OUSA President Logan Edgar has backed away from claims made on Radio One last Thursday that he is starting a campaign to be elected to the Dunedin City Council next October. He is, however, “really considering it”.
In the meantime, Edgar is meeting this week with the Mayor and the Electoral Office to “see how we can get students enrolled to vote and make it as easy as possible.” He points out: “If you vote for the candidate with the STV system they have, it's very easy for students to sway an election.” To this end, he wants to get an electoral office on campus.
Edgar says that although he and his predecessors have been “pretty effective” at campaigning on various issues such as warmer housing and better parties, “for things like those to really fly you need it to happen at the higher level.”
He has “had a lot of people come up and talk about it, knowing that if we wanted to get someone into the highest level of council, the fact that I've had two terms as President and my media profile has become reasonably well up-there, I'm probably in a privileged position to represent students.”
He says he would continue to study if he was elected, as being a councillor is a part-time role. “Councillor Edgar. It's got a nice ring to it aye. Sitting up the back of my marketing class, and the tutor could be all 'Councillor Edgar, what do you think about this?’”
“I don't have a left-right political leaning, I'd just have to start the Logan Edgar Party.”
As the Council acts now, Edgar believes that “it works quite well with the University, but it doesn't work very well with the students. But I think there's a willingness there,, they just need a bridge.”
“The opportunity only comes around once in a blue moon. That's not a good line. Go with the willingness and the bridge. Fuck man, I'm a fucking boss. Yeah, I'd probably still run with the “No Natural Disasters” policy. I'd probably run on similar values. You wouldn't see me going around kissing any babies. Maybe I'd kiss some skinny scarfies on Castle Street or something.”
City Councillor Edgar Putting the GC in DCC
