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Strong turnout for lively Ward 1 debate

Anger about the last four years and promises to bring change highlighted the first ward debate of the 2014 election. Meeting Monday night at the Caruso Club.
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About 150 people attended the Ward 1 debate Monday night at the Caruso Club on Haig Street. Seven contenders for the vacant seat debated for about two hours in an event put on by the Greater Sudbury Taxpayers Association. Photo by Darren MacDonald.

Anger about the last four years and promises to bring change highlighted the first ward debate of the 2014 election.

Meeting Monday night at the Caruso Club., Matt Alexander, Denis Ferron, Mathieu Labonté, Mark Signoretti, Paul Soucie, Chris Spry and Tom Trainor each made their cases for why they should be the next councillor in Ward 1.

About 150 residents turned up for the event, sponsored by the Greater Sudbury Taxpayers Association. It's the first of 12 ward debates scheduled ahead of the Oct. 27 vote. The debates take on added significance because there are no incumbents running in half of the wards. In Ward 1, there's a vacancy because former councillor Joe Cimino won the June provincial election in Sudbury for the NDP.

Candidates each gave an opening address, then responded to the five questions they received ahead of the meeting. They had opportunities to respond to each other, but with no incumbent with a record to defend, the discussion was mostly restrained, though informative.

Signoretti struck a familiar chord in his remarks, talking about his roots in the West End ward. He grew up in the area, runs a business there and coaches his son's hockey team. He's canvassed homes across the area to find out what people are concerned about.
"I'll continue to go to people's homes, listening to their concerns," Signoretti said.

Spry said he has visited 2,000 homes so far, and is telling people "your concerns are my concerns,” before finishing with a "Give Spry a try" quip that drew a few chuckles.

There were several references to some of the recent controversies that have plagued city council, with Soucie declaring “the last four years of chaos and turmoil at city hall is over."

When it came to budget and taxation issues, candidates made familiar vows to ensure taxes are as low as possible, that every dollar spent will be spent wisely. There was even a classic promise to go through the budget “line by line” to find savings.

Throughout, the audience was mostly engaged and asked more pointed questions toward the end – including the 'do you live in your ward?' question. (Almost all did or were planning to).

Alexander made an impression with his plan to create a lobbyist registry, which he said would force companies who want to lobby local staff and councillors to do so publicly and transparently. Alexander says it would improve the public's view of government.

"People don't trust the city to do the job we expect them to do," he said.

Other quotes from the night:

“A lot of my focus would be on children and seniors (issues). Pioneer Manor is very dear to my heart because my father passed away two weeks before the grand opening and he was the project manager at Pioneer Manor.”
– Denis Ferron

“What makes me different is that I'm not the other guys. I'm younger. I may not have the resume, but I'm dedicated ...”
– Mathieu Labonté

“I'm running on accountability – at all levels, from the mayor and council, all the way to frontline staff and the community.”
– Tom Trainor

 

Five questions given to candidates before the Ward 1 debate:

How would you attract business here?

How would you ensure tax money is spent efficiently?

What's most important issue in ward?

How would you deal with 4.9% tax hike projected next year?

Why should citizens elect you?


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Darren MacDonald

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