On October 8th, the Perth and District Chamber of Commerce hosted an all-candidates event at Studio Theatre Perth giving voters an opportunity to meet the candidates and hear their views impacting Perth’s business community.
While this theme may seem commerce-centric, remember it was the Chamber hosting the event.
The theatre was busy, but not fully packed, as there were more than a dozen empty seats in the 200 seat auditorium.
Our own Brian Perkin moderated the night, which was split into two one-hour sessions; the first for mayor and deputy-mayor candidates and the second given to council hopefuls.
There was only one no-show; councillor candidate Kassina Ryder, who told lanarkleedstoday.ca they’ve withdrawn from the race.
Questions were divided into four themes; permitting (municipal building regulations), staffing (by business owners), childcare and housing.
The event was live-streamed on Cogeco Epico 100 and Cogeco Legacy 700 channels with repeat airings planned over the next several days. You can also view it on their YouTube channel at yourtvbrockvillesmithsfalls.
As expected, incumbents handled questions slightly better than challengers, due to their experience on council and familiarity with the relevant files.
More than one challenger promised to tackle Perth’s perceived reputation as being hard to deal with when it comes to property development.
When asked about super mayor powers, almost all candidates gave strong no to ever consider using them.
There were no outbursts from either candidates or audience members during the evening.
We asked several members of the audience afterwards, if what they saw and heard helped them form or change their voting plans.
Voting by phone or internet only starts in Perth on October 19th and ends at 8 pm on October 26th. Voter PIN ids have been mailed out starting October 9th, and if anyone hasn’t received one by October 17th, they should contact the Town Clerk or Deputy Returning Officer.
Story by Brian Turner
