New Kelowna councillor is about to find out ‘how hard could it be’

Typically you’ll find Brady Rogers in his shop on Cannery Lane, The Rogerie, at a desk while dozens of 3D printers turn recycled plastic into neat products. Now, sometimes, you’ll find him in City Hall.

Rogers, 33, won the hearts and minds of voters by being his authentic self, but now that he’s actually been elected he needs to learn how to do the job. He made headlines with his funny campaign signs and won a seat on council over the weekend with 12,635 votes.

He’s an entrepreneur from an engineering background, but he’s never been to a council meeting and is gearing up for the orientation for new councillors next week.

“I have no idea really what a day in council life looks like. I understand why I’m there, what I’m doing, what policies we need to be working on. . . But as far as what you do on a Monday morning at 9 a.m. when you walk in, I don’t know,” he said.

Even though his humour online is what caught a lot of people’s eyes, he said that’s not the real reason why he won.

“A lot of people see social media as this magic tool, this magic box where if you do just the right thing, it’ll explode and go viral. For me, it’s simply a means to communicate with people,” he said. “I would wager that I could have run my campaign just as successfully without the internet, because it really wasn’t the jokes that connected with people, it was the honesty and message.”

His signs said things that could make a reasonable person assume he’s not that serious about the job like “I barely want to do this” and “how hard could it be?” But, Rogers said voters who think he’s not taking the role seriously are going to be proven wrong.

“A few people maybe took it as being unserious and thought I was a joke candidate. But, for the most part, people dug in and looked at my platform and realized I’m just trying to do something good,” he said. “Just give me a few weeks. Wait and see.”

He opened his storefront last year and just had a baby four months ago, but he said he’s ready to face the challenge of learning the ropes as a first time councillor.

“It’s all good things,” he said. “I don’t feel nervous. I like challenges. That’s just how I’ve lived my whole life so far.”

While he didn’t take the council job for the money, he said the part-time gig is going to actually help him run his business.

“My plan with the salary was essentially to allow myself to give my employees more hours, to give myself a day out of the shop. . . I think it’ll be a good synergy,” he said.

First time voters messaged him on social media throughout the campaign to say that he’s the reason they decided to actually go to the polls this year, and he said he doesn’t plan on disappointing them.

“I appreciate everyone coming, all the support. Campaign donations, the votes, all the messages of support and kindness has been phenomenal,” he said.