A crowd of about 130 turned out for the mayoral forum at the University of Otago today. Photo / Gerard O'Brien
City councillor and mayoral candidate Lee Vandervis brought the house down - in all the wrong ways - at the first of Dunedin's mayoral debates today.
The event, at the University of Otago's main common room, was organised by the Otago University Students' Association and watched by a crowd of
about 130 mainly younger students, reports Otago Daily Times.
But, when candidates were asked what they would do to engage with the youth voice and increase voter turnout among students, Cr Vandervis bucked the trend by saying he did not want to see more younger voters.
"They don't know enough about candidates. They don't care enough about candidates,'' he told the audience.
Instead, it was better to focus on having "educated'' voters, he said, as members of the audience reacted.
