I was not able to attend the second debate as it was earlier than the Charleswood United Church gathering a week prior.
The good news is that the events was taped by the organizers. I am watching it now and offering commentary. The video can be found here. Kudos to the people who went to the trouble to do this.
It was fantastic to have all seven candidates in attendance. The meeting was moderated by CJOB host Geoff Currier which explained the earlier debate time as he had to work at the station at 9. There were fewer people than at the earlier debate but the video should help increase that number who will see it.
Each candidate got to do an intro before questioning. Timothy Martin told the audience about being a lifetime member of the community, his job as a lawyer, his family and his interest in running which he said included improving traffic flow on Kenaston Boulevard.
Jarret Hannah told the audience he was a small business owner specializing in marketing. He also said he had a young family and was involved in community and charity work and believed it was useful experience to have to city council.
Livio Ciarelli said he was the senior candidate and the only one to challenge Bill Clement in the last election. He said he wasn't going to put up signs or use other people's money in the election. He indicated he was going to go to every door in ward and that he got candidates to commit to funding the Harte Trail. He believes Charleswood is shortchanged in the city. He ran out of time to finish that thought.
Wendy Lenton said he was running as an independent and that she was business woman specializing in traffic systems at an international level. She said she is a longtime resident. The key issues she are crime, roads and infrastructure and community development. She said she would be a full time candidate.
Paula Haxixbeck said the top priorities are public safety, community centres and lastly infrastructure. She said she has support from two unions and has their endorsements, the police and firefighters. She is a business consultant and lectures at the University of Manitoba and Canadian Mennonite University. She is president of Tuxedo Community Centre and has a young family. She said he is running because she is passionate about her community.
Steve Szego said that he have lived in the community for 40 years and has a young family. He believes in transparency and accountability. Planning and budgeting will be important, he says and he wants to be able to be able to help guide the ward as its representative.
Dashi Zargani said he has heard from the community and that they have said they want roads and sewers and drainage improved. He also mentioned that people want green spaces protected. He believes that the high level of taxation is not reflected in the ward and it could do better. He ran out of time to elaborate.
Continued later on...
My take on the debate: Timothy Martin and Paula Havixbeck seem to be the most capable (political convictions aside). However, by the end of the debate Timothy seemed to be very vague in his answers. The only candidate who (in my opinion) had any real vision for the ward (that is to say, any specific vision that anyone was willing to disclose) was Livio. Whether you agree with him or not, you at least know where he stands. I'll give him credit for that at least. I'm still undecided, but, I'd be interested to here some other people's take on the debate.
ReplyDeleteMy vote is for Livio Ciaralli for Charleswood-Tuxedo.
ReplyDeleteFrom attending the United Church forum and viewing the Shaftesbury High School forum, Livio seems to be the only one that consistently states his point without the fear of stepping on anyone’s toes. Who would you want in council someone that goes with the flow or someone that will step out and challenge? Someone that has a vision or someone that sits on the fence and there was a lot of fence sitting?
When I heard what councilors earn and their allowance, I was disgusted. Although this was never a concern for me before I started following this election, this now is one of the components of the election that has helped me make my decision. I have not heard any candidates other than Livio bring attention to this and when challenged by Livio, no other candidates would offer any comments. Livio said he would give all his allowance back to the community while the other candidates, I can only assume, will use this allowance and still continue their previous careers.
Livio, I feel, seems to be the only candidate that is not in this for himself. He legitimately seems to want to help his/our community 24/7. He has made the best effort to connect with every constituent, he, unexpectedly, even returned a call I made to his cell and I didn’t even leave a message. He has already shown me that he has gone above and beyond what is expected of a councilor with the efforts he has put into his campaign.
Livio says "he is rough around the edges". This is what we need, someone that is honest about himself and can relate to a large number of people in Charleswood-Tuxedo.