Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Samantha Ratnam


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was no consensus. No consensus for a particular outcome has occurred in this discussion. North America1000 17:31, 13 November 2016 (UTC)

Samantha Ratnam

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Suburban mayors elected by one-year rotation are not notable (see Articles for deletion/Lambros Tapinos and Articles for deletion/Robert Larocca from the same council). Neither are unsuccessful candidates for office. The only other bit of coverage in the article was for speaking at a rally. The Drover&#39;s Wife (talk) 01:10, 28 September 2016 (UTC)


 * Keep. The timing of this suggestion for removal stinks, just as Victorian Council elections were pending. In which Ms Ratnam was re-elected. "Suburban Mayor" is offensively minimising - Moreland is not a suburb, but a large area of metropolitan Melbourne. Very sad to see Wikipedia apparently being misused for political purposes. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Petercmarshall (talk • contribs) 07:52, 23 October 2016 (UTC)

— Petercmarshall (talk) has made few or no other edits outside this topic.
 * Keep. I would argue that the article meets the primary notability criterion of "significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject of the article". Of the 11 secondary sources, 6 are substantively about her profile or political career, 1 is a comment piece writen by Ratnam herself in a major media outlet, and 4 are minor articles in which she features. She has also received press coverage at the state level on a number of issues involving Moreland Council not listed in the article. Yes, I read some of the debate about deletion of other councillors and agree that election to suburban council, or as Mayor, does not in itself create notability. What must be weighed in this instance is that this is the first instance in Moreland of a Greens Councillor being elected Mayor, and her ethnic origins from Sri Lanka which have created notability in relation to the Indian community in Australia, and in Sri Lanka, and Tamil Culture, which should definitely add to the basic case of notability.Takver (talk) 15:24, 28 September 2016 (UTC)
 * additional info to Keep: Ratnam's research in the field of social work has been peer reviewed and published, and she has contributed to at least one academic book. While this level of research and academic publication may not of itself confer academic notability, it adds to her general notability.Takver (talk) 16:20, 28 September 2016 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Politicians-related deletion discussions. Shawn in Montreal (talk) 15:56, 28 September 2016 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Australia-related deletion discussions. Shawn in Montreal (talk) 15:56, 28 September 2016 (UTC)

 Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.
 * Delete. Pretty standard. The only source that goes to GNG is the Age one (#6), and unsuccessful candidates are generally not notable for that candidature. Her mayoralty is not only indirectly elected on rotating terms, but has not received anything like the coverage that is generally required for local politicians. Frickeg (talk) 06:20, 1 October 2016 (UTC)
 * Keep The subject's election as mayor was noted in foreign countries per Takver, meeting the community's expectations under WP:POLOUTCOMES. "Local politicians whose office would not ordinarily be considered notable may still clear the bar if they have received national or international press coverage." - Enos733 (talk) 16:26, 5 October 2016 (UTC)

Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, Spirit of Eagle (talk) 05:29, 6 October 2016 (UTC)
 * Keep as per Takver.Your welcome &#124; Democratics Talk→  Be a guest 10:43, 6 October 2016 (UTC)
 * not a genuine !vote as per WP:PERX. LibStar (talk) 08:48, 25 October 2016 (UTC)

— 49.193.215.212 (talk) has made few or no other edits outside this topic.
 * Keep: At a Federal level, Australia's Greens have become a significant political force in progressive electorates. Adam Bandt became the first Greens member of the House of Representatives, though there had been several senators prior to him. In this election just gone, the two northern Melbourne electorates of Batman and Wills, which have traditionally been safe ALP seats, both came remarkably close to changing hands to the Greens. The Batman race was particularly close, coming down to just a handful of votes. Ratnam's fight against Peter Singh was not as close, but it was still a remarkable swing, taking a major bite out of what has never been considered a marginal seat and coming within 5% of victory. If the ALP lose Wills or Batman in the next election, it will be an event of major important to Australian political history, but the gains already made are significant in themselves. 49.193.215.212 (talk) 08:22, 17 October 2016 (UTC)
 * the above sounds incredibly biased with zero attempt to address notability criteria. LibStar (talk) 15:46, 20 October 2016 (UTC)


