Merrick Rolling up Her Sleeves for Council Bid
Jillian Merrick gets the message out Saturday at the Civic Centre. Photo – 250 News
Prince George, B.C. – Do you need to spend a wad of money on your campaign to get elected in Prince George? One candidate in the city council race this year realizes the correlation between spending a lot of money and possibly coming out victorious, but that’s not the way she’s doing it.
It was Jillian Merrick’s sign at her table at the Mini Maker Faire on Saturday that caught my eye. Nothing flashy, just some printing on a big sheet of paper on a backboard. It asked whether you can get elected here without going broke. Another sign said “Jillian Merrick’s Handmade Campaign, featuring a variety of political campaign materials made from upcycled, recycled and craft techniques”.
So you have an issue with cost do you, I asked. “Well, I come from a background where I work for non-profits and so I decided that I really wanted to run for council but I had an issue with how much money it costs. So when I met with a lot of people who have political experience they suggested you need anywhere between eight and ten thousand dollars to run. I don’t have that money and I don’t want to ask people for that money, I think there’s a lot better causes out there to contribute money to.”
“So the challenge was then for me to figure out how I could still get the word out, how to get my name out and how I could create a bit of interest in the campaign without spending a lot of money. So I’ve been doing a lot of the work myself, building campaign items and recycling items and just trying to cut costs wherever I can.” Are you using social media as well? “Oh absolutely, but social media is definitely limited as well. I mean a lot of people use it but not everyone uses it, and there’s a lot of people trying to get your attention on social media so it’s a crowded platform.’ However she notes that in the past six months she’s been receiving a lot of input, suggestions and questions through social media.
Asked about the old tried and true methods Merrick says “highway signage is one where every time an election comes along I cringe because I really hate the highway signage. So I thought, how can I participate in that process without doing something that I, myself, would find distasteful, which is thousands of cheap plastic signs strewn all over the roadways. So all of my signage is made up from pallets, I’ve disassembled pallets and sanded and stained the lumber and re-assembled them into a sign and then painted them with my slogans on there. So all of my signs will be handmade lumber signage and there will obviously be a limited number of them because it’s all dependant on how many I can make.” She is also experimenting with pegboard signs, which she describes as “kind of cross-stitch meets industrial pegboard. It’s a really slow, painstaking process but very effective.”
We asked Merrick, who works at Community Futures and helps people start farm businesses, why she decided to run. “Mostly the work that council does is very similar to what I do as a volunteer in my day job, which is organizing your community to achieve some sort of better goal. I really love that kind of work, I thrive in it, I really love working with people and building new and exciting projects and have fun.”
“What convinced me to get involved in politics is that I’m interested in the political environment, but I’ve always felt myself removed. I liked to look at politicians and criticize them but it was a big jump for me to actually (try to) become one. But it was really after the last provincial election where the discourse was super-partisan, it was either you’re with us or against us no matter which side you’re on. And I thought well as somebody who doesn’t fit in either party, I don’t belong to any of the political parties, where do I belong? And what happens if I have an issue that falls on both of your platforms?”
“And I think that’s increasing with a lot of young people. There’s a myth that young people are apathetic, but it’s not that they’re apathetic, discouraged perhaps, but they just participate in different ways. So young people are actually more active when it comes to letter-writing, protesting, reading the news, sharing the news with their friends and family, talking politics at the table. They just don’t vote and they don’t join political parties so there has to be other ways to participate. I thought municipal politics is great because they deal with a lot of issues that are important to me, but also because it’s accessible, there’s no parties involved, everyone is an independent. So I thought, well I’ll give it a try and see if I can do it.”
The most important issue to Merrick, who turns 30 in October, is transit. “I feel that transit serves a huge need around transportation. We’ve been putting a lot of money into our transportation network but it’s a little bit inequitable in that it only serves the folks who have vehicles. There’s a lot of people in our community who rely on other forms of transportation, whether it’s walking, biking, transit, carpooling and we need to support them as well. The transit system in Prince George really experiences good use, we have about a million rides a year but I think for just a small amount of investment we could see huge ridership increases and we would continue to because that’s the trend young people are going. Fewer and fewer young people are buying cars and more young people are deciding where they want to live based on what transportation is available.”
Merrick is concerned because the transportation issue doesn’t seem to be getting any coverage. “Everything in the upcoming election is all about infrastructure and, while I’m certainly not opposed to developing our infrastructure, I feel like everyone is going to be talking about it and it’s not going to add anything. I want to get into some issues that don’t get paid attention to.”
Asked about the present council Merrick says “I think it’s really tough. There’s some pretty significant accomplishments they’ve made in a short time. Having said that, I don’t think they get along very well. I see all horse and no cart, so everyone’s trying to lead the pack and I see very little support for each other among them. I think that’s a flaw because no matter what environment you work in there must be a team approach and not a maverick approach.”
