Basran Comparisons Inaccurate

[koivu11]

At two recent mayoral forums that I attended, Mr. Basran compared himself favorably to Naheed Nenshi, current mayor of Calgary, Don Iveson, current mayor of Edmonton and Brian Gallant, the current Premier of New Brunswick.

Rather than acknowledging these three individuals remarkable, educations and qualifications Mr. Basran focused on these individuals age. The three individuals that he tried to compare himself to did not get elected because they were “young”, they were elected because of their incredible education and accomplishments.

According to the most recent census there are approximately 3.9 million Canadians between the ages of 30-40. Of that number there are a handful that have been elected to office municipally, provincially, and federally.

Following the mayoral forum at the Rotary Center for the ARTS this past Thursday, I did a very quick search on the education and qualifications of each elected official Mr. Basran mentioned.

Listed below is a brief history of academic and employment achievements, for the three mentioned at the forums, as well as the education and work experience that Mr. Basran has listed on his own website. (Note Mr. Basran states that he attended the local college for 5 years, but does not indicate that he graduated.)


Mr. Basran might be comparable in age to these three remarkable individuals but that is where any comparison ends.

COLIN BASRAN Kelowna City Counselor AGE: 37
From 1995 to 2000, Colin attended Okanagan College, with great interest and focus on studying English and History.
Basran has been a sitting city counselor for 3 years. Director Regional District of Central Okanogan, for 3 years. Worked as a licensed realtor for Royal Lepage Kelowna for 5 years. Worked as a television news reporter for CHBC Kelowna for 5 years.

BRIAN GALLANT: 33rd Premier of New Brunswick AGE 32
In order to pay his way through university, he started and ran two small companies, eventually allowing him to graduate from the Université de Moncton with both a BA in Business Administration, and a Bachelor of Laws degree, later receiving a Master's in Law from McGill University. Whilst at Moncton, he was made president of the student federation. Afterwards, he practiced corporate and commercial law with the firm Stewart McKelvey, and then became a partner at Veritas Law in Dieppe.

DON IVESON Mayor of EDMONTON Age: 35
Earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Alberta in 2001.While there, he served as managing editor of The Gateway, the university's student newspaper.[He did the last year of his degree on exchange at the University of Toronto, and stayed in Toronto upon his graduation to serve as president of the Canadian University Press for a year. Two years as business manager of The Gateway followed before he took a job as advocacy director with the University of Alberta Students' Union.[ There, he played a leading role in negotiations with the City of Edmonton for the development of a Universal Transit Pass for University of Alberta students.[ He left the position in 2007, and entered politics shortly thereafter.

NAHEED NENSHI Mayor of Calgary AGE: 42
Educated at the University of Calgary, receiving a Bachelor of Commerce in 1993, and completed a Master of Public Policy at Harvard University in 1998. Nenshi worked for McKinsey & Company for several years before starting his own consulting firm 'Ascend Group' which advised the United Nations on ways to encourage wealthy corporations to engage in Corporate Citizenship.
As a young professional, he developed his administrative capabilities by joining Canada25, a federal networking organization that mentored professionals under 35 of public policy and has co-founded two citizens' groups aimed at improving Calgary's civic government. In 2009, Nenshi was invited to become a founding member of Civic Camp, an active citizenship forum that encourages and enables Calgarians to actively engage and collaborate ideas in civic affairs
He was an instructor in non-profit management in the Bissett School of Business at Mount Royal University and wrote a regular municipal affairs column for the Calgary Herald.
Nenshi was ranked second most important person in Canada next to Prime Minister Stephen Harper by Maclean's magazine 50 top Canadians list for 2013.

[Santac]

That pretty much sums it up. No comparison at all!! I am not sure Basran even graduated from college! All it states was he enjoyed English and History there. Looks like he spent 5 years there with accomplishing nothing! Would I want somebody with no education or experience running my city? I think not!!! And I don't give a hoot about how many endorsements he has..... Or how many signs or YouTube videos ....

