What’s next for former mayoral candidate Max Taylor?

Max Taylor has had six months, which included a pandemic winter, to reflect on his first shot at municipal politics.

It was an eye-opening experience – deciding to run for mayor, raising campaign funds, campaigning under the cloud of COVID-19, finishing third in a three-candidate race – the young political rookie said was “not at all” what he expected.

“You meet a lot of different people (on the campaign trail), and you start to understand: ‘Wow, there’s a ton of people in (Halifax Regional Municipality) who have completely different circumstances,’” Taylor said. “They have completely different perspectives.”

As well, Taylor said his opportunity to compete against and debate with rivals Mike Savage and Matt Whitman was happily innocuous.

“It wasn’t a toxic environment, in like, actually debating these guys … (and) meeting with Mike and meeting with Matt,” he said last month. “Everyone was really friendly along the whole process – and that was really surprising.”

Then there were media relations, a crucial component of politics Taylor conceded he needed to be better at in order to get his message across in interviews.

The Halifax resident was a late-hour addition to the 2020 mayoral race, which included the incumbent, Savage, and former Halifax Regional Council member Whitman. Prior to election day Taylor had $8,599 in campaign contributions, the municipality’s website says.

Described in news reports as a copywriter and social media personality, with a large number of followers checking out his online videos, the 23-year-old said his initial goal last year was to motivate more young voters to mark their ballots.

Looking back, Taylor said it was mission accomplished. Voter turnout in the civic election was 39.7 per cent, which was noticeably higher than in 2016 when it was 31.7 per cent.

Savage was easily re-elected last October for a third consecutive term with 102,735 votes. Whitman finished second with 13,497 votes; Taylor was last with 11,928 votes, according to city hall’s election results.

“That was surprising, too,” Taylor said, of the relatively narrow gap between Whitman’s vote total and his.

“Anybody who wanted something completely new voted for me,” Taylor told HalifaxToday.ca in a phone interview. “And I think that served my advantage for … coming in third by not that much.”

Today, Taylor has various projects on the go including writing advertising copy, doing charity work and co-writing a children’s book. He said his dad is an illustrator who’ll be providing the book’s artwork.

“It’s kind of to tackle … the kind of xenophobia we’ve seen around,” said Taylor. “Letting kids know: ‘Look, someone else comes in from another country, you know their culture might be different but accept it,’” he said.

“It’s … based on a small-town grocery store.”

With respect to charity work, Taylor is lending a hand to the Canadian Digestive Health Foundation. He manages irritable bowel syndrome, he told Global News in March.

Although he’s busy, Taylor said he remains interested in politics.

He publicly commented online on the Nova Scotia Liberal leadership race that saw Iain Rankin picked by Liberals in February (during a virtual convention) to succeed former premier Stephen McNeil.

Taylor supported Randy Delorey in the three-person contest and helped during his leadership run. Delorey was axed following the first ballot, leaving the competition to be decided by Rankin and Labi Kousoulis.

Asked if he was considering seeking the Liberal nomination in an electoral district before the next provincial election, Taylor said it’s a bit too early to tell.

“I wouldn’t necessarily say I’m completely aligned with any party,” he said. “I haven’t decided yet if I want to (try for a nomination), or if I want to take a backseat and kind of help someone else’s campaign.”

Last October, Taylor told NEWS 95.7 Nova Scotia’s Liberal party had contacted him “to get to know me a little bit more.”

A general election in Nova Scotia must be held by May 2022. The last one was in 2017.

As for municipal politics, Taylor said running in HRM in 2024 is not out of the realm of possibility.

“I’ve thought about it a lot,” he acknowledged. “I kind of have to see where I’m at” prior to the period leading to the next election.

Last year, Taylor knew “from the get-go” he wouldn’t be victorious on voting day, Oct. 17. Six months later, his thinking has changed – regarding a potential second attempt at seeking public office.

“If I want to run, or if I’m supporting someone running, I’m going to go full force with everything that I’ve learned,” said Taylor. “And the goal is to yes, get the vote out, but the goal is to win.”

As for Taylor’s 2020 opponents, one is doing the same job while the other is involved in something very different.

Savage is a former Liberal MP whose late father, John, was a Liberal premier of this province. He told Global News last year he “never really thought” he’d shoot for three mayoral terms.

“But this is a job that I really feel suits me, and frankly, that I’m well suited for,” Savage said in a post-election interview.

Whitman, who was elected to Halifax council in 2012 and re-elected four years later, now runs a bed-and-breakfast in Cape Breton.

Michael Lightstone is a freelance reporter living in Dartmouth