Below is Paul Turenne’s article from the Winnipeg Sun (July 31, 2011):

Is youth a liability or an asset for a budding politician?

If you ask Roldan C. Sevillano, the Liberal candidate for Tyndall Park, he’ll tell you it’s definitely a positive.

“There are more people who respond to it as a good thing. They say we need more young people in politics, and they see it more as hope than inexperience,” said Sevillano, who will be 26 years old when Manitobans vote on Oct. 4.

Although the Sisler High School and Red River College grad has never run for public office before, he’s far from inexperienced in the political world. Sevillano, who is Winnipeg North MP Kevin Lamoureux’s executive assistant, has managed Lamoureux’s last two federal election campaigns, even resigning his own nomination to defer to Lamoureux in the Winnipeg North byelection to replace Judy Wasylycia-Leis.

“This is my first personal campaign, but certainly not my first rodeo,” Sevillano said of this fall’s upcoming battle.

The Liberals will be looking to Sevillano as one of the party’s stronger hopes in October, given that his northwest Winnipeg constituency belonged to Lamoureux for most of the past 22 years.

Community work

“I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t pressure,” Sevillano said. “But I don’t really see it as pressure, I see it as an opportunity.”

Sevillano says he’s done community work for much of his life, having worked with anti-poverty groups and Youth For Christ, among others. He sees becoming an MLA as the logical next step.

“It’s really just the opportunity to do something positive. If you’re given the honour of getting elected, you can do a lot of things,” he said.

Getting elected is no sure thing, but Sevillano may have serendipity on his side.

“Kevin was 26 when he was first elected here,” Sevillano said.