Asked whether she feels some of that problem rests with the mayor Merrick says “well the mayor certainly should set the leadership tone for the environment, so a lot of it would come from that but it may come from the individuals as well. They all have their own priorities coming into it. The other piece that I think I can improve upon is that most of the council members work full-time jobs. They’re occupied with families and have, usually, pretty important full-time jobs and so I suspect that council duty is limited to what available time they have after family and work. For me, I have a very nuclear family unit, it’s me and my partner and I work part-time, so I have the ability to commit time to council as a job”
“I have time to read the reports and I have time to go and ask questions before it comes before council and I have time to do the research, and I feel like that’s lacking a bit around the council table.” Merrick says we need more diversification on council. “More women, more youth, more first nations and visible minorities, just more diverse forces asking for different things. I think most organizations are strongest when they have a diverse board.”
And finally she says we should be making politics fun for people to be involved in. “I think now we’ve gotten to a point where politics is a very toxic thing, people are very discouraged by it and they’re turned away from it. I’d like to try and do things that make people excited to be involved and provide more ways for them to be involved in civic politics, other than showing up once every four years to vote, and maybe the odd pitching in session that they get to participate in.”
Comments
Her most important issue is transit? OK… Does that even register as an issue with the few people who take the time to vote?
She needs to pick a issue that the voters actually care about and go Skakun on it.
My hope for the civic election is that there are enough names on the ballot so that the voters run out of “X”‘s before they get to W.
maybe she could help do something for the seniors like they have in Kamloops where unemployed people go and shovel their driveways , in Prince George the seniors are the forgotten ones , as well as the street people .
If she’s as long winded as this interview indicates, then she will never get anything done.
In order for the Council to be more diversified more diverse people need to run. I don’t see that happening. Even if they do run I don’t see them getting elected.
One of the big problems with local politics is as pointed out by Merrick and that is having the money to run an effective campaign.
Seems when you ask for money, peoples eye’s go blank and they start to drift away. These are the same people who want change, but never reach for their wallet to help make it happen.
I agree Councillors need more time to ask Administration the hard questions, and if I felt confident that she knew what questions to ask I would support her.
Transit in this town is a laugh. Bus’s running all day (mostly empty) spewing diesel into the air. The town is not set up correctly for an effective bussing system that is sustainable, and therefore we will always be a vehicle town.
Have a nice day.
I applaud her for being so straightforward! But descending into the snake pit of politics is in my opinion always a sobering experience for anyone who comes with such an honest attitude! Sooner or later they get trimmed and pruned until they fit into the established routine and toe the line.
I appreciate that a young person is taking a shot at council, but I have to agree with the above posters.
Transit? The biggest issue? Really?
Everyone has their own issues. If transit is her concern that’s good. Most people that run for council just say what the people want to hear and than do their own thing when they are elected. At least she is being honest. We could use some young blood with different ideas. Once she is elected it will broaden her scope. As long as she doesn’t let the old bullies push her around. It is time to get rid of the ones that all sit in the corner and won’t share any info cause they can’t get along. This is what council needs someone fresh that hasn’t been tainted by politics. Maybe if the new council can get along something good might get done. Its not all about potholes and snow removal. Mother nature takes care of snow removal in June. lol
It is refreshing to hear a new, young contender for a council seat. She made no rash statements but does appear to have some thoughtful, smart approaches to some of the issues. While transportation may not be the most important issue to everyone, access to transportation that does not involve owning a car is important to allow students, seniors and less wealthy citizens to access city services, including voting. Will look forward to hearing more about how Jillian intends to assist our city.
Thanks everyone for the feedback and thanks Don and 250 News for running the interview. If you’re interested in learning more, you can find me on Twitter @newjillenium or “Jillian Merrick for Council” on Facebook.
“As long as she doesn’t let the old bullies push her around.”
Hopefully the “old bullies” will not be given an opportunity to do just that!
This old-timer has to agree totally with Candidate Merrick’s point of view regarding transit. Prince George’s public transit is terrible (and empty buses only prove how ineffective the current model is.) The responsive City hall is part of the solution.
The transit issue stems in large part from the total disconnected sprawl of the City. Continued approval of new neighborhoods on the edge of the city only makes the problem worse. Makes for happy land developers and construction companies while continuing to stretch infrastructure like roads, sewer, water and transit.
Old-timers on this site complain all the time about poor snow removal, failing sewers, etc. Look at one of the keys; a town that is stretched geographically.
This young candidate brings another valid perspective to the growing concern about the issues facing this town.
I hope Candidate Merrick elected.
Funny how the ‘bully’ label gets thrown around so easily these days.
The only thing that matters are the people that actually vote, and if the candidate speaks to them. I’ll be looking forward to hearing what all candidates have to say.