[3 B's]

That pretty much sums it up. No comparison at all!! I am not sure Basran even graduated from college! All it states was he enjoyed English and History there. Looks like he spent 5 years there with accomplishing nothing! Would I want somebody with no education or experience running my city? I think not!!! And I don't give a hoot about how many endorsements he has..... Or how many signs or YouTube videos ....

wow, You folks are getting desperate. A pharmacist has No qualifications for the office of Mayor simply by virtue of the fact that they are a pharmacist. It does not decades to become "experienced" enough to hold the office. Mr. Basran's experience is enough. ANYONE who becomes a Mayor will become one for the first time. That is what, staff, advisors and the Provincial training is all about. Becoming too used to office is a hindrance. Not only for the Mayor's chair but also for a Councillor. Often times incumbents are re-elected simply for name recognition. Voter's need to make sure that none of these polaticans become for lack of a better word, entrenched and feeling entitled. THAT is what is NOT needed. So drone on!!

[George+]

Entitled....????
Ah ha ha ha.

We know what that is all about.
ForChange ForKelowna ForBusiness
Not ForPeople.

Sharon Shepherd is a real people person.

I am not voting for any of the current councillors.

[Santac]

To the person - 3 B's: I guess I have higher standards than you. If you think a person who has a background of being a reporter and a realtor ( and not a prominent one at that) equates into enough experience to run a city the size of Kelowna then we are in big trouble. Would I hire a person who has zero management experience and no education to be CEO of a large company - absolutely not! Basran would not even get an interview let alone be on the short list in the real world! You would never hire somebody off the street and then say - that's OK - we can train you! Give your head a shake and wake up to reality...

[Anonymous123]

To the person - 3 B's: I guess I have higher standards than you. If you think a person who has a background of being a reporter and a realtor ( and not a prominent one at that) equates into enough experience to run a city the size of Kelowna then we are in big trouble. Would I hire a person who has zero management experience and no education to be CEO of a large company - absolutely not! Basran would not even get an interview let alone be on the short list in the real world! You would never hire somebody off the street and then say - that's OK - we can train you! Give your head a shake and wake up to reality...

Well said.

[Gill_B]

Basran never graduated from OUC. Fact.

He doesn't hold a candle to Nenshi, Iveson, or Gallant in any way, shape, or form. The comparison is an insult to them as they have actually accomplished something. His mere suggestion that these are his peers is a a perfect example of how Basran operates. Always gloming onto people who are actually successful so he can appear to be as well. It's pathetic...... and it's pathetic some of you would fall for it too.

[Captain Awesome]

*removed*

[KelownaResid]

Fortunately for Colin, this is a popularity contest and he has done a good job in getting his name out there. He had a very successful 2011 campaign, partly due to a local company assisting him.

http://www.centroconsultinginc.com/case ... councilor/

Hopefully, voters will make their decision based on the candidates past experience and performance record as they would if they were hiring someone for a top level position in a company. The responsibilities of a mayor are listed in section 116 of the Community Charter. I think most people would agree that being the head or chief executive officer of a municipality the size of Kelowna is not an entry-level job where you learn as you go.

[Anonymous123]

Name one thing common between these people:

- Michael Dell of Dell computers
- Steve Jobs of Apple
- Bill Gates of Microsoft

They all started their own businesses.

[Captain Awesome]

They all started their own businesses.

Nope. None of them graduated from college.

[KelownaResid]

- Michael Dell of Dell computers
- Steve Jobs of Apple
- Bill Gates of Microsoft

By the time these three individuals turned 37, what was their performance record?

[Anonymous123]

They all started their own businesses.

Nope. None of them graduated from college.

Yes they did. And if you are trying to compare Basran to these guys, well........

[oneh2obabe]

Back on topic.

[Urbane]

Entitled....????
Ah ha ha ha.

We know what that is all about.
ForChange ForKelowna ForBusiness
Not ForPeople.

Sharon Shepherd is a real people person.

I am not voting for any of the current councillors.

Don't PEOPLE own businesses? Don't businesses hire PEOPLE? Don't PEOPLE shop for needed items at businesses?