Sudbury mayoral candidates outline plans for economic development in debate

Candidates in the running to be the next mayor of Greater Sudbury went head to head at a debate hosted by the chamber of commerce Wednesday night.

The event focused on the candidate's plans for economic development, including affordable housing and business growth.

Though it was a debate, there were some common refrains for the candidates.

On affordable housing, Patricia Mills highlighted the importance of supporting an aging population.

"In the next 20 years, we'll see an unprecedented amount of seniors who will be going into retirement," she said

"We need to help them."

Several other candidates including Bill Crumplin and Dan Melanson echoed her response.

Many candidates also agreed that development fees are too high.

Jeff Huska suggested freezing fees, until the process can be re-evaluated.

"It's unfortunate because the cost to those developers end up falling down to the cost of the buyers," he said.

The candidates also faced questions on job creation, road conditions and the Kingsway Entertainment District.

'Good opportunity'

Resident Tim Thomson attended and took notes throughout the event. He says he didn't have a clear idea about who to vote for before the debate.

"It was a good opportunity for me to really narrow down who's got a plan and who's got a vision to see how to correct problems, opposed to people who are just here to sling around some buzzwords or throw mud at other candidates," he said.

But for his wife, Kelly Thomson, the candidate's answers left something to be desired.

She went to the debate hoping to find out where candidates stood on those issues, but says many just jumped around the questions.

"It was like making a speech or something, but leaving out the most important parts of it," she said.

Voters in Sudbury will cast their ballots on October 22.