The Grande Event Centre was packed on Thursday night as the lousy weather outside did not deter voters from checking out the North Bay & District Chamber of Commerce Meet the Candidates evening.
From 5:30 p.m to 8:30 p.m. citizens had the opportunity to visit with different candidates to get their points of view on the local issues.
Brad Carriere was one of the interested attendees. He, his wife and his young son made their way through the busy event trying to get as much information as they could.
"We are just trying to put faces to names," said Carriere.
"I mean 29 people running for council. Most of the signs we see around town we have never heard the names before so just kind of going out to see whose values are in line with what we are looking to have done in the city. We are looking to find 10 candidates who align with our views because what we would like to see is 10 city councillors that agree with our opinions so we can get some stuff done."
It's an opportunity for the public to ask questions directly and educate themselves on where candidates stand on particular issues. Chamber officials say many questions related to homelessness, drug and opioid crisis, capital projects like the arena, taxes, and accountability at City Hall were addressed.
“We hope the evening was a positive and educational experience for the public and the candidates," said Donna Backer, interim president and CEO at the Chamber. "One that will help shape decisions for voting our future mayor and council.”
Backer believes this face-to-face interaction is better than other alternatives.
“We decided to refrain from a debate-style event as we heard that people didn’t get questions answered to the issues that mattered to them," noted Backer.
“It’s next to impossible to get a true understanding of each council candidate’s position when there are 29 people on a stage trying to debate an issue.”
Some of the candidates agreed.
"It would have been nice to have a debate but with 29 people that is almost impossible," said North Bay city council candidate Derek Shogren.
"We always get a good turnout for these, I have been involved in a couple, and hundreds of people go through. People see the names on signs but they don't get a chance to speak one on one."
"I think it's about face-to-face opportunities and interaction," said Ralph Celentano, a North Bay city council candidate.
"This will give a chance to address my ideas and possible solutions."
Carriere says he would like to see a council that works together.
"What it seems, historically, with all our city councillors is nothing got done because no one agreed on anything so I want to vote for people with similar ideas," said Carriere.
Two of the mayoral candidates feel the same way.
"It is an ideal position to have everyone work in unison. I will just need to remind people we are all here for the same reason and we have a common goal and hopefully, as a leader, I can keep them all focused on the job at hand," said Johanne Brousseau, mayoral candidate.
"What I would do is have a one-on-one meeting with every elected councillor and find out what is important for them and then try to bring it all together into one platform," she continued.
"If I am fortunate enough to get elected as mayor I think the most important thing is setting a plan and setting a goal and then have people buy into that plan and goal," said Peter Chirico, mayoral candidate.
"You can't control who is or who is not going to be elected so it is incumbent upon whoever is elected as mayor to get that group together and focus on the things that are important to the citizens, listen to the citizens and execute and that is what's having a good plan with solid leadership will do."
At least two more of these meet and greet events will be hosted in the coming weeks before the October 24 election night.
