Thunder Bay election candidates pitch platforms at first debate
Accountability was a hot topic during Tuesday night’s first municipal election debate in Thunder Bay.
About 200 people turned up at the Moose Hall to hear a total of 24 mayoral and at-large candidates pitch their campaign platforms.
Questions from the audience ranged from support for the event centre, to protecting the Loch Lomond watershed, and dealing with social issues like homelessness and addictions.
While the topics varied, one theme emerged.
Those on council spoke about their accomplishments over the past four years, while those looking to take office said city hall needs to better explain its decisions to the public.
"My biggest objection to the way the city is run is with the lack of transparency by this mayor and council,” said mayoral candidate Henry Wojak.
“It is probably the main reason I decided to run, " he said.
Councillor Aldo Ruberto said the current council has a good record of creating jobs and moving forward on big projects, like the waterfront.
He said it's impossible to please everybody.
"When you're a councillor, you make tough decisions,” Ruberto said.
“You get information, you do the research, you ask everybody, and you try to make the best decision possible for everybody."
Community concerns
One question posed from the audience was how to bring neighbourhoods together.
Mayoral candidate Shane Judge said he believes giving money to local groups, with the assistance from their ward councillor, will help bring people together.
"There will be a report card, by ward, of which groups got how much money, and how successful that program was,” he said.
“We're, at last, going to have a new tool to measure the effectiveness of ward councillors in an effective way," said Judge.
Candidate Wolfgang Shoor suggested the city look at a “village vision” program, as in Europe, ensuring that children and community members do not fall through the cracks of any social system.
All six mayoral candidates and 18 at-large candidates attended the debate, with the exception of Barry Streib, who tweeted he had a prior commitment.
Ward candidates will get their chance to square off at a debate on Thursday.
School board trustees will have their debate Wednesday.
The Thunder Bay District Labour Council is presenting all the debates at the Moose Hall on Fort William Road.