Ahead of the election scheduled for 7 June, a Candidates Fayre was staged at Oakfield Sports Centre this week. It was attended by 87 of the 92 people standing for election, and around 1,900 members of the public, including a handful of JEP writers looking to test the temperature of the electoral pool during the opening days of the campaign.
First into the hall was Julien Morel, a veteran of multiple Jersey elections over the past 25 years.
The biggest banner of the event belonged St Brelade candidate Gabriel Raimondo, a huge double-length pop-up sign with a large headshot of the teenage would-be Deputy. Knowing that the student is also a keen magician, one imagines that the banner came out of a tiny suitcase, Eddie Redmayne-style, possibly with a mischievous Niffler escaping at the same time.
If this fantastic beast had left the suitcase, it would have been easy to find: rumour has it that Mr Raimondo arrived at the hall with trays upon trays of cupcakes to give away, only to be told that no food or drink was allowed in the capacious shiny new sports hall.
The fate of the cupcakes is unknown … although a fat platypus-like creature was later seen rubbing its belly in the kitchen.
Not all sweet treats were not off limits though with strategically placed Tangtastics, Eclairs and Haribo Strawbs used to encourage conversation to varying degrees of success.
Away from the St Brelade zone, at the far end of the hall, was the domain of more central and eastern parishes, including some of the battle-preparing Constables. Steve De Louche stood alongside Andy Howell, both vying to lead Trinity; while former Chief Minister John Le Fondré’s table was next to Tina Palmer, both wanting to head St Lawrence’s parish administration.
All four understandably wanted to talk about parish issues – after all, that is their remit – but it does raise the question (again) of the Constables’ role in the States Assembly. Do parishioners want their Constable to take a wider ministerial role or stick with more local issues? And if it is the latter, should they be voting on, for example, health policy or education reform?
It is an argument to resolve another day – and the next Assembly will have a recent Scrutiny review to provide fodder for thought – but the candidates’ fair only served to cast a spotlight on this elephant in the room, which was only outsized by Mr Raimondo’s mammoth banner.
A few months after her arrival in Jersey, having previously covered the 2024 UK general election while working in south Wales, Elen Johnston gained her first taste of Island-style elections.
The atmosphere in the room was bustling, and there had clearly been much thought put in by the event organisers into making it accessible to voters who may not have voted before – with guides being handed out at the entrance that attendees could fill out, with questions they can ask themselves after meeting candidates, such as “do they align with my values?”.
However, I was left wondering about the ratio of candidates and supporters to members of the public there was in the room. There did seem to be a smattering of younger faces dotted around the hall – but it is difficult to say if they were there thanks to teenager Gabriel Raimondo, who has been documenting his campaign over TikTok in recent days.
The amount of electoral literature – pamphlets, leaflets, manifestos – did come as a shock. The candidates battling for the positions in St Helier could be found near the entrance of the hall armed with theirs. It was former Housing Minister David Warr who, without doing a formal count, appeared to be clutching the most leaflets – possibly more than the number of members of public attendance. He didn’t seem to need them though, instead opting for the more direct approach of chatting to attendees with his animated charisma, with the future plans for Millennium Park being the hot topic.
The youngest member of the JEP reporting team, Daisy Morel, took the opportunity to check out the social media skills of some of the candidates.
A surprising turnout of young people, the majority being offered their first chance to vote, were present at Oakfield on the night. Big queues built up around Deputy Sam Mézec’s stand, perhaps testament to his recent efforts on TikTok. Perhaps more candidates could market themselves through the means of TikTok, although the old-fashioned offerings of gummy sweets, free pens, and the “it’s the thought that counts” cupcakes were enticing enough for most.
There was a lot of the usual: PFAS, cost of living, government spending… It was very refreshing to hear talk of new public “shared” spaces, for humans and canines, and of course a comical comparison of one Senatorial candidate to that of a certain love it or hate it yeast extract spread.
Although his arrival was too recent to allow him to vote, new recruit James Sharp was interested to check out Jersey’s electoral landscape.
As a relative newcomer to the Island, I wasn’t sure quite what to expect from this year’s event in St Saviour – the words “Candidate” and “Fayre” very much standing in a kind of opposition in my mind’s eye.
Upon entering the Oakfield Sport Centre, though, I was immediately struck by an undeniable sense of bustle and energy: the tenor of the evening somewhere between crucial pre-GCSE parents’ evening and high-spirited village fête.
