Candidate Games (ATOM Study Guide)

Come behind the scenes on the campaign trail as three very different candidates battle it out for the seat of ultimate power: the comfortable chair and river views of the Lord Mayor's top-floor office. Money has been flooding into the City of Perth on the back of a decade-long mining boom. With an annual budget of $200 million, the role of Lord Mayor is a tempting prize, and this year it has attracted a diverse range of applicants.

Candidate Reece is only twenty-eight, one of the youngest ever Lord Mayoral nominees, and he has a drive and ambition unusual for someone of his tender age. The child of a single mother, Reece grew up in state housing eating two-dollar dinners from the Salvation Army, lives in a one-bedroom apartment and catches the bus to go door-knocking for his campaign. Yet his humble beginnings have fuelled a burning, single-minded ambition to succeed. After being supported by the current Lord Mayor when he ran for a position on her council two years ago, Reece already has his sights set on the top job. To the other seven councillors, Reece is doing the unthinkable, taking on the boss when it's not his turn to rule. Will Reece ignore the ire of his colleagues and overcome his lack of experience to become Perth's youngest ever Lord Mayor?

Candidate Mike, thirty-three, is the chalk to Reece's cheese. He's an entrepreneur with some big ideas that at first glance seem far-fetched – until we learn that Mike is also a bonafide achiever. He has a string of successful business ventures behind him, and Mike now wants to add Lord Mayor to his impressive and eclectic résumé, so he can turn Perth into a city full of electric cars. His futuristic policies seem to be striking a major chord on social media – could his online influence be enough to sweep him to victory?

Standing in the way of both Gen Y candidates and their dreams of power and influence is one major obstacle: baby-boomer Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi. A popular two-term incumbent, Lord Mayor Lisa won the seat in October 2007 and is ramping up for a record-equalling third term. She's well-liked, has met the Queen and was named the second-best mayor in the world in the 2012 World Mayor Project. The bookies' odds are significantly in her favour, yet Reece and Mike may have timed their David-versus-Goliath attempts to seize power perfectly. Australian Federal Police recently referred Lisa Scaffidi to Western Australia's corruption watchdog over a range of undeclared gifts. With a full Crime and Corruption Commission report pending and due any moment, could negative findings be her undoing?

The stage is set for an explosive postal election, where three candidates with very different ideas about how to rule a capital city will clash head-to-head. Let the games begin!

Curriculum links

Candidate Games can be linked to studies of Year 8 Civics and Citizenship.