By Pepper Parr
October 1, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
The Burlington Lions Club is hosting an all candidates debate Wed. October 1, 7pm at the Lions Club at Pearl and James (471 Pearl St). Candidates for Regional Chair, Mayor, and Ward 2 Councillor will be on hand to talk about their platform, why they are running, and answer written questions from the floor, chosen by the moderator. Candidates for school board trustee will be on hand with information tables, but will not participate in the debate.
It sounds like a pretty tame approach to getting a solid look at these candidates – adding the council members to the mix means Philip Papadopoulos will also be speaking; we heard from Papadopoulos when he ran for Mayor in 2010
Then adding candidates for the office of Regional Chair will mean an event that spreads the available time over too many people.
Goldring winning in 2010.
Burlingtonians want to hear Mayor Goldring defend his record and some of his controversial decisions and would like to hear if Peter Rusin has anything to bring to the table.
Peter Rusin – running for the office of Mayor.
Rusin is unknown, has never served in an elected office and has no record of any community involvement. Does he have “chops” – could he do the job?
The citizens need an opportunity to listen to these two men and make a decision.
The Lions are to be applauded for hosting the event – it looks as if the audience is going to get to listen to 11 people in one evening running for three levels of public office.
Four candidates running for the ward two Council seat; three candidates running for Mayor and four candidates running for Regional chair.
I attended the meeting and found it had its flaws as far as which questions were asked of the candidate.
Mr. Marsden’s wife, Ann, was the third mayoral candidate. Staying with the mayor position, Both new candidates showed a bitter negativity that I can not prove but seemed flawed and one sided. Rusin’s words remind me of the mayor of Toronto’s words and attitudes. He would have a very steep learning curve if elected. Similarly, Ann Marsden has no council experience and came across as having an axe to grind. Mind you, she “exposed” some disturbing observations about seniors/disabled and bus stop locations. I have no idea if her view is true but if it is, I hope that the Gazette “gets on it”.
Rick Goldring came across as a calm knowledgeable mayor candidate. I think that Burlington needs a mayor more like Goldring than Rusin or Marsden.
Why only mention two of the Mayoral candidates (by name and with a photograph) on October 1, 2014 when the Gazette clearly knew there are three candidates To quote Pepper Parr “Perception is often more relevant than reality”. The perception given by this type of reporting is male chauvinism rules at Burlington Gazette. The two candidates mentioned by name and with a photograph are male giving the perception there is a male bias at the Gazette. You need to deal with this before someone calls you on it to the Press Council. You cannot say you had no idea of the name of the third Mayoral Candidate who is known throughout the City for her stand for democratic rights of the citizens of Burlington and has taken many stands (on her own dime) for the disadvantaged in the community.
Do the citizens of Burlington a favor, lets only see reporting in the future at the Gazette that does not give the perception of any bias, whatsoever. Thank you.
Dave Marsden
Health, Safety and Accessibility Advocate (including to the election process)