The first round of council candidate forums was held Wednesday night by the Southeast Alberta Chamber of Commerce and included 23 candidates who participated in back-to-back forums to allow all an opportunity to answer questions.--NEWS PHOTOS BRENDAN MILLER
bmiller@medicinehatnews.com
Twenty-three council candidates had an opportunity to share platforms with members of the community during back-to-back public forums held by the Southeastern Alberta Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday night.
Due to the record number (39) of council candidates in the upcoming election, the Chamber held two separate forums Wednesday to allow time for all candidates to respond to questions.
All candidates were provided one minute each to provide the audience an opening statement and explain their motivation for running in the upcoming election, as well as an opportunity to introduce themselves.
Following introductions, candidates were given one minute to respond during a question and answer period hosted by forum moderator Aaron Fleming.
“This forum is structured in a manner that allows equal opportunity for all candidates to express their views and plans for action,” said Fleming.
Among topics discussed in the first forum, held from 5:45 to 7:15 p.m., included local economics, business attraction and retention, rising cost of living, crime, homelessness and the downtown core.
Candidates at the first forum included Kelly Allard, Ted Clugston, Christien Ellis, Ron Fode, Jay Hitchen, Kevin Monson, Randell Noble, Cheryl Phaff, Steven Pudwell, Alison Van Dyke (incumbent) and Troy Wason.
Bill Cocks, Gord Cowan, Jodi Faith, Chris Hellman, Donald Knudsen, Adam Koch, Yusuf Mohammed, Michael Reid, Shila Sharps (incumbent), Micheal Starner, Clayton Stevens and Stuart Young rounded out candidates at the second forum, held from 7:30-9 p.m.
Candidates shared views on city spending and taxes, the upcoming budget, strengthening local business development, off-sight levies, increasing development fees and the permit and approval process, internal reviews and a look at how the city is attracting businesses, as well as crime and property damage, homelessness and the potential MCC.
Several candidates spoke of a need to promote the city and extend attraction to business to the region.
At times Fleming opened up the forum for a brief four-minute debate on topics such as economic development, providing candidates 30 seconds to briefly debate the topic.
Candidates concluded each forum with a 1.5-minute closing statement.
Residents attending Wednesday evening spoke on the importance of gaining insight on who the candidates are and where they sit on certain issues important to community.
“It answered a lot of questions, and I changed my opinion on who I’m going to vote for,” said Carlotta Maser during an intermission between forums. “It really was informative and we had a lot of really good ideas on how to move the city forward.”
“I come to these all the time, because I think it’s very important to be well informed,” said Leslie Mayer. “I did change my mind on a lot of things tonight.”
Resident Ray Hoger says attending candidate forums is the first step in becoming an informed voter in such an important municipal election.
“You can’t just look at the website … This is more important, how they react on the spot to tough questions.”
Hoger said the forum allows him to hear from all candidates under one roof and is worth the time investment to hear the views of all candidates running.
“Some of the questions, I thought, were a little bit beyond their scope, but the answers were still informative, and the compassion and the excitement that they feel towards being in a position to try and help the city move forward, I think, is all positive,” said Hoger.
Friday evening, the Chamber will host two more public forums in a similar back-to-back format, featuring remaining council candidates first followed by the six mayoral candidates. Members of the public are invited to hear council candidates at 5:45 p.m. and from mayoral candidates at 7:30 at the Esplande Arts & Heritage Centre.
The Chamber is also allowing all candidates whose responses were longer than the allotted time limit to publish their response on its website as well as answer questions other candidates were asked during their forum.
“We know that with the number of candidates, we are limited in the number of questions that we have the ability to ask, but we know there’s lots of questions out there,” said Lisa Dressler, executive director of Southeast Alberta Chamber of Commerce. “The most important thing for us is the democratic process and being able to see people come out and make an informed choice when they go to the polls.”
The Chamber will also post all forums on its website and YouTube pages for citizens unable to attend in person. Friday’s forum will be livestreamed by the Chamber, a link can be found by visiting its website.