I agree that public transit is likely not an issue that the majority of the Prince George voting public has much care for currently. However, maybe we should be caring more about it. As one poster has mentioned, transit in Prince George needs improvement in ridership. It is also a considerable part of our municipal budget. And, as Gillian mentioned, young professionals are increasingly considering public transit as a factor while making decisions of which community they will relocate to.
For these reasons, I think we ought to pay more attention to public transit and I find it refreshing that Ms. Merrick has the courage to enter this race and put her ideas on the table, fully prepared for them to be superficially scoffed at.
I found Palopu’s comment:
“If she’s as long winded as this interview indicates, then she will never get anything done,” to be overly pessimistic and unfair.
As this campaign play out, there will be much we can and should critique about the candidates; however, I don’t see how speculative statements like this positively contribute to the democratic process.
Great for her to put her ideas out there and offer choice. It take courage and that should be commended.
to bed a good mayor or a good council member you must listen to the voters. You can’t have a personal agenda that trumps what the voters want.. Perfect example is the council members who support the PAC when we the voters don’t want it.
Would be nice to see a list of everything the present council has voted for while on council. Anyone know of a graph or chart showing these votes? Would really show where they are on the issues.
If my memory is correct the old council all supported the PAC. The idea of working together is a winner. It is sadly needed for an efficient operation. They idea that so and so supports the business community and and one councilor listening to the tax payer is a sure receipt for a failure of what needs to be done
Cnheers
Sounds like she has the right attitude to get things done. If she works that hard on her campaign signs, imagine what she could do in city council? She’s probably young and inexperienced enough to ask the right questions too.
I think those running for city politics should be limited to 100 signs. The way it has been is just cheap and an eyesore.
By the way, Palopu, are you running too or just spouting off?
Give more; No Im not running and yes I am spouting off.
We need to be realistic about how the City works. I know a number of people who got elected over the years, and who were shuffled to the sidelines or unable to get a seconder for their motions.
There’s no point in thinking that one person can get anything done, unless that person has a good grasp on how the city functions. Its basically run by the City Manager, and her Managers, the Finance Committee, and the Mayor, with her cohorts, and then usually rubber stamped by the balance of council.
You need to be able to have your motion on the floor, a seconder for the motion so it can be discussed and then enough councilor’s to support you to get it passed. This doesn’t happen very often, unless the motion comes from the finance committee, or the mayor.
Hall was able to stop some of these motions, such as the downtown parking, licenses for owning additional houses, and the selling of Pine Valley. He
was able to get this down with the help of 4 other Councillors. Without
this type of support newcomers die on the vine.
Hey Jillian, have you given crowd funding any consideration? Political ends wouldn’t be a first on Indiegogo.com, for instance. It also gives you a platform to plead your case. If you don’t get your name out there, you will dwindle away into obscurity. Getting your name out there will cost you some money unfortunately, because the run up to the election is short and it’s hard to get people’s attention these days.
Elections can be won with just a picture. Get a few of those wire ‘H’s and covers printed with a nice confident picture with a confident smile. Don’t seem intimidating in the picture, take a few until you get one that is perfect and warm looking and then print them with your name and an X in a square box underneath. Nothing fancy just your name exactly the way it will appear on the ballot and an ‘X’ and place them at major intersections and near the polling stations. It has been proven that name recognition and a nice warm picture beats platform any day of the week, and those signs are like 10 bucks apiece or something like that (and use tuck tape or duct tape to fasten them to the wire at the bottom so the wind or a quick tug doesn’t take them away). Good luck.
I’ve met Ms. Merrick, and was favourably impressed. In my opinion, she would do very well as a City councillor. With her honesty, experience helping people young and old at the grass roots level, ability to organize, and lack of political experience (an asset, imho) I think that she is a person who could be part of a much needed change at City Hall. It is my belief that Ms. Merrick would put Citizens first.
metalman.
I think I will vote for her. I like the idea that she is not sourcing money for her campaign as a beggar of funds. The beggard of funds is the ban of politics, because it compromises the ability for a politician to be true and genuine about their beliefs. So she starts off as a winner from the get go understanding that being true to ones self is an asset that allows her to not be in a compromised position to be ‘bullied’ by the powers that be. She would make a great ally in council or a formidable foe.
I think expecting everyone to agree in a city council is a bit naive, and conflicting view points is just part of the process that we call democracy. I would expect on every issue their are stakeholders and not all stakeholders will be aligned. Part of being on council is being able to balance the various points of view of competing stakeholders. She will have to accept that it is part of the process, but its a minor point of criticism… but she is absolutely right about the poison of partisanship at the professional level of PG ‘brand’ politics.
I welcome her point of view on transportation. She did great work in the past on helping with the city trail network and my read is that she has an interest in that as part of her transportation solution, and not just bus schedules. I think she is coming from the perspective of one of PG’s great strengths that is under funded and under utilized.
‘there’ damn it lol
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