A city council candidate in British Columbia who took a humorous approach to his election campaign, including saying that he dislikes politics and isn’t qualified for the job, was elected with more than 12,000 votes.
Brady Rogers, 33, told The Epoch Times he hadn’t planned to run for Kelowna city council this year and had never aspired to a career in politics or considered himself a politician. But about three months ago, a friend “planted a bug” in his ear, prompting him to realize that his skills aligned with what the city needed.
Rogers put up humorous campaign signs with messages such as “Let’s see what happens?” “How hard could it be?” “Fine. I’ll do it,” “Just trying to pay my rent,” and “I barely want to do this.” On his campaign website, he told prospective voters he didn’t enjoy politics, didn’t know what he was doing, and wasn’t qualified.
His approach resonated with 12,635 Kelowna residents, or 32.4 percent of the electorate, who voted for him in the Oct. 19 election. He received the fourth-highest number of votes, securing one of eight seats on council. Overall, 30.2 percent of eligible voters cast ballots, according to CivicInfoBC, down slightly from 30.3 percent in 2022.
“It’s pretty surreal, I guess, but overall I’m looking forward to it,” Rogers told The Epoch Times on Oct. 20.
Rogers said his background has given him an “engineering mind combined with a bit of creativity,” along with a focus on achieving measurable results. He argues those skills are valuable in politics, where “there is a lot of posturing and political divides,” as well as bureaucracy that can slow the progress of initiatives.
The first-time councillor said he had “high hopes” of winning, and that despite the humorous tone of his campaign, he takes the role seriously and knows that serving on council demands a significant commitment.
“I thought the humour would get some attention, get people talking, and it certainly did, far beyond what I expected,” Rogers said.
Although he recognized that serving as a councillor would come with challenges, Rogers said he saw more positives and opportunities to contribute. He said he “was conflicted for a few weeks” before deciding to run, ultimately choosing to be as honest with voters as possible while making clear that he was serious about the role.
Rogers said his campaign slogans “came from a genuine place.” Rather than pretend to be a politician, he wanted to present an honest version of who he was to voters. His approach, he said, was intended to let residents decide whether he was the right person to serve on council for the next four years.
The community’s response was “overwhelmingly positive,” Rogers said. His humour prompted people to ask questions, visit his website, watch his videos, and speak with him.
“They found there is indeed a depth of thought and a drive to do some good underneath it all,” he said, adding that only a handful of people questioned whether he was taking the job seriously enough.
Rogers’ top campaign priorities included addressing homelessness, improving transit, reinvesting in Kelowna’s infrastructure, taking a different approach to taxation, and potentially building 1,000 co-op homes.
He acknowledged that homelessness, housing, and transit are long-term challenges that council must continue to address. At the same time, he said he wants to identify smaller initiatives that councillors can pursue over the next year, such as helping small businesses deal with open drug use near their premises and improving on-street parking.
Kelowna’s new city council is scheduled to begin orientation on Oct. 26.
