Thunder Bay ward candidates debate the issues

Two dozen ward candidates running in the Thunder Bay municipal election had their opportunity to speak to about 100 voters on Thursday night.

The Thunder Bay and District Labour Council presented its final forum of the week, featuring candidates running in all seven wards.

The main issues highlighted by candidates included taxation, roads, safety and openness and transparency.

Wesley Ramage, who is seeking a seat in the McIntyre ward, said the main issues for him include "safety, taxes, job creation and infrastructure."

But when it came to slamming incumbents for not communicating enough with the public, "Transparency and accessibility is the bare minimum of any platform," he said.

'Out of the box'

First-time candidate Shelby Ch'ng said she has never served in office, and she can bring a new look to council chambers.

"A vote for me is a vote for an idea," she said. "Out-of-the-box thinking is needed to reduce spending."

Neebing candidate Austin Haner, the youngest candidate in the race, noted that winning a seat in a ward is about more than just representing one part of Thunder Bay.

"We need to focus on what we can accomplish for this whole city."

Officers on the ballot

Two police officers running in the race said they feel more officers are needed on the streets to combat crime.

"Putting police officers on the street" was Westfort hopeful John Radl's solution to crime. Before retiring, he headed up the neighbourhood policing unit for the Thunder Bay Police.

Jim Mauro, running in the Northwood ward, said new ideas are needed to solve safety issues.

"Crime is shaping up as the other issue during the election," he said. "Unfortunately, too many people have jumped on outdated ideas as the answer to crime problems I first identified 15 years ago."

At the end of the night, Red River ward candidate and incumbent Brian McKinnon tempered some of the big ideas that were mentioned to the crowd. 

"We each have one vote. In your initiative to gain traction, you must convince at least six other councillors that your idea has merit," he said. "If you are not part of that team, you can envision how effective you are going to be."

Two candidates were missing from the forum: Red River ward's James Dean Marsh and McIntyre's Mike Komar.

The election is on Oct. 27.