Here is the link for the video of the speech Lee Brain made at his mayoral campaign kick off party. Pretty hard to not get a good vibe from his message and enthusiasm!
Lots of hyperbole and stumbles in this first speech. I am still waiting to give him a chance. He’s a good man. But he needs to work on his public speaking – as he did not inspire confidence with his many stumbles (editing can only do so much) and lack of details. I realize those are coming, but if he wants my vote I 'm going to have to see more than “we are the world” campaigning.
He should be running as a councilor to learn the ropes while intentions may be good experience counts… “we are the world” indeed lol… His left wing following may add up at the ballot box but my vote goes to one of the other 2 candidates…
Lee has my vote.
[quote=“jamesbrown”]
He should be running as a councilor to learn the ropes while intentions may be good experience counts… “we are the world” indeed lol… His left wing following may add up at the ballot box but my vote goes to one of the other 2 candidates…[/quote]
Make that three other candidates. North Coast Review is running a story saying that Tony Briglio and Sheila Gordon-Payne have both filed as candidates for Mayor.
thanks for the update
There will be quite the split vote which will make it very interesting
Mr.Brain still has not provided details about what he plans to do…his campaign so far is nothing but a vague mess and those who are supporting him are the same people who rallied behind Do-nothing MLA Jennifer Rice…still waiting for Mr.Brain to talk about the details and enough about trips to London and India. As the most inexperienced candidate by a mile, he needs to do a better job convincing skeptical voters. We need specifics.
As for Briglio and Gordon-Payne…two solid contenders who have a proven and successful track record with their years on council.
These two will no doubt take all of Mussallems voters away.
Did someone say Sheila , shit she makes Jacko look nice and clean cut . Did she not almost destroy the hospital all by herself , Yeah big split but with her there it brings this very upsetting feeling in my gut .
[quote=“bthedog”]Mr.Brain still has not provided details about what he plans to do…his campaign so far is nothing but a vague mess and those who are supporting him are the same people who rallied behind Do-nothing MLA Jennifer Rice…still waiting for Mr.Brain to talk about the details and enough about trips to London and India. As the most inexperienced candidate by a mile, he needs to do a better job convincing skeptical voters. We need specifics.
As for Briglio and Gordon-Payne…two solid contenders who have a proven and successful track record with their years on council.
These two will no doubt take all of Mussallems voters away.[/quote]
Lee has no real campaign and like others say stop talking about trips over seas … My money is on Jack staying on! Remember Lester very resilient leader and i think history will repeat it’s self
[quote=“jamesbrown”]
Lee has no real campaign and like others say stop talking about trips over seas … My money is on Jack staying on! Remember Lester very resilient leader and i think history will repeat it’s self[/quote]
Lee’s campaign is about impression management, about selling himself, rather than about issues or a program. It’s quite disappointing. Here’s a quote from his Facebook page:
“There are some small but significant changes that reflect this renewed focus. The campaign’s Facebook page has been renamed to eliminate any perceived assumption of a victory on November 15th. My photographs are truer to the way I see myself: down-to-earth, accessible, inclusive. Campaigning in the multimedia age requires careful alignment of one’s public persona with the essence of one’s private character. Now I am more confident that what you see is what you’ll get.”
Nice to know that his photo selection makes him feel more confident, but I think that a lot of voters would rather see some “careful alignment” between taxes and services, and between governance and results.
My money would probably be on Jack as well, although with two experienced opponents now in the race it’s hard to say. Even if Jack is re-elected, though, he’s no Peter Lester.
Hi. I’m relatively new to town. What I’m hoping to do while I observe local politics is watch and see the way local representatives are either supported or derided by online comments. At the same time as we have preferences with some candidates over others, let’s not lose sight of the direction the debates must go in guiding the future of Prince Rupert, and providing opportunities for everyone to be involved.
This is his inexperience shining through IMO…he is clearly focusing way to much on what a mayor should do or look like, than actually give specific and details.
I think that quite a few of us look forward to meaningful debates between the candidates, but unfortunately the current Mayor and Mr Brain have to date both chosen to focus on how great they each think they are, rather than on issues. That may change with Tony Briglio and Sheila Gordon-Payne in the race, both of whom are very capable of talking about the issues and being specific.
As for this site, well there is opportunity to say pretty much anything you want. The administrators will usually only intervene if comments are excessively vicious, inappropriately racist, or make reference to Hitler.
I agree. There’s no doubt that he’s a fantastic person with a boat load of potential but he’s much too inexperienced to be mayor. If he was running for Councillor he’d get my vote.
The confirmation that both Briglio and Gordon-Payne are also running does provide for an interesting scenario. There will definitely be a lot of support for experienced candidates but with 3 of them, will it split the vote and allow Brain to sneak in? It’s very possible in my opinion.
