Advertisement

Liberal leadership candidate George Takach says he can beat Justin Trudeau with a ‘Geek Revolution’

How do you beat Justin Trudeau?

How about with an army of Canadian geeks.

Liberal leadership candidate — and prominent Bay Street technology lawyer — George Takach says that Trudeau can be beat and he's the one that can do it with operation "Geeks for George."

In a telephone interview with Yahoo! Canada News, on Sunday, Takach says if he can sign-up just a fraction of the 1.5 million "techies" and "gamers" in the country, he can make the Liberal leadership into a real race.

"We're hoping that we can get a hundred, hundred and fifty thousand [gamers and techies] in this country pretty excited about what I'm doing," he said.

"If we can connect over the next couple of weeks with that community then it's game-on."

Specifically, the so-called 'Geek Revolution' calls for a return to pre-Budget 2012 R&D credits for the technology sector and a national broadband strategy. Takach also wants an Internet Bill of Rights "to protect Canadians in the online world from Vic Toews’ prying eyes."

Takach is clearly trying to distinguish himself from Trudeau and the other front runners in the race — a clever strategy for a perceived under-dog.

[ Related: Appeal court upholds Canada's marijuana laws ]

He's also encouraging both the public and the media to compare his management experience — leading a team of 15 that, he says, has become the "dominant [I.T. legal] group in Canada" — with the experience of the other contenders.

"The leadership experience is far more important than whether you've been a member of Parliament for four or five years," he said.

"Again, let's remember that God is not on the ballot. There's nobody running that's been industry minister, finance minister, health minister, deputy minister and now is running for the top job.

"Let's really look at everybody's CV and see just what they're past track-record is. And again, translate that into actual leadership capability. Where have you constructed a vision, hired a team, or put together a team and executed on it. So, I'm waiting for the press to talk about those issues in some detail, rather than replaying the bromides and one-liners."

A veiled shot against Trudeau?

A jab at 'the press?'

Whether he can sign-up 100,000 people before the March 4th membership and supporter cut-off remains to be seen.

Regardless, Takach — a political neophyte — has already impressed and set himself up for a future run for office: he has garnered some national media-attention, he has performed well at the two leadership debates and has raked-in respectable fundraising numbers.

[ Related: Justin Trudeau leaving other Liberal leadership candidates in the dust ]

He's also managed to snag a widely-respected campaign manager by the name of Mark Marissen; Marissen was national campaign co-chair for the Liberals in the 2008 federal election.

A couple of months ago, some of us in the media greeted George Takach's Liberal leadership bid with a curt: 'George who?'

Well, 'George who' is now becoming 'George intriguing'.

George Takach's one-on-one session at Saturday's Liberal leadership debate in Winnipeg: