First-time candidates: ‘voters engaging well’
WITH THE polls opening in less than two weeks’ time, Guernsey’s new election candidates are upping the campaign game to rattle some of the established profiles.
The new candidates generally seem to have a better grasp of social media, and many are also using the old school strategy of wearing out the shoe leather and knocking on doors.
Most of them are holding down full-time jobs, compared to the sitting deputies who can still receive their States salary.
At yesterday’s ‘meet the candidates’ event many of the newcomers thought that voters were engaging well with the first ever island-wide election.
Tina Bury is a brand new candidate and she acknowledged that getting her name out there was challenging, but being a member of the Guernsey Partnership of Independents had been a helpful platform.
She saw the internet as crucial to the demographic most likely to support her, but she was particularly enjoying the ground game.
‘Social media can sometimes be quite a negative space, and I think door-knocking is a rite of passage.
‘And people on the doorstep are really nice, they’re way less angry than people on social media. So I would actually advise other candidates to do it because people are lovely and if they don’t want to talk they don’t slam the door in your face, certainly not to a new candidate although maybe to a sitting deputy. So it’s a brighter and more pleasurable experience to be out there knocking on the doors.’
Rob Gregson is a newcomer and has not hitched his wagon to any political party.
He said it was very difficult to make predictions about how it would go.
‘The only thing I can predict is that it’s going to be unpredictable. Some people are sure that it’s going to be all sitting deputies that are successful, and some people are equally sure that it’s going to be all newbies.
‘Some people I’ve spoken to have a policy of not voting for anyone in a party at all.
‘Personally I’m going to use my full 38 votes. Apparently you shouldn’t do that if you’re standing in an election, but I think it’s so important to have a whole load of proper greenies in the house next time, it’s urgent.’
At 24, Pierre Ehmann is one of the youngest candidates and is regarded as having one of the slickest internet campaigns.
As well as online, he has been meeting people by traversing the island on a bike with a sandwich board across the back with different election slogans chalked on it.
‘Especially with island-wide voting, using social media is probably the most sensible tool for reaching people, the bike was another fun thing to do to get people a bit more engaged.’