Tony bit a rugby player’s hand because he was drunk at the drunken barn dance. That was a mistake and one that makes me wonder whether or not he’s fit for the top job. SGP has some credentials, and it might be time to go with someone who can actually speak in public. I don’t know. I just want all of these candidates to give me a vision of what Rupert will be. A realisitic vision.
Brain has said he will be releasing details of his platform no later than Monday. It’s funny, though, how Jack gets a pass for having a zero platform (apparently, attack ads are more palatable for y’all) but it’s a big issue that Brain hasn’t come up with specifics, even though he has always said it will be largely based on his consultations with the community. Many of you may not see it but Brain has been beating the pavement hard in the past few months and meeting with many groups in the community, from seniors to fraternal organizations to business leaders.
In reality, the campaign begins when you file, so he hasn’t been tardy with details. The confusion was likely caused by his introducing himself as a candidate early, in which his intent was to get his name out and allow people who didn’t know him the opportunity to. Normally, people want to know who a person is, his background, his personality, before considering him or her.
Maybe some of you on here who are so starved for specifics, should present some of your own, what YOU believe our next mayor should be focusing on, rather than general pro-LNG, anti-Rice rhetoric. Glass houses, you know?
[quote=“drummerboy”]Brain has said he will be releasing details of his platform no later than Monday. It’s funny, though, how Jack gets a pass for having a zero platform (apparently, attack ads are more palatable for y’all) but it’s a big issue that Brain hasn’t come up with specifics, even though he has always said it will be largely based on his consultations with the community. Many of you may not see it but Brain has been beating the pavement hard in the past few months and meeting with many groups in the community, from seniors to fraternal organizations to business leaders.
In reality, the campaign begins when you file, so he hasn’t been tardy with details. The confusion was likely caused by his introducing himself as a candidate early, in which his intent was to get his name out and allow people who didn’t know him the opportunity to. Normally, people want to know who a person is, his background, his personality, before considering him or her.
Maybe some of you on here who are so starved for specifics, should present some of your own, what YOU believe our next mayor should be focusing on, rather than general pro-LNG, anti-Rice rhetoric. Glass houses, you know?[/quote]
Mr.Brain is the one running for mayor of Prince Rupert, not us here at HTMF…he chose to put himself out there MONTHS ago…therefore he has opened himself up to criticism for failing to give specifics on what he plans to do as mayor.
If people are so skeptical and critical about Mr.Brain it is directly related to his inexperience in city politics (in contrast to his running mates who have decades of experience), his huge support of Jennifer Rice (a huge environmentalist) during the last provincial election and his anti-oil industry stance.
Prince Rupert & Area is facing HEAVY potential investment from the oil and gas industry…one that is preparing to invest billions in this region and provide thousands of jobs to this area…so I don’t think it is wrong for me or anyone else to be critical of someone who has previously attended environmental protests and supported political environmentalists, in his bid for mayor of the very city that this industry is trying to expand into.
Furthermore, IMO, the mayors job is to be open to ALL investment in this region…not to be dismissive of investment because they conflict with his/her personal views. The city is cash strapped, has MASSIVE infrastructure issues and needs to increase its industrial tax base by a wide margin in order to fix the issues that are plaguing us and to STOP the tax increases on the residential and commercial tax payers that have been on going since the fall of the pulp mill. So the mayors job IMO is doing anything he/she can do increase industrial tax base, we have no time or money left to be complacent…this city is facing a very real “Detroit” situation…industry tax base growth should the #1 issue coming from all 4 candidates.
Here is an opinion piece about the recent push by UBCM to address oil pipelines…I agree with almost all of this.
thenorthernview.com/opinion/278391151.html
[quote]This year it was a charge led by Burnaby to denounce the proposed Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion. And this time it was defeated.
Credit for this sudden attack of common sense goes largely to North Cowichan Coun. Al Siebring. Here’s part of his address to the recent Union of B.C. Municipalities convention in Whistler:
“Ladies and gentlemen, we are elected to handle things like roads and water and sewer and land use, police, fire, garbage. We’re not here to talk about social policy, child poverty or heaven forbid, pipelines.
“Those kinds of things dilute our credibility as an organization. We’re becoming a social policy activist group rather than a group of municipal politicians.
“Half of this resolutions book is stuff that’s outside of our purview…. If you want to do social policy, get your butt elected to the provincial legislature.”[/quote]
What kind of hack statement is that from this North Cowichan municipal leader? I agree that roads and infrastructure is a key component for city councils. But they are civic leaders and are thus required to represent the local interests of their people, which almost always has a social component to it. And since the BC government sees fit to dump its responsibilities on cities, it is totally within reason for civic leaders to make these issues priorities. Pipelines matter because the provincial and federal governments have no actual plans for these and have to be forced in to simple things like having a spill response plan in case of an emergency. This Al Siebring has zero credibility.