 * Delete. Drastically fails to meet WP:PROF or WP:POLITICIAN. That fact that the Green party may be doing nicely, is not a reason why this particualr individual in notable --the previous comment make no sense whatsoever.  DGG ( talk ) 01:35, 18 October 2016 (UTC)
 * delete if she was a long standing mayor perhaps but on a 1 year rotation. Her academic achievements do not meet WP:PROF. LibStar (talk) 15:44, 20 October 2016 (UTC)
 * Delete — Without meeting a special notability guideline, this bio could be kept if it met WP:BASIC or WP:GNG. I'd change my mind if I saw more international coverage, outside of fairly routine Australian news, and unsurprising local interest in India of an expatriate elected to office elsewhere.--Dennis Bratland (talk) 20:37, 20 October 2016 (UTC)
 * Keep: Ratnam is not a normal mayor. She has received international recognition and is extremely popular in her area - at current counts, she has more than double the number of votes she needs to win. She is also notable as one of the first mayors from the Greens, which is a notable achievement. And this isn't even considering her status as a researcher. Orthogonal1 (talk) 22:27, 22 October 2016 (UTC)
 * being a greens mayor is hardly notable in itself, there have already been green mayors across australia and mayors from smaller parties. LibStar (talk) 09:03, 23 October 2016 (UTC)
 * As discussed below, it meets GNG; being a Greens mayor strengthens her claim further. Orthogonal1 (talk) 05:21, 25 October 2016 (UTC)

Keep per the significant coverage in multiple independent reliable sources.  The article notes: "A MIGRANT whose family fled Sri Lankan riots for a better life has been elected Moreland’s first Greens mayor. South Ward councillor Samantha Ratnam won the mayoral vote 6-5 over Labor candidate Cr Lita Gillies, bringing an end to the ALP’s stranglehold on the mayorship. Cr Ratnam had been unsuccessful in the previous two mayoral votes, but secured the vote of independent councillor Helen Davidson, who had backed Labor candidates in previous mayoral votes. ...  The ascension to mayor has capped an incredible personal journey for Cr Ratnam, who arrived in Australia with her family in 1989 having fled war-torn Sri Lanka and spent time in Europe and Canada.  Aged 6 at the time, Cr Ratnam said she remembered the 1983 riots in Colombo that gave rise to the country’s 30-year internal war, including her family being split as they took refuge when Sinhalese Sri Lankans burnt Tamil Sri Lankans’ homes. ... Her family left Sri Lanka in 1987 and Cr Ratnam said it wasn’t until she moved to Brunswick seven years ago that she felt at home. She said her experiences fuelled her interest in social work and motivated her to take the program manager position at the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre."  The article notes: "Councillor Samatha Ratnam recently inaugurated the Recognize campaign in Coburg, Melbourne. It is a project funded by Reconciliation Australia and Moreland City Council. She called on those gathered to “arm themselves with information” and begin conversations with friends, family as well as unlikely people. ... Thus she edged her way to politics. First joining Labor and then moving to the Greens. She made her first move to run for a seat in 2010. In 2012, her bid for a seat on the Moreland City Council as a Greens candidate was successful and she says that she has found her niche in this position."</li> </ol>There is sufficient coverage in reliable sources to allow Samantha Ratnam to pass Notability, which requires "significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject". Cunard (talk) 03:21, 24 October 2016 (UTC) </li></ul>


 * Note: Ratnam's re-election to Moreland Council achieved significant media coverage due to the high swing (>30%). For instance: ,
 * and the above can be covered in City of Moreland. LibStar (talk) 23:08, 24 October 2016 (UTC)
 * Practically, it can't be covered in much detail in City of Moreland. This article would be the best place for it. Orthogonal1 (talk) 22:59, 25 October 2016 (UTC)

<div class="xfd_relist" style="border-top: 1px solid #AAA; border-bottom: 1px solid #AAA; padding: 0px 25px;"> Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus. Relisting comment: Further consensus. Nordic  Nightfury  07:43, 25 October 2016 (UTC)

Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, Nordic   Nightfury  07:43, 25 October 2016 (UTC)
 * <small class="delsort-notice">Note: This debate has been included in the list of Women-related deletion discussions.  SST  flyer  12:46, 27 October 2016 (UTC)

<div class="xfd_relist" style="border-top: 1px solid #AAA; border-bottom: 1px solid #AAA; padding: 0px 25px;"> Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.

Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks,  MBisanz  talk 22:55, 2 November 2016 (UTC)
 * Keep All elected public officials are notable. South Nashua (talk) 12:58, 11 November 2016 (UTC)
 * no they're not. Read point 3 of WP:NPOL. LibStar (talk) 15:08, 11 November 2016 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.