As the 2018 municipal election draws near the war rooms of local political parties and independent candidates are getting more creative than they鈥檝e ever had to be. With Vision in full decline, a number of new parties and candidates springing up to split votes and new political financing rules changing the game, it鈥檚 anybody鈥檚 guess who鈥檒l win seats in this one.
What鈥檚 the most important platform for candidates to be on this year? If you ask the host of the municipal politics podcast Seeking Office, Twitter is where a large volume of voters will be getting their information on candidates. Host and producer of the show, Alex de Boer, isn鈥檛 alone in that thought, as I鈥檝e noticed a high volume of sponsored political messages popping up on that platform, including this one from the NPA below. However I鈥檝e also seen a bunch on Facebook and even Instagram as of late.
The NPA is investing in Twitter advertising this year, promoting their mayoral candidate Ken Sim. Screengrab
Ken Sim鈥檚 closest rival on the centre right, Hector Bremner, somehow got onto the roster of speakers for the TedX麻豆传媒映画speaker event happening September 8th at the Chan Centre.
Holding a monopoly over other mayoral candidates on the roster for the night, the promo for Bremner on the TedX website offers a bold endorsement that 鈥渉e never shies away from doing what is right鈥�. If that wasn鈥檛 written by a campaign manager I鈥檒l eat my hat.
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Jean Swanson did a great job of getting her face in front of voters earlier this month as she spent a few days in prison for her part in a Kinder Morgan blockade. In an interview forshe told it like it is, openly stating 鈥淚 did it for the publicity鈥�. Listen to that interview
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Call them shrewd, sneaky or just plain smart, the reality is that the new rules limiting political donations are making this election cycle more interesting.
