Debates Yes, Signs No

Are You Ready to Debate?

With just a little over a month left before the Municipal Election on October 25 (I know, where does the time go?), it’s time to start the debating… In an official way, of course.The debates are being sponsored by the Guelph Chamber of Commerce and Rogers TV and got underway yesterday with the candidates for Ward 4 city councillors.

Missing the debates? Well you shouldn’t. Our local Rogers station is covering them each live-to-air, direct from the debating ground at the City Hall Council Chambers at 1 Carden St. The format of each debate will be a combination of questions by written submission from the audience, as well as submissions received in advance from the business community. Candidates will be given one minute to answer each question, as well each candidate will be given the opportunity for a one and half minute opening statement and a one minute closing statement. This should make for an interesting Ward 1 debate. Considering that there are 11 candidates there should be just enough time for a total of three questions. But I kid Ward 1.

As for the rest of the schedule, the debates will continue tonight with a double header featuring Ward 3 at 6 pm and Ward 6 at 8 pm. The Ward 1 debate will go down next Thursday, September 30 with the Mayoral debate to follow on Tuesday October 5. The final two debates will be another double feature on October 7 with Ward 2 taking place at 6 pm and Ward 5 taking place at 8 pm. For full debate coverage, keep your eyes peeled to my Guelph Politico blog at http://guelphpolitico.blogpsot.com

 

Sign-less of the Times

In the midst of our heightened awareness of these more environmentally-mined times, a number of candidates in this election have decided to go “sign-less.” That is their campaign will not be putting up any signs in favour of social media and old-fashioned door-to-door campaigning. Ward 3 candidate Craig Chamberlain was one of the first to declare that he was going sign free so that he could “lead by example” when it comes to focusing on an affordable approach to city government. “My campaign is simple and direct, and I have cut out the excesses of electioneering,” said a Chamberlain news release.

Ward 1 candidate Allan Boynton declared last week that he will also be going sign-less saying that he will “not be doing signs on the side of the road, because I believe they are not environmentally friendly and an eyesore to our great community.” Additionally, another Ward 3 candidate, Missy Tolton is also reportedly not putting up signs, and, like Boynton, she’s running a campaign for under $1,000.

In the mayoral race, one candidate has also taken the no-sign pledge. Ray Mitchell, former owner of the Family Thrift Store and current owner of a downtown antiques store, joined the election race on the final day of nominations. In what he calls a social experiment, Mitchell says that he’s running a campaign without signs and without donations. “I believe that election signs should be outlawed, as they serve no useful purpose and give the rich an unfair advantage over the poor,” he told the Guelph Tribune.

Mitchell added that in our media savvy world he hoped that modern technology and the media can help candidates overcome a lack of campaign money. “In an increasingly tech-savvy world, and with widespread media events like debates, I believe that a candidate can get their message out at little or no cost, which will hopefully allow the participation in future of more candidates who are limited financially,” he said.

For full election coverage, check out Guelph Politico at http://guelphpolitico.blogspot.com

The Candidates – By the Issues Part 4

This week we reach the fourth and final question from the Candidate Questionnaire.

Question #4, Candidates choice: What issue, aside from the three previous, do you consider a matter of importance for the city, the region and the country?

Tom King: I am extremely concerned about the growing number of people living in poverty. In a country such as ours, where there is an abundance of resources and riches, how can Canadians be poor? When the House of Commons voted to support Ed Broadbent’s motion calling for urgent action to end child poverty by 2000, many Canadians had a renewed sense of optimism. The Conservatives and Liberals made a commitment to the poor and vulnerable in our country but when it came time to take a principled stand, they chose Bay Street over Main Street.

Gloria Kovach: Building Canadian competitiveness and keeping the economy strong.

In just two and a half years our Conservative government has reduced the federal debt by $37 billion dollars, we have made many changes to personal taxes to aid in improving the fiscal health of Canadians including: Increasing the basic personal exemption, tax credits for public transit, sports, textbooks, tools and apprentices; income tax eliminated on student scholarships and bursaries; introduced the most important savings vehicle since the RRSP, a savings account for up to $5,000 per year with a tax free exemption on interest or capitol gains.

Mike Nagy: Poverty. Martin Luther King wrote that, “The solution to poverty is to abolish it directly by a now widely discussed measure: the guaranteed income.” We are such a rich country with a beautiful history of democracy, justice and social responsibility. The fact that 15 per cent of Canadians live in poverty, including children, is a national tragedy and utterly unacceptable. We have solutions to eradicate poverty, provide every Canadian with housing, introduce the guaranteed liveable income, ensure that education that isn't a debt sentence by forgiving 50 per cent of student loans upon graduation, and remove taxes from the people who earn the least.

Frank Valeriote: In my mind, the most important issue for Guelph and Canada as a whole is health care. The Liberal Party is committed that our health care system remains public and accessible to everyone, especially the least privileged. Our first priority in terms of health care is to reduce wait times. The Harper government has not moved forward on this issue, and the Canada Health Council and the Canadian Medical Association have both criticized this government for not meeting former Liberal targets on reducing wait times. This is unacceptable, and the Liberal Party will change this in government.

Debate On!

It was announced that the candidates’ debate, which was cancelled out of anticipation of the calling of General Election back on September 3rd, has been rescheduled for October 7th. The debate will still be hosted by the Guelph Place Banquet Hall on Michener Road, and will still be carried live on Rogers Cable. Two days later, on October 9th, another debate will be hosted at Guelph Place, but with a more unusual set-up.

It’s being organized by Cam Guthrie, who was a public Kovach supporter until recently. He says on his website that he “cannot stand typical debates.” On debate night, each candidate will get a half-hour on stage, alone, to answer questions while the others wait in a secluded room, where they’ll be unable to hear the questions, as they await there turn. The questions will be taken from those submitted to him online from the public. King, Kovach, Nagy and Valeriote have all been invited to participate, but it seems that Valeriote has already turned down the offer.

Anyone wanting to send Guthrie a question can e-mail him at cam@camguthrie.ca, just make sure your questions are about vision, accountability and leadership. And for more information on the Guelph Election, visit my blog at http://guelphbyelectionbeat.blogspot.com/