More to the point, Candidate Brain has failed to introduce anything that resembles “inspiring” so far. It was posted here on HTMF under the subject header “Mayoral candidate Lee Brain’s inspiring speech!” with an exclamation mark in such a childish way as to make it almost lack credibility from the outset. BUT that’s not the point. The point is those who have responded, save for HiTest, don’t feel as optomisitc about that first speech as the poster wants us to feel. But reaction should be welcomed by the Brain camp. Even the stuff bthedog puts out there should be considered gold. It gives Brain insight in to his percieved weak spots, and where he might actually be strong.
[quote=“bthedog”]
Mr.Brain is the one running for mayor of Prince Rupert, not us here at HTMF…he chose to put himself out there MONTHS ago…therefore he has opened himself up to criticism for failing to give specifics on what he plans to do as mayor.
If people are so skeptical and critical about Mr.Brain it is directly related to his inexperience in city politics (in contrast to his running mates who have decades of experience), his huge support of Jennifer Rice (a huge environmentalist) during the last provincial election and his anti-oil industry stance.
Prince Rupert & Area is facing HEAVY potential investment from the oil and gas industry…one that is preparing to invest billions in this region and provide thousands of jobs to this area…so I don’t think it is wrong for me or anyone else to be critical of someone who has previously attended environmental protests and supported political environmentalists, in his bid for mayor of the very city that this industry is trying to expand into.
Furthermore, IMO, the mayors job is to be open to ALL investment in this region…not to be dismissive of investment because they conflict with his/her personal views. The city is cash strapped, has MASSIVE infrastructure issues and needs to increase its industrial tax base by a wide margin in order to fix the issues that are plaguing us and to STOP the tax increases on the residential and commercial tax payers that have been on going since the fall of the pulp mill. So the mayors job IMO is doing anything he/she can do increase industrial tax base, we have no time or money left to be complacent…this city is facing a very real “Detroit” situation…industry tax base growth should the #1 issue coming from all 4 candidates.[/quote]
First of all, since you aren’t referencing or quoting someone, you don’t need to say IMO. You’re writing it so we know it’s your opinion.
Secondly, you might want to actually listen to what he said. He said we need to attract industry to take the tax burden off of residents. He has also said he supports at least one of the LNG proponents’ plans. He supports responsible development; not just the hand-them-the-keys, do-as-you-please attitude that you clearly support. Mr. Brain was very vocal against Enbridge and guess what? Most people on the North Coast are against it.
And sorry if I asked you for a specific idea or two, instead of the usual general, unsupported complaints. What was I thinking??
[quote=“drummerboy”]
[quote=“bthedog”]
Mr.Brain is the one running for mayor of Prince Rupert, not us here at HTMF…he chose to put himself out there MONTHS ago…therefore he has opened himself up to criticism for failing to give specifics on what he plans to do as mayor.
If people are so skeptical and critical about Mr.Brain it is directly related to his inexperience in city politics (in contrast to his running mates who have decades of experience), his huge support of Jennifer Rice (a huge environmentalist) during the last provincial election and his anti-oil industry stance.
Prince Rupert & Area is facing HEAVY potential investment from the oil and gas industry…one that is preparing to invest billions in this region and provide thousands of jobs to this area…so I don’t think it is wrong for me or anyone else to be critical of someone who has previously attended environmental protests and supported political environmentalists, in his bid for mayor of the very city that this industry is trying to expand into.
Furthermore, IMO, the mayors job is to be open to ALL investment in this region…not to be dismissive of investment because they conflict with his/her personal views. The city is cash strapped, has MASSIVE infrastructure issues and needs to increase its industrial tax base by a wide margin in order to fix the issues that are plaguing us and to STOP the tax increases on the residential and commercial tax payers that have been on going since the fall of the pulp mill. So the mayors job IMO is doing anything he/she can do increase industrial tax base, we have no time or money left to be complacent…this city is facing a very real “Detroit” situation…industry tax base growth should the #1 issue coming from all 4 candidates.[/quote]
First of all, since you aren’t referencing or quoting someone, you don’t need to say IMO. You’re writing it so we know it’s your opinion.
Secondly, you might want to actually listen to what he said. He said we need to attract industry to take the tax burden off of residents. He has also said he supports at least one of the LNG proponents’ plans. He supports responsible development; not just the hand-them-the-keys, do-as-you-please attitude that you clearly support. Mr. Brain was very vocal against Enbridge and guess what? Most people on the North Coast are against it.
And sorry if I asked you for a specific idea or two, instead of the usual general, unsupported complaints. What was I thinking??[/quote]
I did listen, and I still did not hear specifics…simply saying “I will attract industry” is not being specific…does he mean oil/gas, green, forest products…IMO (and thanks for the tip, but I will use whatever language I want, right or wrong…I don’t need, nor care about your entitled opinion on the matter), he is lacking details and I believe I fully explained that and provided you with specific details about why I want more information and have been partially critical of Mr. Brains campaign thus far. Perhaps I am being unfairly critical and need to give him more time to come out with more detail.
Once/if he provides those details, then I will make a full decision on whether I trust him enough to vote for him. Until then, it is a no.