As others have said, in municipal politics in Canada people do not run as a representative of any political party. In some cases, a candidate's party affiliations are well known because of things they have done previously but, at least during the election, they are not pertinent.

Sadly, voter apathy is a problem at all levels. Some new numbers have come out that indicate the very low number of actual voters that have determined past municipal elections. Since the municipal politicians spend my property tax dollars, that concerns me!

[withrespect]

and knowing Jennifer personally my bet would be that she doesn't have alot of preconceived ideas. She's a smart and educated girl. She will listen and learn.

Victorskid...that's my concern as well.

[orientalplane]

Municipal politics have NO PARTY. They aren't right nor left just as DL said. They are elected as representatives of thier consituency. It's Canada my friend...the land of the impartial and peace keeping nation. It's not comparible to any other country...well maybe Sweden. IMPARTIAL see?

Why are you making such a scene? I was just pointing out what a comparable situation would be in the UK. Local politics in Canada is obviously quite different.

[AragornElessar]

Why are you making such a scene? I was just pointing out what a comparable situation would be in the UK. Local politics in Canada is obviously quite different.

Maybe because you told us that while you didn't know how things stood in Canadian politics, It didn't stop you from telling us we were wrong when it came to the UK. Good for you. Doesn't matter w/this discussion though.

Good luck to Jen w/her campaign. I think she'd make a great addition to the Barrie City Council. She really listens to what people are telling her and that's a really important quality to have regardless of what you're going to do in life. It's especially important to have if you want to be a success in politics though.

Really wish Jen the best of luck!!

[falling_dance]

Maybe because you told us that while you didn't know how things stood in Canadian politics, It didn't stop you from telling us we were wrong when it came to the UK. Good for you. Doesn't matter w/this discussion though.

I didn't read orientalplane's post that way at all.

[overedge]

Good for her! Municipal politics can be really rewarding because it has an immediate impact on people's day to day lives. Which is why it's a shame that there's such apathy, because it's one way to make a difference really quickly. It totally gets up my nose when people complain about garbage collection, lack of recreation programming, high taxes, etc., and they couldn't get off their *sses to vote in the last municipal election where their votes could have had some effects on those very same things.

Judging by the comments on the linked article, though, Jennifer might be up against some resistance because she doesn't live in the ward full time.

[venja]

I didn't read orientalplane's post that way at all.

I also didn't read it that way also.

She's a smart and educated girl.

I'm just wondering... what kind of an education does Jennifer have?

[blue_idealist]

I also didn't read it that way also.



I'm just wondering... what kind of an education does Jennifer have?

I think she has a journalism or communications degree?

[made_in_canada]

Good for Jenn. She's always seemed like she has a good head on her shoulders.

[MacombSk8rMom]

As a legislative aide and campaign manager in the United States (Michigan), I find it interesting that in Canada you don't state party affiliations in running for local office. Here, the parties have primaries for nearly all offices, including local trustees, commissioners, and such. One can also run as an independent, but few ever get enough votes to make it into office since it is difficult to compete with the organized political parties. They have structure, financing, training, etc. At a local level that can be countered by running a strong door to door campaign in a small geographic area.

Jennifer will start with a large advantage I would think - POSITIVE NAME RECOGNITION. That's half the battle with first-time candidates. Most people don't have much time or thought about politics, and seeing someone they easily identify at the ballot box is a big bonus.

Good luck to her! Hopefully she is doing her homework studying the local issues and going door to door to meet voters.

[KatieC]

We don't have time for primaries - the writ period is too short - not sure for municipal, but it's 36 days from start to finish federally, and it used to be 27 provincially, but I think they made it 36 now. So you can't campaign or advertise before the writ is dropped, and then there's a blackout period in the middle so everybody involved can regroup, and those not involved can take a break from the onslaught.

One nifty thing though - those metal stands for political signs on your lawn are very good for holding up various plants in the garden.