A campaign billboard for Jack Yan on Victoria Street.
Though his campaign doesn’t seem to have been getting much traction, Jack Yan has had name in the ring to take over the Mayoral since September last year. Not having had any experience in public office does make him seem an outside chance, but with his strong background and solid policy platform, his candidacy is certainly not unprecedented (see: Dick Hubbard).
Jack was born in Hong Kong and raised in Wellington. He has a strong background in typography marketing and publishing and was number 12 on the Alliance Party list in 2008.
He is standing on four main policy platforms…
This is Jack’s main policy (see billboard above) and the one that has been getting the most publicity. Basically it involves providing free wireless internet, with data caps and supported by advertising, starting with trials around civic buildings. Jack’s motivation for this is economic, he states that it would create more jobs.
It’s a pretty bold plan, but I do wonder if it’s actually worthwhile. Would your decision to start a company in Wellington be influenced by limited free wireless? Note this scheme wouldn’t actually be something businesses could use in their offices, it’s more for the “road warrior” types. Several cafes already offer free wireless and Wellington’s weather is too unpredictable to see many people sitting outside with their laptops.
It’s a nice idea, but it does seem a little bit dated already. Don’t most mobile business people already rely on 3G data?
Jack’s second policy is to create more jobs. The major pillar of this seems to be his free wifi plan. What little other detail he offers is almost funny. I particularly like his plan to create jobs by calling in favours…
I’ve been in the high-tech sector for most of my working life and have connections to names that can bring capital to our innovative Wellington enterprises. As your mayor, it’ll be time to call in some favours from around the world to help my fellow Wellingtonians.
Just like everyone else, Jack Yan is against water privitisation. No surprises there. However the closest he gets to mentioning metering is this rather ambiguous comment:
…I support putting collective water usage data online, so people and groups can find innovative ways to monitor themselves
Sigh. Jack is proud of being a trendy liberal who loved the environment before anyone else (I think he might actually be Al Gore in disguise). It’s hardly surprising, but still, almost clichéd.
However there is this almost alarming piece of policy buried in the page…
I will do a carless day on one Sunday in the central city during the summer, and roll it out during the 2011 World Cup
Oh Really?
Jack promises to keep tweeting and blogging if elected. And he doesn’t support the Wellywood sign. Yawn.
I hope this quick and dirty analysis of Jack’s policy platform doesn’t seem too negative. On the whole, I think he has some interesting ideas, it’s just that they seem a bit under-formed. He would probably do well to also have stood for a council seat, I think that the experience would do him a world of good.
Will he get elected? It’s highly unlikely. He does have a nice online support base (600+ friends on Facebook), but chances are that won’t translate into enough votes to get him even into second place.
WCC Watch 
I know someone who’s met him and he’s rather an apathetic candidate, as if he doesn’t really want to win. Also he doesn’t know how to present himself (disastrous dress sense apparently) despite having worked for a fashion company or something.
The free wifi idea is dumb. 5 years ago, maybe, but people don’t want to have to go through login pages to get internet access in this age of always-on 3G connections. Unless it’s unlimited open-access, it will be an expensive flop.
Proposing free wifi in 2010 is like proposing a Second Life Embassy for Wellington in 2007.
If Jack can call favours to get investors into Wellington, why hasn’t he already done so and set himself as a major player in our hi tech sector? Sounds like wishful thinking to me.
The biggest problem with Jack Yan is that he doens’t have any track record. It would be his first time in local government, so it would look like The Apprentice: Mayoral Edition.
Can you imagine a newbie with no idea of how local government runs standing up to Rodney Hide when he tries to shove a super-city down our throats?