Every candidate I spoke to seemed happy to explain their manifesto and prepared to answer the difficult questions, even after an already long day of back-and-forth with prospective voters.
Any inter-politician tension bubbling under the surface was either well-disguised or put aside for the evening; an unresolved issue over which candidates were or weren’t allowed to “share a table” the only discernible point of contention.
It was refreshing, as well, to hear so many well-argued perspectives on key Island issues from old-and-new voices across Jersey’s political spectrum.
Despite clear differences in opinion, all candidates appeared – in their own way – to share a passion for positive change in Jersey.
Overall, the well-run and expertly organised Candidate Fayre felt like a great reminder of our collective need for real life, interactive and face-to-face democracy.
Having joined the JEP a few months after the 2022 election, Megan Davies was hitting the campaign trail for the first time.
Earlier in the day, the hall was full of sixth-formers grilling candidates with their questions – and by the time the grown-ups came along at 6pm, the day had been long or candidates.
St Mary Constable David Johnson – surrounded by mostly empty desks – said he had watched from across the aisle how a crowd of teenagers had swarmed around Gabriel Raimondo’s desk. They can’t all be St Brelade parishioners, he reflected – though engagement from young people is a welcome sight given Jersey’s typically abysmal turnout for young voters. Alongside the usual election materials (candidates had flyers, pens, postcards, and mugs ready to distribute) Mr Johnson had a completed sudoku. Such is the life of a rural parish constable.
Other candidates had activities prepared for them – Deputy Lucy Stephenson asked students to write down their concerns on colourful post-its. The topics raised? Activities and sports available for teenagers, but also the cost of housing and, unexpectedly, parish rates.
Meanwhile, Deputy Louise Doublet asked students to roll a set of dice to create conversation starters – W got her talking about war and global events, J about justice, and so on.
Speaking to some of the members of the public attending – and not all of them were familiar faces who attend events throughout the political term – they shared that they were pleased to speak to candidates at some length.
Some of the questions that punters asked were around the cost of living, educational opportunities, Ports of Jersey fees, immigration, homelessness, LGBT+ issues, and the “Bean Drain”. Those in their 20s and 30s feel like they are an afterthought, one observed.
Another said she had attended a vote.je education event – which she had high praise for – and that this had introduced her to Island politics. Confusion and a lifelong mindset of not getting involved had previously held her back from engaging, she added – and these things probably still affected many of her peers.
Covering his second Jersey election after several UK campaigns earlier in his career, Tom Innes was also mingling with the election hopefuls.
IN the early stages of what’s going to be a long election campaign, an all-day candidate fayre provided quite a test of stamina for Assembly aspirants.
The event had a busy start in the morning as hundreds of teenage students were let loose on the political hopefuls, who lined up in rows around the sports hall according to the role they were seeking.
Queuing voters isn’t a sight often associated with Jersey elections, but after a quiet afternoon session there was indeed a line of attendees waiting to get into the evening session as the doors opened at 6pm.
The event seemed to work better for some candidates than others – with almost 80,000 Islanders having a vote for Senator, there was a chance to grab a word with a minister, a former politician looking to return to the fray, or a newcomer, perhaps even someone who played elite sport for England.
But with fewer than 1,400 voters to woo, candidates for Constable of St Mary were notably less busy – that battle seems set to be fought within the parish boundaries, rather than in a sports hall on the other side of the Island. David Johnson, the incumbent, and one of his challengers, Mark Baker, were available to press the flesh when required, but the third man on the ballot paper, Ivor Barette, wasn’t present, sparking concern that his horse may have broken down.
Fuelling for such a marathon was important: the lunchtime sandwich trays were set upon with gusto, but later in the day some candidates confessed to feeling decidedly under-caffeinated.
During the two-hour “tea break” that began at 4pm, a cluster of around a dozen of them had headed to the Five Oaks pub for sustenance… most returned to Oakfield for the evening session, though some opted against.
There was plenty of scope for asking questions, even if some of the answers proved elusive. Why was Constable candidate John Le Fondré spending so much time in the Senatorial section? Why wouldn’t a would-be Deputy hesitate to declare support for their brother as the next Chief Minister? Why would you stand for election if you aren’t prepared to answer a couple of questions on camera? What happened to your cupcakes?
Quite a few attendees made a sharp exit during the final half hour, but the event was still quite lively as the event wrapped up at 8pm, the exact time as polling stations would be closing 39 days later.
