He might not enjoy politics, but he has no choice but to play the game now, as Kelowna man Brady Rogers won a seat on Kelowna City Council.
You might remember Rogers from the story we published about him earlier this month, due to his bizarre campaign that made it seem like he didn’t even want to be running.
However, after digging a little deeper, past his comical election signs, it was clear that Rogers actually was serious about it and felt strongly about certain issues impacting Kelownians? Kelownites?
Kelowna residents.
We reached out to Rogers shortly after his campaign raised eyebrows and asked him why he decided to get into politics, more specifically, why he wanted to be a councillor.
“It’s hard to point to a specific trigger. It was more a gradual realization that while I may not particularly enjoy politics, the opportunity aligns with my skills and desire to improve my city, so perhaps I owe it to the community to give some of my time and effort to governance.”
Some of the campaign signs that made it seem like he didn’t even want to be doing it included “How hard could it be?” and “Fine. I’ll do it.”
One of his signs emphasized that he was under 60, which is a fair point, especially considering the fact that 82-year-old Doug McCallum was just elected mayor of Surrey. Eighty-two is the average life expectancy in Canada.
Rogers is a UBC Okanagan graduate who says he worked for four years as a robotic automation engineer. Since 2019, Rogers has been building The Rogerie, which is a shop in downtown Kelowna.
A quote on his campaign page stated, “I believe that government is for the people and needs to defend our interests. Far too often, we feel like the systems around us are happening to us.”
The 33-year-old Rogers told Daily Hive Urbanized that his campaign was funny because he’s a creative soul and couldn’t help it.
“I had very conflicted feelings about getting into politics, and I thought that genuine tension was a great place to start a campaign. I like that it brings a bit of joy to something mundane, and I like knowing that it represents me transparently – for better or worse,” Rogers said.
He doesn’t deny that it was a bit of an attention-seeking ploy, but he said he wanted that attention because he thinks he has meaningful things to say.
Rogers received 12,637 votes. The candidate with the most votes was Gord Lovegrove, with 15,466.
We asked him what his family thought about his campaign and decision to get into civic politics.
“My family laughs. I think they find this to be simultaneously the least expected thing for me to do, but also not surprising at all. That’s how I’ve lived my life since I was a kid,” Rogers said.
“They’re very supportive and love being on the journey with me. I think the exact same can be said for my friends and followers as well. And really, that’s what I’ve enjoyed about social media and my political campaign. I get to be me, and people get to join me in what I’m doing. Overall, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. People are clearly ready for new types of leaders.”
His mom also spoke a little bit about democracy in her endorsement of her son.
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That was certainly true for Vancouver voters in a historic election this past weekend.